[Peace] Fwd: [iraq-meet] CALL CONGRESS ON SEPT 9th and 10th! NNEWAI
Weekly Action Alert #2
Jay Mittenthal
mitten at life.uiuc.edu
Tue Sep 10 11:12:23 CDT 2002
>From: "Dawn L. Rubbert" <auntdawn at i1.net>
>To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
>Subject: [iraq-meet] CALL CONGRESS ON SEPT 9th and 10th! NNEWAI Weekly
>Action Alert #2
>Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 14:53:09 -0500
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000
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>
>Dear IYM Friends, With sincere apologies to those who have any difficulty
>with this mailing. I felt this was a real priority message and the
>simplest way to send it was by forwarding it. -- Dawn Rubbert, St.
>Louis MM
>
> [iraq-meet] CALL CONGRESS ON SEPT 9th and 10th! NNEWAI Weekly Action
> Alert #2
>---Please forward widely---
>
>Congressional Campaign Advocacy Alert #2
>from the National Network to End the War Against Iraq (NNEWAI)
>Round One is Over. We won. There will be a vote in Congress.
>
>Round Two begins now. Feeling the heat of the rising tide of public
>opinion against an attack on Iraq, the Bush administration wants Congress
>to rush to judgment and vote for war,
>before we the people can stop it.
>
>What can you do to prevent a disastrous war?
> * Congress on Tuesday, September 9th and 10th! In July, our call-ins
> made an impact. Join thousands of others in sending a clear signal to
> Congress: we want peace, not war.*
> * Contact Congress this and every Tuesday until the November Election.
> * Make this action a part of your local work at forums and town meetings.
>
>Who to Contact:
> * Both your Senators and your Representative: To make contact by
> phone, Call the Congress ional Switchboard for the numbers of Washington
> offices: (202) 224-3121. You are also encouraged to write, e-mail or fax.
> * You may also wish to contact the following administration officials:
> * Comment Line for President Bush and Vice President Cheney: (202)
> 456-1111
> * E-mail George Bush at: president at whitehouse.gov
> * Fax: 202-456-2461
> * E-mail Dick Cheney at: vice.president at whitehouse.gov
> Comment line Secretary of State Colin Powell: (202) 647-6575.
> * His e-mail address: Secretary at state.gov
> Comment line for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: (703) 428-0711.
> * E-mail address: Public at defenselink.mil
>
>
>What to request:
>
>Urge your representatives and political leaders to:
> * Vigorously pursue a diplomatic solution to avert a costly and
> potentially disastrous war. Negotiations between Iraq and the UN over
> the return of weap ons inspectors to Iraq have been ongoing. Instead of
> pursuing a war that could end in a costly, long-term US military
> occupation of Iraq, the US should instead pursue peace, acknowledging
> Iraq's interest in allowing the return of weapons inspectors, and l aying
> out a precise timetable for the ending of the devastating sanctions policy.
> * Pay attention to world opinion, such as former South African
> President Nelson Mandela's comment that he condemns US threats of
> attacking Iraq &q uot;In the Strongest Terms".
> * Consider the humanitarian situation very carefully. Iraq's people
> are suffering enough! Another war would take tens of thousands of lives,
> and could generate a famine.
> * Attend the Alternate Hearings on September 12th, and promote
> balanced hearings in the House, giving equal time to speaker who oppose
> any attack on Iraq.
>For additional Talking Points see: "Why the US Should Not Invade
>Iraq":http://www.endthewar.org/frontps/whynotinvade.htm
>
>Background and Further Steps:
>
>1. DIPLOMACY: Wednesday, September 4, 2002: Source: Washington POST
>Article, "Bush Pledges to Seek Congressional Approval on Iraq": Reporter:
>Mike Allen
>
>President Bush met with congressional leaders on September 4th to seek
>their authorization for an invasion of Iraq. "Bush said he had not chosen
>a specific a course for replacing Hussein. But his visitors left the
>Cabinet Room convinced that the nation is headed toward war with Iraq."
>"'At the appropriate time, this administration will go to the Congress to
>seek approval necessary to deal with the threat.'" said Bush. The
>President says he hopes to convince the world community to support a US
>invasion when he speaks to the UN General Assembly on September
>12th. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) spoke to reporters after
>the meeting and sounded like he could be persuaded to support the plan.
