[Peace-discuss] IVAW's open letter to Obama
Karen Medina
kmedina at illinois.edu
Sat Nov 8 08:03:40 CST 2008
[Iraq Veterans Against the War wrote the following open letter to President-elect
Obama - kem ]
Dear President-elect Obama,
Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War congratulate you on your victory, and
we admire and respect both Senator John McCain and you for your strong,
patriotic dedication and desire to fix the deep problems our country now faces.
We appreciate your inspiring words spoken at Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday
night - words which should give all Americans hope for our future. But we also
remember the hope your words gave to many Americans in an August 2007
speech - especially those serving in our military: "Ending this war will be my
first priority when I take office. There is no military solution in Iraq. Only Iraq's
leaders can settle the grievances at the heart of Iraq's civil war."
Much has changed in our country since that speech, and the prevailing
sentiment among Americans is that our faltering economy must now be your
first priority. We understand and share their concern, but we believe that our
faltering economy cannot be corrected if we continue the costly occupation of
Iraq – an immense financial cost which is simply unsustainable. The American
people are giving billions of dollars every week to continue an occupation that is
draining our wallets, our respect, our security, and the lives of thousands of U.S.
and Iraqi men, women, and children.
We fervently ask you to use all possible political and diplomatic pressure to
quickly and completely end the occupation of Iraq. Though none of us know
what the future will bring, we do know this: our service members are tired of an
occupation seemingly without end, and they want to return home to their
families.
And when our brave men and women return home, they need to be given full
benefits, and adequate healthcare (including mental health) to repair their
physical and emotional wounds. They deserve no less, and we as a country owe
that care to them.
We also call on you not to ignore the humanitarian crises of enormous
proportion that the Iraqi people continue to endure. Over four million Iraqis
have been displaced or become refugees since the U.S. invasion of their country.
Iraqi deaths are most accurately estimated at over 600,000 people, with many
hundreds of thousands more having suffered physical and emotional injuries.
The Iraqi people will be coping with the aftermath of our unjustifiable invasion
and occupation of their country for generations to come. IVAW believes that it is
the duty of our country to pay reparations to the Iraqi people for the damage we
have caused to their lives, infrastructure, and culture.
We acknowledge the shift in focus from the war in Iraq to the war in
Afghanistan. At the same time, Afghan President Karzai is calling for a change
in strategy and Afghan families are mourning the deaths of their loved ones
who have been killed in U.S. air strikes. We encourage you to listen to the
Afghan people and U.S. veterans of that conflict before making any decision to
escalate military force there.
We call on you to end the occupation of Iraq and repair our economy, and by
doing so you will demonstrate that a "new dawn of American leadership" has
arrived, a "defining moment of change" that will benefit and give hope to all
Americans - young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black,
white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not
disabled.
You once said that “change won’t come from the top. Change will come from a
mobilized grass roots.” We agree, which is why Iraq Veterans Against the War
will continue organizing for an end to the occupation of Iraq, health care and
benefits for returning veterans, and reparations for the Iraqi people. We hope
that these are areas we can work together with you to address.
Respectfully,
Iraq Veterans Against the War
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