26 organizations tell the Senate to end the war
The Obama administration is in the midst of deciding how many troops with leave Afghanistan starting in July. President Obama has reiterated his pledge to begin withdrawal in July, and recently assured the public that it will not be a “token gesture.”
The Pentagon seems to have a different idea. The Washington Post reported that the military leadership is preparing options that range from a withdrawal of almost no troops to a maximum of 5,000, far below the 30,000 the president added when he made the withdrawal pledge in 2009. One official told the reporter, “Our hope is that we’ll be able to get away with no combat troops getting pulled out this summer.”
That’s why this is a critical time for members of Congress to step up and push the administration for a significant withdrawal in July that sets us on a path toward ending this near ten-year-old war. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced a bill that puts the Senate on the record supporting the July withdrawal and requires the president to develop an exit strategy with a clear end date. Eighteen senators voted last year for a similar amendment offered by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and we need to get that total up this time around. That’s why 26 organizations sent a letter to Senate staffers this week urging them to cosponsor the bill. You can read the letter below, and click here to send an email to your senators urging them to cosponsor.
On behalf of our supporters, we are writing to urge you to cosponsor S. 186, the Safe and Responsible Redeployment of United States Combat Forces from Afghanistan Act of 2011.
As the administration and military leadership debate the extent of the July troop drawdown, this is a critical time for senators to weigh in. S. 186 puts the Senate on the record supporting the beginning of troop withdrawal in July and exerts oversight by requiring a clear end date for the nearly ten-year-old war.
You can view the text of the legislation below.
We strongly encourage you to cosponsor S. 186. To cosponsor, please contact Sen. Boxer’s office.
Matthew P. Hoh
Director
Afghanistan Study GroupRobert Greenwald
Director
Brave New Foundation/Rethink AfghanistanWilliam C. Goodfellow
Executive Director
Center for International PolicyJodie Evans
Co-Founder
CODEPINKMichael Kieschnick
Chief Executive Officer
CREDOMark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of ReconciliationJonathan W. Evans
Legislative Representative for Foreign Policy
Friends Committee on National LegislationCarleen Pickard
Associate Director
Global ExchangeRobert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign PolicyMarie Dennis
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global ConcernsSimone Campbell, SSS
Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice LobbyDavid Robinson
Executive Director
Pax Christi USAPaul Kawika Martin
Policy & Political Director
Peace ActionRebecca Griffin
Political Director
Peace Action WestTom Hayden
Peace and Justice Resource CenterPeter Wilk, M.D.
Executive Director
Physicians for Social ResponsibilityTim Carpenter
Director
Progressive Democrats of AmericaAndrea LeBlanc
Board Member
September 11th Families for Peaceful TomorrowsJean Stokan
Director
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice TeamLisa Schirch
Director
3D Security InitiativeJames E. Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society
The United Methodist ChurchRusti Eisenberg & Gael Murphy
Co-Conveners Legislative Working Group
United for Peace and JusticeCassandra McKee
Program Director
USActionMichael Eisenscher
National Coordinator
US Labor Against the WarHon. Thomas Andrews
National Director
Win Without WarSusan Shaer
Executive Director
Women’s Action for New Directions
Telling the children who run the Senate to stop the war is like thumb-twiddling. You need to tell the controllers of the Senate, the people who make money by waging war. Bet you don’t even know who they are.