[Peace-discuss] Fw: Re: Fw: Don't Let Petraeus Sabotage Afghan Peace Talks

[Jenifer Cartwright]

--- On Wed, 7/21/10, Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:

    
        
    
    
        
        
        Dear Jenifer,

Urge your representatives to oppose US designation of portions of the Afghan Taliban as terrorists.





54% of Americans think the U.S. should set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, CBS News reports. [1] But if General Petraeus has his way, the U.S. will dig in deeper, not establish a timetable for withdrawal. Petraeus wants the State Department to designate part of the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist group, a move which would likely make it more difficult for the Afghan government to reach a political settlement with the Afghan Taliban, the New York Times reports. [2]  




Senior Administration officials have claimed that they back Afghan government efforts to reach a political settlement that would end the war. [3] Designating part of the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist group would undermine that commitment. By deepening the conflict, it would also threaten the Obama Administration's commitment to begin a "serious drawdown" of U.S. troops in July 2011. [4]




Would you help us alert Members of Congress and their staffs to General Petraeus' attempt at a "backdoor escalation" and urge your representatives in Congress to oppose it? You can write to your representatives here:  




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



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



Robert Naiman, Sarah Burns, Megan Iorio and Chelsea Mozen

Just Foreign Policy 



Please support our work. Donate for a Just Foreign Policy.

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html



References: 



1. "Poll: Most Want Afghanistan Withdrawal Timeline," Stephanie Condon, CBS News, July 13, 2010

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20010459-503544.html

2. "U.S. May Label Pakistan Militants as Terrorists," Mark Landler and Thom Shanker, New York Times, July 13, 2010 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/world/asia/14diplo.html

3. "The Afghan Endgame," John Barry, Sami Yousafzai, and Ron Moreau, Newsweek, July 04, 2010

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/04/the-afghan-endgame.html

4. "54% Want Afghan Exit, but Petraeus Could Nix Peace Talks with Terror Naming," Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, July 15, 2010

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/54-want-afghan-exit-but-p_b_647626.html




        
        

        
        © 2009 Just Foreign Policy
        
        Click here to unsubscribe
        
    



      


-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org


Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern

 






      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20100725/94f249eb/attachment-0001.html>