>
>NNEWAI Response: Call on congressional leaders to urge the President to
>pursue diplomacy in order to avoid a war. There is no evidence that Iraq
>is reconstituting its weapons of mass destruction (WMD )
>programs. However, during the period of UNSCOM inspection in Iraq, Iraq
>was not only unable to reconstitute any programs for building WMD, Iraq's
>WMD stockpiles and programs were effectively eliminated. If the United
>States is serious about dealing with the threat of weapons of mass
>destruction (WMD), then it should support weapons inspections and
>monitoring in Iraq. Iraq has shown interest in allowing weapons
>inspectors to return, in exchange for a clear timetable for the lifting of
>sanctions. The US has not articulated clearly what are the conditions
>under which sanctions could be lifted. The US must lay out those
>conditions clearly in order for Iraq to be able to comply with UN
>resolutions. The humanitarian crisis in Iraq can only be effectively
>alleviated with the lifting of sanctions and the restoration of Iraq's economy.
>
>2. WORLD OPINION: Monday, September 2, 2002. "Mandela Blasts U.S. Attack
>Threats" Associated Press, Reporter: Mike Cohen.
>
>Nelson Mandela, South Africa's widely respected former president, has
>strongly condemned U.S. threats to attack Iraq. "We are really appalled
>by any country, whether a superpower or a small country, that goes outside
>the U.N. and attacks indepe ndent countries," Mandela said before meeting
>with French President Jacques Chirac at his Johannesburg home. According
>to Mandela, "What [the US is] saying is introducing chaos in international
>affairs, and we condemn that in the strongest terms." Chirac, who
>addressed the summit Monday, said he shared with Mandela "a common
>position on the assessment and approach of these issues."
>
>NNEWAI Response: Urge your Senators and Respresentatives to pay close
>attention to the reasons why world opinion is virtually unanimous in
>opposition to a US attack on Iraq. The US has been bombing fo r 12 years,
>and has led the push for sanctions that UN agencies report have killed
>hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. The US has become
>increasingly isolated at the UN in terms of its support for sanctions. A
>" pre-emptive strike" on Iraq would be in violation of international law
>and could never be authorized by the UN Security Council. The US should
>set the example by following international law, not flagrantly violating it.
>
>3. THE HUMANITARIAN ISSUE: Monday, August 19, 2002. "UNICEF Warns of
>Potential Famine if US Bombs"UNICEF Press Release, Carel de Rooy, UNICEF
>Iraq Country Dire ctor (original report dated February 20, 2002).
>
>The UNICEF Director in Iraq, Carel De Rooy, is warning that both the
>threat of war and actual bombing of Iraq threaten to drastically upset the
>food distribution system in Iraq, which has improved in recent years. De
>Rooy warns of a "nightmare scenario." Currently some 24 million Iraqis
>receive food rations, and this requires a massive operation. De Rooy
>writes that household "dependency on food rations has evolved over the
>past decade to almos t total dependency..." She warns further that "food
>market prices are extremely sensitive to any changes in the political
>arena. After 11th September, the prices of the food-basket items increased
>dramatically and the WFP had to intervene. " Continuing, De Rooy warns:
>"We believe that the interruption of food distribution is possible.
>Pregnant and lactating women as well as young children are the most likely
>victims. Chaos would be the immediate effect. "
>
>NNEWAI Response: Urge your Senators and Representatives to consider the
>humanitarian dimension carefully. Aside from the killing of innocent
>civilians, US bombing could drastically disrupt the food distri bution
>system inside Iraq, leading to uncounted additional deaths. Iraq needs to
>rebuild its economic infrastructure, not have it pounded with bombs once
>again. Iraqis today are a very vulnerable people, and the humanitarian
>consequence s of another war will be disastrous.
>
>4. HEARINGS:
>
>A. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) will hold the last of three Press
>Conferences (Alternate Hearings) on US Policy on Iraq to discuss Why the
>US Should Not Attack Iraq:
>
>
>Original time & Place: September 12-1:00 PM (EST)- Longworth Bldg, Rm 1539
>Note: Due to President Bush's speech at the UN on Septmeber 12th, this
>hearing will most likely be rescheduled to September 13th.
>
>
>NNEWAI Response:
> * Urge your Congressional Representative or Senator to attend this
> hearing. Remind your legislators that we need have open,wide-ranging
> dialogue, and testimony about our current policy toward Iraq.
