SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
May, 14 2009, 02:28pm EDT
Contact:
Paul Kawika Martin, Political Director, 301.565.4050 x 316, 951.217.7285 cell,
pmartin@peace-action.org
Peace Action Applauds McGovern's Afghanistan Exit Strategy Bill
Peace Action, the nation's largest peace organization, lauded the
introduction of H.R. 2404 by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-3), which asks
President Obama to provide an exit strategy for U.S. military forces in
Afghanistan by the end of the year. With the House hours away from
voting on another $83 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
McGovern introduced his legislation while speaking out on the House
floor about why he was voting against more war funding.
Paul Kawika Martin, the group's political director, stated:
WASHINGTON
Peace Action, the nation's largest peace organization, lauded the
introduction of H.R. 2404 by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-3), which asks
President Obama to provide an exit strategy for U.S. military forces in
Afghanistan by the end of the year. With the House hours away from
voting on another $83 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
McGovern introduced his legislation while speaking out on the House
floor about why he was voting against more war funding.
Paul Kawika Martin, the group's political director, stated:
"In a very short-time Peace Action and a large coalition of NGOs worked
with Rep. McGovern and the Congressional Progressive Caucus to garner
over 70 original cosponsors to H.R. 2404 asking for an exit strategy
for the war in Afghanistan. This represents concerns by constituents
with the U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
"Peace Action wished the Democratic leadership would have allowed the
bipartisan bill to be offered as an amendment or adopted into the
supplemental.
"The peace movement and others continue to call on Members of Congress
to vote 'no' on the supplemental and stop funding the occupations of
Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We call for an immediate halt in air and Predator drone strikes that
kill, injure and traumatize innocent civilians and drive people to the
Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Instead, the U.S. and international community
should increase funding for Afghan-led humanitarian aid, development
work, and landmine clean up while supporting regional diplomacy.
McGovern's bill is an opportunity for the congress to begin having
these discussions."
More information about the bill at
https://peaceblog.wordpress.com
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
LATEST NEWS
Family of US Activist Killed by IDF Pushes Biden to Order 'Independent Investigation'
"We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," said the family of Aysenur Eygi.
Sep 09, 2024
The family of the U.S. citizen killed by Israeli forces in the illegally occupied West Bank last week issued a statement over the weekend demanding that the Biden administration order an "independent investigation," arguing a probe by Israel's military would not be enough to establish the facts and pursue justice.
The statement from Aysenur Eygi's family was posted to Instagram on Saturday by a friend of Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish American citizen who was volunteering for the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers shot Eygi in the head during a protest against the expansion of unlawful Israeli settlements near the West Bank city of Nablus.
"Like the olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths, Aysenur was strong, beautiful, and nourishing. Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," the family's statement reads. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter."
"We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," the statement continued. "We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in the wake of Eygi's killing, which sparked global outrage, that "we are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen" and "have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident." The U.S. is Israel's chief diplomatic ally and arms supplier.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), for its part, claimed that soldiers "responded with fire" in the direction of "a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them." The IDF said it is "looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area."
But one eyewitness who was present when Eygi was killed told reporters that "it was quiet" when the deadly shot was fired, contradicting the IDF's account.
"There was nothing to justify the shot," said Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak. "The shot was taken to kill."
Longtime Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack describes the “intentional killing” of American Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank:
“It was quiet. There was nothing to justify the shot. The shot was taken to kill.” pic.twitter.com/2eTOYDEqpI
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 6, 2024
Ghassan Daghlas, the governor of Nablus, toldCNN on Saturday that an autopsy conducted at a nearby university "confirmed that Eygi was killed by an Israeli occupation sniper's bullet to her head."
Eygi was at least the third U.S. citizen killed by the IDF in the West Bank since the Israeli military launched its assault on the Gaza Strip following a deadly Hamas-led attack on October 7. The IDF is notorious for refusing to hold its soldiers accountable for massacring civilians, mostly Palestinians.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a statement Friday that "to date, the U.S. has not received satisfactory responses from the Netanyahu government about the two other Americans killed in the West Bank since October 7th, and the Biden administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf."
Van Hollen said he has "repeatedly raised these concerns" with top administration officials, including Blinken.
"The Biden administration must do more to hold the Netanyahu government accountable and use American influence to demand the prosecution of those responsible for harm against American citizens," the senator said Friday. "If the Netanyahu government will not pursue justice for Americans, the U.S. Department of Justice must."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Iran Condemns Deadly Israeli Bombing of Syria as 'Criminal Attack'
A spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry called on Israel's allies to "stop supporting and arming it."
