U.S. commander says no military solution to Iraq

 In Congress, Iraq, Peace, War

The newest Commander of troops in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, noted the need for a political, rather than a military, solution to Iraq today.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell Said the U.S. is losing in Iraq and has made a call for drawdown by mid-2007

At the same time, politics are making an end to the conflict all but impossible. Congress is fraught with both whining and nail-biting indecision, unwilling to expose themselves to any responsibility for Iraq if any change were to make things worse; apparently it’s ok to continue for years down a horrible trajectory as long as you can frame yourself as not being responsible – then you can win in 2008 and continue to not do anything. The House Democrats are in the midst of an existential crisis, but anti-war legislators came out with their demands to end the disaster – calling on their fellow members of Congress to stand up and join them.

Let’s hope the rest of Congress is listening. It’s been 4 years too many already.

-Randy Wilson

Student Peace Action Network Coordinator

P.S. Happy International Women’s Day! Let’s celebrate by making the world safer [and more peaceful], not only for women but everyone.

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  • RONALD L. WALDRON
    Reply

    NATIONAL DEBT: on January 29: $8,686,542,446,617.56

    ON March 6:
    Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
    National Debt – $9 Trillion – Quickly Approaching $50 Trillion
    The official national debt figure, now approaching $9 trillion, reflects only what the federal government owes in current debts on money already borrowed. It does not reflect what the federal government has promised to pay millions of Americans in entitlement benefits down the road. Those future obligations put our real debt figure at roughly fifty trillion dollars- a staggering sum that is about as large as the total household net worth of the entire United States. Your share of this fifty trillion amounts to about $175,000.

    The special-interest industry in Washington has only grown since the last election, and it will spend more money than ever this time to try to own our political process and dictate our policies in Washington.
    Little federal aid for states
    White House, pushing tax cuts, says red ink may shrink state government
    The president made it clear last week that states will have to find their way out of their problems without much federal aid, as he pursues federal tax cuts that he said will stimulate economic growth.

    “Listen, I’m sorry that states are in deficit, obviously,” Bush said, in a transcript released by the National Journal. “Some states are raising taxes, some states are cutting expenditures. They are all meeting their deficits in different ways, but nevertheless, it is incumbent on the federal government to think in terms of how to enhance revenues.”

    Total federal aid to states and local govenments in fiscal year 2004 was $408.1 billion

    Now aid has been drastically reduced including
    Health and Welfare to all States.

    U.S. Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact
    Total Cost to U.S. Taxpayers
    $134,791,507,200

    Total Taxpayer Cost per Israeli
    $23,240

    Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world’s population and already has one of the world’s higher per capita incomes. No cuts have ever been discussed.

    Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.

    Given Israel’s relative prosperity, U.S. aid to Israel is becoming increasingly controversial. “Their economic situation is better than in many of our States, how can they go on asking for our charity?”
    Besides asking our young people to die
    for their benefit.

    This means that U.S. government has given more federal aid to the average Israeli citizen in any given year than it has given to the average American citizen.

    We are angry when we see Israeli settlers from Hebron destroy improvements made to Shuhada Street with our tax money. Also, it angers us that our government is giving over $10 billion to a country that is more prosperous than most of the other countries in the world and uses much of its money for strengthening its military and the oppression of the Palestinian people.
    They have no respect for others in this world, never have had.

    Most all U.S. aid to Israel took place after the June 1967 war, when Israel found itself more powerful than any combination of Arab armies…Yet it is our troops dying,
    not theirs from their cooked up intelligence.

    The Aerospace Industry Association which promotes these massive arms shipments…is even more influential,
    or as influencial as AIPAC. Then comes
    the investments into such by the Tax
    free Neo-cons, and their influence.Its force on Capitol Hill, in terms of lobbying, surpasses that of AIPAC at times.

    The results” of the short-term thinking behind U.S. policy “are tragic,” not just for the “immediate victims” but “eventually Israel itself” and “American interests in the region.” The U.S. is sending enormous amounts of aid to the Middle East, and yet we are less secure than ever-both in terms of U.S. interests abroad and for individual Americans. Referring to the growing and increasing hostility the average Arab now has toward the United States. In the long term, peace and stability and cooperation with the vast Arab world is far more important for U.S. interests than this alliance with Israel.
    This is not only an issue for those who are working for Palestinian rights, but it also jeopardizes the entire agenda of those of us concerned about human rights, concerned about arms control, concerned about international law.

    The complete total of U.S. grants and loan guarantees to Israel for a fiscal year is $5,525,800,000. Sometimes +++.

    Israel, whose troubles arise solely from its unwillingness to give back land it seized in the 1967 war in return for peace with its neighbors, does not fit any criteria for such aid.

