Peace Fresno Demonstration Held at Rep. Costa’s Office

[annm4peace]

Peace Fresno Demonstration Held at Rep. Costa’s Office
By Mike Rhodes

Peace Fresno held a demonstration in front of Democratic Congressman Jim Costa’s office today. They want him to join with other Democrats and stop funding the war & occupation in Iraq. In a letter delivered to Costa’s office today, Peace Fresno president Bill Simon wrote, “the 262 active members of Peace Fresno and the 911 friends of Peace Fresno, many of them your constituents, demand that you vote against any further funding for the Iraq occupation so that, as a nation, we may begin the process of restorative justice.”

This was the second day of demonstrations that are being held at Congressman Costa’s office this month. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), MoveOn.org, Codepink, and Peace Fresno have announced that they will be working together to pressure Democratic Representative Costa to vote NO on the September war funding bill which would continue the occupation of Iraq. Each group has taken one day a week to picket in front of Costa's office to demand an end to the war/occupation.

Near the end of today’s vigil, Chris Rosander the District Director in Costa’s Fresno office released a statement from the Congressman about the war. Bill Simon read the statement to the anti-war activists. Costa’s statement said “Today, Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) released the following statement regarding yesterday’s House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services joint committee hearing retarding Iraq.

Yesterday’s hearing with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker was a good update for my colleagues and me on Iraq.

But it left many things unanswered. I have submitted questions to both of them regarding a new course now that we have lost the majority support of the American public and much of the world community is troubled by our presence there.

I am concerned that we heard nothing yesterday of an exit strategy – an issue we in Congress are wrestling with on a bipartisan basis.

We need a clear plan, rather than a continued wait-and-see approach. This plan should include redeployment and a stronger diplomatic effort with all factions within Iraq, as well as Iraq’s neighbors to help foster reconciliation in the Middle East.

My staff and I meet regularly with individuals and groups – especially on issues as emotional as the Middle East.

Some people I talk to want to pretend we never went to Iraq. Others are equally convinced that we should never leave.

As for me, I have spent considerable time in that region. And I have seen first hand what a mess the Administration has made there.


While I believe that the next administration will ultimately have to fix the problem, I am committed to finding positive bi-partisan options as soon as possible.

But as we work toward a solution, we cannot forget the realities of the entire region. We cannot forget our obligations to our country, to our troops and to the innocent victims of the war who live there.

I will continue to keep an open mind and continue to listen to all points of view as situations and conditions change.” End of Costa’s statement.

MoveOn.org is coordinating the demonstration on Thursday. Nancy Griesser, one of the main coordinators of MoveOn.org in Fresno, wrote “for the next three weeks, until the next vote on war funding is cast, a coalition of local groups will be picketing Rep. Jim Costa's office (855 M St.) downtown on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, during the noon hour (12:00 to 1:00 pm). WILPF is responsible for Tuesdays, Peace Fresno is doing Wednesdays, and a group of us from MoveOn.org have volunteered to be there on Thursdays. People are encouraged to come on any of those days that work for them. We'll carry signs and hand out Congressional contact information to passers by. The focus is on Costa because he is a Democrat who continues to support funding for the war. If you are interested in participating, please let me know either by calling [phone] or emailing me at nancyg csufresno.edu . It is especially important for us to enlist people who live in Costa's district for this action so please be sure to let us know if you are a Costa constituent or if you are a veteran.”

For earlier coverage about how peace groups in Fresno have united in a strategic effort to target Democratic Representative Jim Costa to stop funding the war & occupation in Iraq, see: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/10/18446654.php and http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/11/18447029.php

Here is the complete text of the letter Peace Fresno presented to representatives at Jim Costa’s office today:

Rep Jim Costa
855 M St
Fresno, CA

Representative Costa:

On September 10, General Petraeus told Congress that we can succeed in Iraq if we just stay longer. Others argue that we should stay in or leave Iraq depending on how they think the war is going.

These arguments miss the point. The US has by far the largest military budget in the world, the largest military force in the world, and the largest stockpile of both conventional and nuclear weapons in the world. If we wanted to wipe Iraq or any other nation off the face of the earth next week, we could do it

No, the point has always been that this has never been a war between two armies. Time has made it clear that the only reasons to invade and occupy Iraq are to pass the Iraq Oil Sharing Bill and to force our version of capitalist government on another nation. This invasion and occupation has been immoral, unjust, and illegal since its inception.

We were wrong to invade Iraq. If we were wrong four years ago, we are still wrong today. Consequently, as a country we will perhaps never again be able to reclaim the moral high road.

The 262 active members of Peace Fresno and the 911 friends of Peace Fresno, many of them your constituents, demand that you vote against any further funding for the Iraq occupation so that, as a nation, we may begin the process of restorative justice.

Peace,

Bill Simon
President, Peace Fresno


Thank you Progressives in Fresno by keeping the pressure on !!!!!
:yourock: :grouphug: