[Peace-discuss] take 10 seconds to thank Tim for his efforts to end the war

Fri Mar 11 13:20:12 CST 2011

We are sending out the alert below today asking folks to contact their Reps
to sign a bipartisan letter calling on President Obama to execute a
significant drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan in July.

As it happens, Rep. Tim Johnson is one of the original signers of this
letter. So, instead of asking him to sign it, you could thank him for
signing it.

To make this easy, here an edited version of the sample letter text that you
can paste into the sample letter window:

----

Thank you for signing the bipartisan Congressional letter being circulated
by Reps. Barbara Lee and Walter Jones insisting that "the forthcoming
reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be significant and
sizeable."

Insisting that the promised drawdown of troops be significant is the first
step to ending the war. A significant drawdown of troops starting in July
will save American and Afghan lives.

A significant drawdown of troops starting in July will save $10 billion in
tax dollars annually for every 10,000 troops we withdraw, money that we need
here at home.

In addition, a significant drawdown of U.S. troops will encourage the
factions in Afghanistan to move forward with efforts towards a negotiated
political resolution of the conflict.

Thank you for your leadership in efforts to end the war in Afghanistan and
bring our troops home.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org>
Date: Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 1:08 PM
Subject: Make July Afghanistan Drawdown Significant: Get Your Rep to Sign
Lee Letter
To: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com

 [image: Just Foreign
Policy]<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XPrlpiWjvn8Uf85LiCV932PwRZ%2FidVTg>

Dear Dd,

*Urge your Representative to sign Rep. Barbara Lee's letter to President
Obama calling for a significant July drawdown in Afghanistan.
*

[image: Take Action]<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=C7cD8vEB6ah9Ld1ZAQeR1WPwRZ%2FidVTg>

In his State of the Union address in January, President Obama re-affirmed
his promise to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July. [1]
But there is a great division in Washington over whether this will be a
significant withdrawal that leads towards getting the U.S. military out of
Afghanistan, or a mere token withdrawal that essentially leaves the status
quo in place. A bipartisan Congressional letter is urging President Obama to
make the July drawdown significant, not token.

*Will you urge your Representative to sign this letter?*

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=61eNfr2jyOEbrl2CPWmphWPwRZ%2FidVTg>
*

The Pentagon has been pushing for this summer's promised drawdown of troops
to be "limited" or even "token." But Members of Congress who want to end the
war and bring the troops home have been pushing back. Two weeks ago, Reps.
Barbara Lee and Mike Honda led a successful effort to get the Democratic
National Committee to pass a resolution that concluded, "the Democratic
Party supports prioritizing job creation and a swift withdrawal of U.S.
armed forces and military contractors in Afghanistan which must include a
significant and sizable reduction no later than July 2011." [2] Now Reps.
Barbara Lee, Mike Honda, Jim McGovern, John Conyers and Lynn Woolsey,
together with Republican Reps. Walter Jones, Ron Paul, Tim Johnson, and John
Duncan, are circulating a letter to President Obama insisting that "the
forthcoming reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be
significant and sizeable."

*Will you ask your Representative to sign Rep. Lee's letter?*

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jouycWiTgaNlJ0ZnJxGRPmPwRZ%2FidVTg>
*

Beginning a significant drawdown in July 2011 is the first step to ending
the war. Fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean fewer U.S. soldiers
being killed and fewer Afghan civilians being killed. Fewer U.S. troops in
Afghanistan - at an estimated annual cost of $10 billion for every 10,000
troops - will mean less money being spent on war and more money available
for human needs. And fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean more
political space in Afghanistan for a negotiated political solution that ends
the war, as Afghan President Karzai and others have argued. As Reuters
reported on March 2: "Admitting that there was 'friction' with his Western
allies over strategy in Afghanistan, Karzai said he had told his allies the
military surge should be scaled back to permit negotiations. 'The military
is less inclined to accept it (this argument). The political side, the
civilian side, is more inclined to it,' he said." [3]

*Let's get started on ending the war. Urge your Representative to sign Rep.
Barbara Lee's letter to President Obama.*

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QOhj85Blqfk2ujWErdPJwGPwRZ%2FidVTg>
*

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

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

*Please support our work.* Your donation allows us to promote opportunities
for Americans to advocate for a just foreign policy.
*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IZDAK7krm22eaHjLc17sEWPwRZ%2FidVTg>
*

References:

1. "Remarks by the President in State of Union Address," January 25, 2011,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f0CgrktGKiqcuVPtmfgTViFxR7GK3DE0>
2. "DNC Pressures Obama, Passes Resolution Endorsing Swift End To
Afghanistan War," Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, 02/26/11,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/26/afghanistan_n_828710.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TpAEJw3ddAswGLprEKhXzGPwRZ%2FidVTg>
3. "Afghans, Western Backers In Contact With Taliban: Karzai," Adrian Croft,
Reuters, Wed Mar 2, 7:41 pm ET,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110303/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_karzai_1<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=C%2Fe8IuBV5E%2FoBHAJiCLLk2PwRZ%2FidVTg>

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Policy]<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=U6CoQQCA2SYvx55cTO3TD2PwRZ%2FidVTg>
*

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-- 
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
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