    The lobby that Israel and its supporters have built in the United States to make all this aid happen, and to ban discussion of it from the national dialogue, goes far beyond AIPAC, with its $15 million budget, its 150 employees, and its five or six registered lobbyists who manage to visit every member of Congress individually once or twice a year.

    AIPAC, in turn, can draw upon the resources of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, a roof group set up solely to coordinate the efforts of some 52 national Jewish organizations on behalf of Israel.

    ADL, it was shown, had added the illegally prepared and illegally obtained material to its own secret files, compiled by planting informants among Arab-American, African-American, anti-Apartheid and peace and justice groups.

    The ADL infiltrators took notes of the names and remarks of speakers and members of audiences at programs organized by such groups. ADL agents even recorded the license plates of persons attending such programs and then suborned corrupt motor vehicles department employees or renegade police officers to identify the owners.

    To date some 126 pro-Israel PACs have been registered, and no fewer than 50 have been active in every national election over the past generation.

    There is something else very special about AIPAC’s network of political action committees. Nearly all have deceptive names. Who could possibly know that the Delaware Valley Good Government Association in Philadelphia, San Franciscans for Good Government in California, Cactus PAC in Arizona, Beaver PAC in Wisconsin, and even Icepac in New York are really pro-Israel PACs under deep cover?

    As a result, all but a handful of the 535 members of the Senate and House vote as AIPAC instructs when it comes to aid to Israel, or other aspects of U.S. Middle East policy. Will we attack Iran, certainly,if they give the order.

    There is something else very special about AIPAC’s network of political action committees. Nearly all have deceptive names. Who could possibly know that the Delaware Valley Good Government Association in Philadelphia, San Franciscans for Good Government in California, Cactus PAC in Arizona, Beaver PAC in Wisconsin, and even Icepac in New York are really pro-Israel PACs under deep cover?

    According to the Population Reference Bureau of Washington, DC, the sub-Saharan countries has a combined population of 568 million. The foreign aid they have received by amounts to $42.99 per sub-Saharan African.

    Similarly, with a combined population of 486 million, all of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean together has received amounts to $79 per person.

    A question that will never occur to the American public because, so long as America’s mainstream media, Congress and president maintain their pact of silence, few Americans will ever know the true cost of Israel to U.S. taxpayers.

    There is immense political and military costs to the U.S. for its consistent support of Israel during Israel’s half-century of disputes with the Palestinians and all of its Arab neighbors.

    Time to cut all Foreign Aid, until our own people are
    taken care of, and our deficits & Debts are paid.

    DISABLIED VETERANS:(Is Our Military supported ??)

    The budget shortfalls have left the administrators shorthanded, but there’s no excuse for not having checks for the disabled veterans, and we’re going to get it corrected.
    Totaling more than 400,000. In some cases, while their claims work their way through the bureaucracy, the veterans are dying.
    The Army denies intentionally pushing wounded soldiers off the military rolls.
    The Army is systematically and deliberately underrating injured veterans’ conditions to hold down costs
    I hope America listened to Bob Woodruff Tuesday
    night. A claim of 21,000 injuried, when it is known
    to be over 205,000.
    Civilian casualties: claims 40,000 to maybe 100,000, when in fact it is known to be over 670,000 dead..
    VA estimates that there are more than 250,000 homeless veterans in the Nation, or one-third of the adult homeless population.
    Instead of providing adequate funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system, the budget proposes to shift the cost burden onto the backs of veterans, making health care more expensive and even less accessible for millions of America’s defenders.
    As called for in the President’s budget, total VA funding for the next fiscal year would increase about 1 percent, from the current $67.5 billion to $68.2 billion. More than half of the budget would go for mandatory programs such as disability compensation and pensions. Medical care for veterans would rise from $27.7 billion $27.8 billion with the bulk of that so-called increase coming almost entirely out of veterans’ pockets.

    The 1.2 million member disablied American Veterans across the country feel the inadequate appropriation.

    Yet our foreign aid package to Israel: US congress has annually been approving a foreign aid bill totaling an average of $3 billion to Israel, $1.2 billion in economical aid, and $1.8 billion in military aid.

    US has additionally been offering Israel $2 billion annually in federal loan guarantees, which brings the total US foreign aid to Israel to about $5 billion, or $13.7 million per day. This amount excludes the approximate $1.5 billion in total tax-deductible private donations from numerous Jewish charities and individual donors. All in all, this is the largest amount of foreign aid given to a country, and constitutes 30% of the total amount of US foreign aid budget.

    CUT AND RUN FROM AIPAC, ISRAEL, MOSSAD
    AND THEIR ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATE.
    For Peace in the Middle East,
    Stop AIPAC!
    The Annexation Wall surrounds the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. The wall deprives its 12,000 residents of their basic needs to work, to receive proper medical care, and to harvest their own land. AIPAC heavily lobbied Congress to support the Wall.