Sep 09, 2024
The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes on central Syria late Sunday, reportedly killing more than a dozen people and prompting a furious response from Syrian ally Iran.
"We strongly condemn this criminal attack," Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference in Tehran.
Kanaani went on to urge Israel's weapons suppliers, chiefly the United States and Germany, to "stop supporting and arming it" as its catastrophic assault on the Gaza Strip spills out across the region. Nearly 40 people were wounded in Israel's strikes on Sunday, according to a Syrian health official, and several are in critical condition.
Citing two unnamed regional intelligence sources, Reutersreported early Monday that the Israeli strikes hit a "major military research center for chemical arms production located near Misyaf."
The facility, according to Reuters, "is believed to house a team of Iranian military experts involved in weapons production."
Kanaani denied that the facility hit was connected to Iran.
"What official sources from the Syrian government have announced is that there were attacks on some Syrian facilities, including an attack on a research center affiliated with the Ministry of Defense and the Syrian army," he said.
Civilians were reportedly among those killed and wounded in Sunday's strikes, which came as the world awaited Iran's expected military response to Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July.
Israeli forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes in Syria—including one targeting Iran's consulate in Damascus—since the Hamas-led October 7 attack, which prompted Israel's large-scale assault on Gaza.
Al Jazeerareported that Israeli forces continued to pummel the Palestinian enclave on Monday, bombing "al-Amoudi street in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City." The outlet noted that "at least 10 people have been killed today in attacks across the Gaza Strip."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Boeing Union Wins 25% Raise in Tentative Contract, But Possible Strike Still Looms
Unionized machinists are set to vote on the contract on Thursday.
Sep 08, 2024
A tentative deal made early Sunday morning between aerospace giant Boeing and the union that represents more than 33,000 of its workers was a testament to the "collective voice" of the employees, said the union's bargaining committee—but members signaled they may reject the offer and vote to strike.
The company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 reached an agreement that if approved by members in a scheduled Thursday vote, would narrowly avoid a strike that was widely expected just day ago, when Boeing and the bargaining committee were still far apart in talks over wages, health coverage, and other crucial issues for unionized workers.
The negotiations went on for six months and resulted on Sunday in an agreement on 25% general wage increases over the tentative contract's four years, a reduction in healthcare costs for workers, an increase in the amount Boeing would contribute to retirement plans, and a commitment to building the company's next aircraft in Washington state. The union had come to the table with a demand for a 40% raise over the life of the contract.
"Members will now have only one set of progression steps in a career, and vacation will be available for use as you earn it," negotiating team leaders Jon Holden and Brandon Bryant told members. "We were able to secure upgrades for certain job codes and improved overtime limits, and we now have a seat at the table regarding the safety and quality of the production system."
Jordan Zakarin of the pro-labor media organization More Perfect Union reported that feedback he'd received from members indicated "a strike may still be on the cards," and hundreds of members of the IAM District 751 Facebook group replied, "Strike!" on a post regarding the tentative deal.
The potential contract comes as Boeing faces federal investigations, including a criminal probe by the Department of Justice, into a blowout of a portion of the fuselage on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 jetliner that took place when the plane was mid-flight in January.
The Federal Aviation Administration has placed a limit on the number of 737 MAX planes Boeing can produce until it meets certain safety and manufacturing standards.
As The Seattle Timesreported on Friday, while Boeing has claimed it is slowing down production and emphasizing safety inspections in order to ensure quality, mechanics at the company's plant in Everett, Washington have observed a "chaotic workplace" ahead of the potential strike, with managers "pushing partially assembled 777 jets through the assembly line, leaving tens of thousands of unfinished jobs due to defects and parts shortages to be completed out of sequence on each airplane."
Holden and Bryant said Sunday that "the company finds itself in a tough position due to many self-inflicted missteps."
"It is IAM members who will bring this company back on track," they said. "As has been said many times, there is no Boeing without the IAM."
Without 33,000 IAM members to assemble and inspect planes, a strike would put Boeing in an even worse position as it works to meet manufacturing benchmarks.
On Thursday, members will vote on whether or not to accept Boeing's offer and on reaffirming a nearly unanimous strike vote that happened over the summer.
If a majority of members reject the deal and at least two-thirds reaffirm the strike vote, a strike would be called.
If approved, the new deal would be the first entirely new contract for Boeing workers since 2008. Boeing negotiated with the IAM over the last contract twice in 2011 and 2013, in talks that resulted in higher healthcare costs for employees and an end to their traditional pension program.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular