NO ESCALATION IN AFGHANISTAN!
Call President Obama TODAY! 202-456-1111
Join or plan a demonstration Tuesday or Wednesday!
President Obama will unveil his new Afghanistan policy tomorrow. But we must not let up! Last week, we flooded the White House with so many calls that the White House Comment Line was continually busy! Now is the time to keep the pressure on and keep the calls coming.
Call the White House today at 202-456-1111.
Tell President Obama to send NO additional troops to Afghanistan, WITHDRAW the troops already there, begin serious DIPLOMACY with all parties to the conflict, and REDIRECT the money wasted on the Afghanistan war to people's urgent needs at home.
UFPJ member groups are already planning protests either Tuesday evening or Wednesday at Federal buildings or other public places.
or organize one if none has been planned and post it here.
Be sure to notify the press using this sample press release.
We oppose the war because:
• 298 U.S. soldiers lost their lives so far in 2009.
Tens of thousands of returning troops are damaged by physical injury, PTSD, psychological damage, suicides, and domestic violence. There is a backlog of up to 1 year for veterans waiting for VA care.
• The war is unaffordable. The White House says we are paying $1 million a year for each soldier sent to Afghanistan. At that price, the war will soon cost $100 billion a year. Yet Congress is not willing to pay that kind of money for health care, jobs, housing, or environmental protection.
• The war is making conditions worse for the Afghan people. UNICEF reported last week that eight years after the start of U.S. military occupation of that country, Afghanistan is the world's worst place to be born. Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world -- 257 deaths per 1,000 live births - and 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water. Afghanistan ranked 181st out of 182 countries in the UN's human development index for 2009. The presence of U.S. troops breeds resistance, conflict, and instability.
• The war is not helping Afghan women, whose conditions are as bad as ever. The government turns a blind eye to rape and violence against women. Civilian casualties, who are primarily women and children, are rising each year as the violence increases.
• In addition to being wrong, the war is also unwinnable. As U.S. troop levels have grown from 15,000 in 2004 to 68,000 now, more and more Afghans have joined the Taliban and resistance groups to defend against foreign invaders. Yet The Nation reported this week that the U.S. military cannot even protect the trucks which bring gasoline and other supplies to outlying U.S. bases, and that contractors are paying protection of $800 to $1500 per truck to the Taliban.
• War funding is feeding corruption, private armies, and the drug trade. The more money the U.S. and NATO pour into Afghanistan, the greater the rake-offs and corruption among U.S. contractors and the U.S.-supported Afghan government. President Karzai's re-election was confirmed even though his supporters had stuffed boxes with more than one million fake ballots. Five ministers in Karzai's cabinet have been given immunity from prosecution for corruption.
Call the White House today at 202-456-1111.
Be out in the streets if the President does order an escalation of troop levels.
Let Americans know that we will not be silent and we will keep opposing this needless, senseless war for as long as it takes.
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
212-868-5545
PO Box 607;
Times Square Station;
New York, NY 10108