    AIPAC had played a key role in fomenting support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It is playing an even greater role in supporting a future military strike against the people of Iran.

    AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, describes itself as the most important organization affecting the U.S. relationship with Israel. With a budget of $65 million, and membership now standing at over 100,000, it is no wonder that congressional staffers consider it one of the most powerful and effective lobbies on Capitol Hill.

    Once a year, AIPAC holds its annual conference in Washington DC. This May it was attended by over 5,000 participants. Its annual policy conference is one of Washington’s largest gatherings of lawmakers, topped only by the President’s State of the Union address. Guests this year included two-thirds of the House, half the Senate, and Vice President Richard Cheney.

    Only rarely is a critical word uttered among politicians regarding AIPAC and its associates that support unjust and aggressive (and disastrous) U.S. policies toward the peoples of the Middle East. We aim to change that.

    For too long, policies that support Israeli militarism and occupation have gone unchallenged. Political voices raising even minor disagreements with prevailing policies are silenced or subject to campaigns of intimidation. We must open the door to full debate regarding U.S. relationship with Israel and U.S. policy with other countries in the region.
    Demand a complete investigation of AIPAC, and

    that they be forced to register as a foreign agent, and pay taxes as they should. +++

    The following statement is exactly what is wrong
    with our government today.

    Where will your congressman, Senator, Governor,
    or any other represenative of AMERICAS government
    be.

    I am out of the office from March 7 through March 13th at the AIPAC Policy Conference.

    Then they will swear to you . that they work for
    Americans, not special interest, for foreign
    agency or representatives.

    We want a list of all members that attend, so we
    will know who not to vote for in any and all future
    elections.

    We no longer will put up with, foreign policy, speeches , bills written, by and for
    Israel, by AIPAC. We elected, pay and expect
    moral values, ethics, integrity, and honesty
    for America. We pay taxes for our interest not
    the evil regime.

    That has been and is the major down fall of our
    government.

    The pro-Israel lobby does most of its work without publicity. But every member of Congress and every would-be candidate for Congress comes to quickly understand a basic lesson. Money needed to run for office can come with great ease from supporters of Israel, provided that the candidate makes certain promises, in writing, to vote favorably on issues considered important to Israel. What drives much of congressional support for Israel is fear – fear that the pro-Israel lobby will either withhold campaign contributions or give money to one’s opponent.

    CHRISTIAN MORAL VALUES VS: RELIGIOUS ZIONIST HYPOCRISY
    GOOD VS: EVIL

    Hypocrisy is the act of pretending or claiming to have beliefs, feelings, morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practice. THE REPUBLICAN ZIONIST MOVEMENT.

    CAN/WILL ANY REPUBLICAN EVER WIN AGAIN ??

    AIPAC, ISRAEL, & MOSSAD HAVE COMPLETELY
    DESTROYED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, AND
    AMERICA’S STATUS IN THE WORLD !!

    BE AMERICAN FIRST——FIGHT FOR AMERICA NOW:
    The next few weeks are critical—Congress has the power to stop the war, but some representatives are afraid to use it. As Congress meets and debates, we need to remind them that bringing our troops home safely is what they were elected to do.

    Voters elected Democrats in November to end the war. Now they have to step up and do it.

  • RONALD L. WALDRON
    Reply

    On Saturday, March 17, March on the Pentagon for Peace and Impeachment
    Make plans now to join veterans, military families, and responsible citizens (otherwise known as impeachment advocates) in a nonviolent march for peace and impeachment, beginning at the Vietnam War Memorial and ending at the Pentagon.
    The Pentagon March will step off at 12:30 p.m. at the Vietnam War Memorial (23rd Street and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.) Please be there by noon at the latest!

    Register your group to march with the impeachment contingent:
    http://tinyurl.com/2jlfyu

    At the assembly site, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:30, there will be a pre-march People’s Assembly. Contingents and organizations will be providing information displays and literature tables. We will be joined by the famous Bread and Puppet Theater. There will be children’s activities, including sign-making for the march, where our children can also pick up anti-war balloons. There will be a large Impeach Bush tent with impeachment materials and a place for impeachment advocates from around the country to gather. We are encouraging every impeachment organization to register their organization to march with the impeachment contingent, so we can publicize the groups making up the Impeachment Contingent. You can do this by clicking on this link for the contingent form:
    http://tinyurl.com/2jlfyu

    Be sure to note that you want to march with the impeachment contingent when filling out your form, in addition to identifying your own organization/group. You don’t need to be part of a contingent to march, but many groups want to form contingents to have a unified identity in the demonstration.

