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Mon Sep 28 15:09:14 CDT 2009
"Today I was part of a delegation of 10 people who met with Hillary
Clinton's NYS Deputy Director, Basil Smikle, at her offices on Third Avenue
to lobby against the war on Iraq. . . . Among my delegation was our
spokesperson, a Rabbi who heads a Jewish peace group; a minister who has
been to Iraq several times distributing medical supplies; a young professor
of Middle East studies who has spent a lot of time recently in Iraq and
other Middle East countries and who speaks 8 languages in that area; a
documentary film maker who was recently in Iraq making a documentary, and
ordinary citizens like me who feel strongly that it would be a disaster if
we launch a preemptive strike against Iraq. . . . My feeling was that [Mr.
Simkle] took our views very seriously and will try to persuade [Senator
Clinton] to attend to the issue."
Thank you all for being part of something big.
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<TITLE>FW: Join us in Iraq meetings with Congress</TITLE>
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<B>Von: </B>"Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org" <moveon-help at list.moveon=
.org><BR>
<B>Datum: </B>8 Jan 2003 23:17:12 -0000<BR>
<B>An: </B>"Marianne Brun" <manni at snafu.de><BR>
<B>Betreff: </B>Join us in Iraq meetings with Congress<BR>
<BR>
<FONT SIZE=3D"2">Dear MoveOn Member, <BR>
<BR>
On January 21st, across the country, thousands of us will be meeting with t=
he offices of our members of Congress on the possible war on Iraq. We'=
ll meet with them in district offices from Portland, ME to Portland, OR, and=
we'll deliver a petition representing hundreds of thousands of us who want =
our leaders to "Let the Inspections Work." We plan to meet w=
ith over 400 Congressional offices, but to do that we'll need everyone to co=
me out. You can register in under five minutes for a meeting in your a=
rea at: <BR>
<BR>
http://www.moveon.org/inspectionsmeetings/ <http://www.moveon.org/inspec=
tionsmeetings/?id=3D948-948648-fY7qgzaVntTEewZoRTnCxg> <BR>
<BR>
We are at a critical point in the campaign to resolve the crisis over Iraq =
through peaceful means. In the UK, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has pu=
t the probability of war at under 50%. Mohammad ElBaradei, head of the=
UN's nuclear inspections program, has said there is "no smoking gun&qu=
ot; and no significant evidence pointing to a revitalized Iraqi nuclear prog=
ram. Numerous newspaper reports have suggested that when Hans Blix, th=
e chief weapons inspector, talks to the UN Security Council on the January 2=
7th, he will say that Iraq has complied with the inspections. <BR>
<BR>
At the same time, reports on the costs of this war in lives, global securit=
y, and money continue to come in on an almost daily basis. A Yale econ=
omist has placed the total cost of the war at up to $1.6 TRILLION dollars. &=
nbsp;A UN report argues that as many as 500,000 Iraqi civilians could be kil=
led or seriously wounded in the war, with malnutrition affecting millions. &=
nbsp;The CIA tells us that the only circumstance under which Saddam Hussein =
is likely to use weapons of mass destruction is if he is backed into a corne=
r. <BR>
<BR>
But President Bush and some of the hawks in his administration still appear=
eager to go to war, regardless of whether the inspections are working. &nbs=
p;Many members of Congress are concerned about this, but they're reluctant t=
o challenge the President to commit to the United Nations process and let th=
e inspections go forward. <BR>
<BR>
The authority to declare war resides with Congress and Congress alone. Cong=
ress authorized the President to use force only as a last resort. We are not=
at that point -- the weapons inspections are working. It's up to Cong=
ress to insist that we let the inspections work, and it's up to us to see th=
at they do. Constituent meetings may be the single most powerful tool =
we have for doing that. <BR>
<BR>
You can sign up right now at: <BR>
<BR>
http://www.moveon.org/inspectionsmeetings/ <http://www.moveon.org/inspec=
tionsmeetings/?id=3D948-948648-fY7qgzaVntTEewZoRTnCxg> <BR>
<BR>
