[Peace-discuss] Fw: Tell Congress: Negotiate, Don't Escalate, in Afghanistan!

[Jenifer Cartwright]

--- On Thu, 11/12/09, Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:


From: Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org>
Subject: Tell Congress: Negotiate, Don't Escalate, in Afghanistan!
To: jencart13 at yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:45 PM




 

Dear Jenifer,

This week, Just Foreign Policy board member Tom Hayden had an important op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. [1] Hayden's op-ed called for negotiations as an alternative to military escalation in Afghanistan - something that you almost never see in the mainstream media or Washington political debate. 

Would you help us spread the idea of political negotiations as opposed to military escalation in Afghanistan by sending Tom's op-ed to your representatives in Congress? 

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/hayden 

In his op-ed, Hayden writes that
An April task force led by Washington insiders Thomas Pickering and Barnett Rubin noted that "the [Taliban] Quetta shura is showing signs of willingness to distance itself from Al Qaeda and seek a political settlement."
But Hayden notes that the U.S. government has not responded to these opportunities for negotiation. Why? Hayden writes:
The United States and NATO apparently want to negotiate only from a position of strength. "Reconciliation is important, but not now," said one Western official in August. "It's not going to happen until the insurgency is weaker and the government is stronger." 
Hayden asks: how many more American soldiers will die in the possibly futile quest to strengthen the U.S. position in negotiations?
The Pentagon forecasts two years of harsh combat in Afghanistan alone, which at current rates could mean an additional 1,000 American dead and 8,000 wounded. 
Hayden concludes that the choice facing President Obama is this:
Whether to send more Americans to their graves in support of Hamid Karzai while at the same time blocking the emergent quest for peace negotiations in Afghanistan. 
Almost no-one in Washington is talking about negotiations. We need to change this. Help us encourage Members of Congress to start talking about the need for negotiations in Afghanistan by sending Tom Hayden's Los Angeles Times op-ed to your representatives in Congress. 

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/hayden 

Thanks for all you to do to help bring about a just foreign policy, 

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, Megan Iorio and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy 

Please support our work. Your financial contribution enables us to continue to create opportunities for Americans to advocate for a just foreign policy.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html 

References:
1) "Why die for Karzai?" Tom Hayden, Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2009 
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hayden10-2009nov10,0,5592560.story


© 2009 Just Foreign Policy
Click here to unsubscribe


      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace-discuss/attachments/20091112/fef6a999/attachment.html