Grass-Roots Group of Troops Petitions Congress for Pullout From Iraq

[ProSense]

Grass-Roots Group of Troops Petitions Congress for Pullout From Iraq

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 25, 2006; Page A13

More than 100 U.S. service members have signed a rare appeal urging Congress to support the "prompt withdrawal" of all American troops and bases from Iraq, organizers said yesterday.

"Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home," reads the statement of a small, grass-roots group of active-duty military personnel and reservists that says it aims to give U.S. military members a voice in Iraq war policy.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of American military forces and bases from Iraq," it reads. The group, which aims to collect 2,000 signatures and deliver the message to Congress in January, is sponsored by antiwar activists including Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out.

The unusual appeal -- the first of its kind in the Iraq war, organizers say -- makes use of a legal protection afforded by the Military Whistle-Blower Protection Act, which provides that members of the military, acting in their capacity as citizens, can send a protected communication to Congress without reprisal.

Snip...

But the service members can exercise this right only while off duty and out of uniform, and they must otherwise make clear they are not speaking for the military. In addition, they cannot say anything disrespectful of their commanders, including the president, McNeil said.

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[Monkeyman]

1. Hell ya

[Tom Joad]

2. When dems takeover will they tell these troops that they have a plan

to withdraw the troops within a few years? Or will they tell the troops were stopping this insane, illegal war?

[ProSense]

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