In these meetings, we'll be talking to members of Congress or their senior =
staff. A team of hard-working MoveOn volunteers has been contacting ea=
ch office; not all of the meetings are confirmed yet, but by the end of the =
week they will be. Please DON'T contact the members' office about this=
-- we're trying to coordinate this so that it's easy for them. After =
you register, you'll be given contact info for the volunteer coordinating yo=
ur meeting. <BR>
<BR>
These meetings come five months after a hugely successful round of constitu=
ent meetings convened by MoveOn on August 28. I've attached our final =
message on that round below -- you can read it to get a sense of what it's l=
ike to participate in these meetings and what kind of impact they can have. =
This time around, it's likely that we'll be pushing Congress to sign o=
nto a "Dear Colleague" letter, circulated by Representatives who v=
oted for and against the Iraq resolution, asking the President to let the in=
spections work. In other words, there's a good likelihood that Congres=
s will be taking up our petition. <BR>
<BR>
We're organizing these meetings in conjunction with Win Without War, a coal=
ition of major mainstream membership organizations like the Sierra Club, NOW=
, the NAACP, and the National Council of Churches. Together, these org=
anizations represent tens of millions of Americans. It's going to be h=
uge. We'd love to see you there. Please sign up today: <BR>
<BR>
http://www.moveon.org/inspectionsmeetings/ <http://www.moveon.org/inspec=
tionsmeetings/?id=3D948-948648-fY7qgzaVntTEewZoRTnCxg> <BR>
<BR>
The Bush Administration has indicated that it will make a firm statement re=
garding the war on Iraq on January 27th. It's critical that we get Con=
gress to reach out to the President and ensure that he lets the inspections =
work. We don't have much time, but by meeting with Congress, we could =
make the critical difference. Please sign up now. <BR>
<BR>
Sincerely,<BR>
--Eli Pariser<BR>
International Campaigns Director<BR>
MoveOn.org<BR>
January 8th, 2002 <BR>
<BR>
P.S. Here's an abbreviated version of the report from last time: <BR>
<BR>
Dear MoveOn Supporter, <BR>
<BR>
Here's a quick report on the progress of our "No War on Iraq" cam=
paign. As of today, August 29, 2002, more than 160,000 people around the cou=
ntry have signed the online petition. And on Wednesday, thousands of u=
s delivered the first batch of these petitions through meetings in Senate of=
fices in each and every state. <BR>
<BR>
I've been scrambling to stay on top of the reports as they come in from mee=
tings across the country. I'm receiving emails from Utah, from Hawaii,=
from New Hampshire, and from Georgia. The experience each message des=
cribes is different, but on one point they're nearly all the same: the meeti=
ngs that occurred yesterday with Senators' offices were an enormous success.=
<BR>
<BR>
Local TV stations broadcast interviews with participants in close to a thir=
d of the meetings. And newspapers from the Austin-American Statesman t=
o the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times to the Indianapolis Star have printed=
or are writing stories. Since Senators watch the media closely, this =
coverage has made the meetings even more impactful. <BR>
<BR>
The following comment from a meeting participant in Florida has been echoed=
again and again in the letters in my inbox: <BR>
<BR>
"As Senator Nelson's aide said at the end of our meeting, I came with =
no expectations today. But I left amazed at the eloquence and passion =
expressed by so many of you today. It gives me hope . . . I just wante=
d to thank you for your time, the mileage you put on your cars, but most of =
all for speaking out when so many people keep quiet under the false guise of=
patriotism. Our actions display true patriotism and love of country.&=
quot; <BR>
<BR>
As I read through these reports, as I look at (and listen to, and watch) th=
e press coverage that we've generated, and as I hear descriptions of the rea=
ctions of Senators' staff, I know that through our meetings and our petition=
, we've made a lasting and positive impact. <BR>
<BR>
But the reports speak for themselves: <BR>
<BR>
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