> * Also: Contact C-Span viewer services and ask for coverage of the
> Kucinich Forum on September12th as well as coverage of any upcoming House
> Hearings on Iraq: viewer at c-span.org , tel: (765) 464-3080.
>
>
>B. House International Relations Committee (HIRC): Hearings on Iraq:
>
>
>Date and time TBA (between September 18 and 23)
>
> * Urge members of the HIRC to contact HIRC Chair Henry Hyde and to
> include some of the same speakers that spoke in Kucinich's Alternate
> Hearings. Those speakers include:
>Phyllis Bennis, Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies
>David Cortwright, President of the Fourth Freedom Forum
>Edmun Ghareeb, Distinguished Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies at American
>University
>Denis Halliday, former Assistant Secretary General of the UN and Iraq
>Program Director
>Sam Husseini, Communications Director for the Institute for Public Accuracy
>Scott Ritter, former Chief UNSCOM Weapons Inspector in Iraq
> * You may wish suggest your own ideas for speakers, such as:
>Hans Von Sponeck, former UN and Iraq Program Director
>Kathy Kelly, Co-Founder, Voices in the Wilderness, 2000 Nobel Peace Prize
>Nominee
> * To recommend speakers for the House hearings on Iraq:
> * contact the House International Relations Committee (HIRC): fax:
> (202) 225-2035, phone: (202) 225-5021.
> * contact the committee chair, Henry Hyde (R, IL): fax: (202)
> 225-4561; tel: (202) 225-456
> * contact the ranking Democrat, Tom Lantos (D-CA): fax: (202)
> 226-9789; tel: (202) 225-3531.
> * here are the remaining members of HIRC by state; urge them to
> recommend names to the Chair:
>Alabama: Earl Hilliard (D-7)
>Arizona: Jeff Flake (R-1)
>California: Howard Berman (D-26); Elton Gallegly (R-23); Darrell Issa
>(R-48); Barbara Lee (D-9); Grace Napolitano (D-34); Dana Rohrabacher
>(R-45); Edward Royce (R-39); Adam Schiff (D-27); Brad Sherman (D-24)
>Colorado: Thomas Tancredo (R-6)
>Delaware: Eni Faleomavaega (D)
>Florida: Jim Davis (D-11); Alcee Hastings (D-23); Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
>(R-18); Rober Wexler (D-19)
>Georgia: Cynthia McKinney (D-4)
>Indiana: Dan Burton (R-6); Brian Kerns (R-7)
>Iowa: Jim Leach (R-1)
>Louisiana: John Cooksey (R-5)
>Massachusetts: William Delahunt (D-10)
>Michigan: Nick Smith (R-7)
>Nebraska: Doug Bereuter (R-1)
>New Jersey: Donald Payne (D-10); Robert Menendez (D-13); Christopher Smith
>(R-4)
>New York: Gary Ackerman (D-5); Joseph Crowley (D-7); Eliot Engel (D-17);
>Benjamin Gilman (R-20); Peter King (R-3); Amory Houghton Jr. (R-31); John
>McHugh (R-24); Gregory Meeks (D-6)
>Nevada: Shelley Berkley (D-1)
>North Carolina: Cass Ballenger (R-10); Richard Burr (R-5)
>Ohio: Sherrod Brown (D-13); Steve Chabot (R-1)
>Oregon: Earl Blumenauer (D-3)
>Pennsylvania: Joseph Hoeffel (D-13); Joseph Pitts (R-16)
>Texas: Ron Paul (R-14);
>Virginia: Eric Cantor (R-7); JoAnn Davis (R-1)
>
>Follow-up:
>
>Following up with Correspondence: You are encouraged to follow up any
>phone calls you make with e-mails or letters by regular mail and by
>e-mail. Regular mail correspondence may be addressed as follows:
>To a Senator:
>The Honorable (full name)
>United States Senate
>Washington, DC 20510
>
>Dear Senator_(Last Name) :
>
>To a Representative:
>The Honorable (full name)
>United States House of Representatives
>Washington, DC 20515
>
>Dear Representative_(Last Name) :
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>* This week's alert is being sent out and coordinated with Peace Action's
>National Days of Call-In, September 9th and 10th: http://www.peace-action.org
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>NNEWAI: seeking a "New Way" to Peace between Americans and the Iraqi people.
>www.endthewar.org nnewai at usa.com
> (650) 326-9057
>
>
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