    Tell the Media About the March

    Every day this week, between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. ET, please phone the Washington Journal show on C-Span and express your views about peace, impeachment, and the need to join the march on Saturday. In particular, at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 12, please phone and ask the scheduled guest if he will introduce Articles of Impeachment. The guest, Congressman Ron Paul, is the only member of Congress who has said Bush should be impeached. Yet, he has done nothing about it. Invite him to join the march!

    Tell Congress No More Money for War

    Please call 202-224-3121 today and ask for your congress member’s office. Or find their number at http://www.democrats.com/congress

    Ask them to make sure there is a floor vote on Barbara Lee’s amendment to the Supplemental spending bill, and to vote YES. This is an amendment to require that all Iraq war funding be spent on a safe withdrawal by the end of this year.

    Ask them to commit to voting NO on the Supplemental unless Lee’s amendment passes.

    Another $93 billion for the Iraq War is not what we elected a Democratic majority to do. The smaller items added to the bill (care for veterans, Katrina victims, farmers, etc.) all can and should be passed separately and cannot justify a vote to fund the war.

    Terrific New Impeachment Video

    On March 9, a church basement in Washington, D.C., filled up with people eager to discuss and debate impeachment. Four speakers began the discussion with brief remarks: 27 year veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern, founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity; David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and former staffer for Dennis Kucinich’s presidential campaign; Dave Lindorff, author of “The Case for Impeachment”; and John Judge, former staffer of Rep. Cynthia McKinney who helped draft articles of impeachment legislation. Pete Perry of the Washington Peace Center hosted and moderated. The video is broken into three parts:

    Progressive blogs have paid far too little attention to peace and impeachment activism, including marches. When you visit your favorite blogs, post a diary or simply comment about the importance of joining with large numbers of activists to take political action in the streets, not just blogging and hoping for change.

    C-Span’s Washington Journal deserves extra attention. Every day this week, between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. ET, please phone and express your views about peace, impeachment, and the need to join the march on Saturday. In particular, at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 12, please phone and ask the scheduled guest if he will introduce Articles of Impeachment. The guest, Congressman Ron Paul, is the only member of Congress who has said Bush should be impeached. Yet, he has done nothing about it. Invite him to join the march!

    Watch the show at http://www.c-span.org

    Phone the appropriate number for you:
    Support Democrats: (202) 737-0002
    Support Republicans: (202) 737-0001
    Support Independents: (202) 628-0205
    Outside U.S.: (202) 628-0184
    Email: journal@c-span.org

    More ways to be a media activist for impeachment:
    http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

  • RONALD L. WALDRON
    Reply

    PROTEST:

    Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews Protest
    The state of “Israel” is not the true Jewish nation

    Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews Protest Annual AIPAC Convention

    WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is a
    statement of Neturei Karta International:
    We gather here today to express the opinion of anti-Zionists Orthodox
    Jews worldwide in regard to current world events and especially in regard
    to the annual AIPAC Convention taking place in Washington, DC.
    There is an important fundamental message which needs to be brought to
    the attention oh the world, a crucial and fundamental issue. The world
    needs to know that the philosophy of Zionism is not based on traditional
    Judaism, that the state of “Israel” is not the true Jewish nation and in no
    way does it represent the Torah-based Judaism or the basic tenants of the
    Jewish faith.
    Furthermore, all that emanates from Zionism and everything that Zionism
    has generated since its inception until today has nothing to do with the
    true Jewish nation.
    All wars and all suffering which came about through Zionism and the
    state of “Israel”, including the brutal seizure of the land and
    possessions, of the Palestinian people, are painful to the Jewish nation,
    which finds it shameful that these acts of brutality are committed in the
    name of “Israel” and Judaism.
    Zionism has damaged the Jewish nation more than any other apostasies,
    because it uprooted the true Jewish faith, by replacing Torah, with a
    secular nationalism.
    The Torah teaches, that the Jewish people must remain loyal to
    whichever country in where they reside. They are not to dictate foreign
    policy. Jews traditionally lived in peaceful loyalty throughout the world,
    and did not revolt against their host countries.
    Since the birth and creation of the Zionist philosophy, anguish and
    misery have increased, because Zionism transformed Godliness into
    materialism and domination.
    The hundreds of thousands of true Torah Jews throughout the world
    remain loyal to this tradition. They don’t have any part in the Zionist
    provocations against anyone, but live in peace and harmony with all nations
    throughout the world.
    We pray for the day when the glory of the Almighty will be revealed
    throughout the world, when the entire creation will, together in
    brotherhood, serve the One God. Amen.
    Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews will protest against the annual AIPAC
    convention outside the Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, on
    Monday March 12, 2007 at 6:30pm.
    For more information, please contact
    Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss at 914-262-8342

    Neturei Karta International – http://www.nkusa.org

    Torah Forbids Jews Dictating Foreign Policies – Stop AIPAC

    SOURCE Neturei Karta International

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