Afghanistan - A Petition to Take Action Against the War
Published by Tom Hayden on Sep 03, 2009
Background (Preamble):
An escalation of troops to Afghanistan is pending.
Petition:
We, the undersigned peace and justice leaders, believe that the American
military interventions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq are deepening
quagmires that threaten a Long War without end.
At the current rate of American deaths in Afghanistan, over 1,000 additional
American soldiers will be killed in the next two years of ³hard fighting²
predicted by the Pentagon as the next phase of a ten year occupation.
Another $130 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq now is being rushed through a
sleeping Congress. An escalation of even more troops is pending.
Now is the time for an exit strategy to end these wars. The government of
warlords, drug lords, and landlords we prop up in Kabul is losing more
legitimacy by the day. A majority of Americans including 70 percent from
the majority party now consider Afghanistan a mistake. Leading national
security experts even deny that it¹s a necessary war.
If we do not decide to disengage at once, our dreams of domestic reform will
be squandered by years of war budgets. Our dreams of clean energy will be
buried in wars over oil and pipelines. The global good will extended to our
new President will be jeopardized.
We understand how difficult it is to reverse a mistaken course. But that is
the leadership we need, not one that continually escalates in order not to
lose. We have been there.
- Our government should adopt an exit strategy from Afghanistan based on
all-party talks, regional diplomacy, unconditional humanitarian aid, and
timelines for the near-term withdrawal of American and NATO combat troops.
- The aerial bombardments of Afghan and Pakistan villages, like burning down
haystacks to find terrorist needles, should end.
- Military spending should be reversed in Afghanistan to focus on food,
medicine, shelter, the socio-economic needs of the poor, and the dignity of
women and children.
- President Obama should keep his pledge to withdraw all troops from Iraq by
2011, and prevent American interference in the forthcoming Iraqi elections.
- The President should oppose any Israeli attack on Iran, which will only
inflame the regional and global conflict.
Much as we were inspired by Barack Obama¹s election, we will not be taken
for granted by the President and the Congressional majority. The historic
victories in 2006 and 2008 were fueled by popular enthusiasm and
unprecedented voter turnouts that cannot be reignited by e-mail
solicitations. A growing disenchantment with a costly quagmire will threaten
all the hopes of 2008.
Everything is related now: we cannot afford national health care, housing,
and clean energy while spending billions on quagmires across several
continents.
We are prepared to create a storm of protest in Congressional districts and
close Senate races. We will form alliances with all those whose hope for
health, energy and economic reform are diminished by these wars. We will
defend dissent in the armed forces and protect our children from the snares
of military recruiters. We will reach out to strengthen a global peace
movement, especially in NATO countries.
History shows that terrorist threats can come from German cities, African
villages, and even homegrown American cells, not simply the caves of
Pakistan.
Our security needs cannot be served by provoking the growing hatred of
America caused by repeated invasions of foreign lands. We are human beings
who refuse to be defined in the world as mindless military drones and
Predators.
TOM HAYDEN
ARIEL DORFMAN, Author, Duke University
RABBI STEVEN B. JACOBS, Progressive Faith Foundation
REV. GEORGE REGAS, pastor emeritus, All-Saints Episcopal Church
REV. ED BACON, Pastor, All-Saints Episcopal Church
REV. PETER LAARMAN, Progressive Christians United
DR. NAZIR KHAJA, President, Islamic Information Service
REV. JOHN B. COBB, Claremont Theology School
REV. GEORGE HUNSINGER, Princeton Theology Seminary
REV. JAMES CONN, Director, New Ministries, United Methodist Church
RABBI HAIM DOV BELIAK, Hamifgash
REV. JANET EOLLERY MCKEITHEN, Westside Interfaith Coalition
STEPHEN ROHDE, president, Inter-faith Communities for Peace and Justice, Los
Angeles
SENATOR JOHN BURTON, chairman, California Democratic Party
KAREN BERNAL, chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
DANIEL ELLSBERG
SUSIE SHANNON, Executive Board Member, California Democratic Party
RAY MCGOVERN, CIA
PAUL HAGGIS, film director
SONALI KOHATKAR, Co-director, Afghan Women's Mission
MICHAEL RATNER, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
JODIE EVANS, co-founder, CODE PINK
CODE PINK
LESLIE CAGAN, co-founder, United for Peace and Justice
RUSTI EISENBERG, United for Peace and Justice
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
KEVIN MARTIN, PEACE ACTION, Washington
MICHAEL MCPHEARSON, Veterans for Peace
ROBERT NAIMAN, policy director, JUST FOREIGN POLICY
STAUGHTON LYND, historian
VAN GOSSE, co-founder, Historians Against the War
MARC BECKER, co-chair, Historians Against the War
MICHAEL ALBERT, Znet
BILL FLETCHER, Jr., executive director, Black Commentator, co-founder
Progressives for Obama
CARL DAVIDSON, webmaster, PROGRESSIVES FOR OBAMA
RICHARD FALK, professor, Princeton University, United Nations rapporteur
LEONARD WEINGLASS, human rights attorney
MATTHEW EVANGELISTA, chair, Department of Government, Cornell University
STANLEY ARONOWITZ, graduate center, City University of New York
JOE FEAGAN, professor, Texas A&M University
ROBERT GREENWALD, Brave New Films
GAEL MURPHY, Code Pink, Washington
TIM CARPENTER, Progressive Democrats of America
NORMAN BIRNBAUM
DAVID FENTON
LEONARD WEINGLASS, human rights attorney
http://gopetition.com/online/30533.html
Re-posted in full with permission
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
