October, 22 2009, 10:01am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Robert Naiman, Just Foreign Policy, 217-979-2857, naiman@justforeignpolicy.org
Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action, 951-217-7285, pmartin@peace-action.org
Peace Movement Steps Up Congressional Pressure to Stop Afghanistan Escalation
WASHINGTON
Five national peace advocacy groups representing hundreds of thousands of Americans launched a new project today at www.NoEscalation.org to urge Congress and President Obama to reject troop escalation in Afghanistan.
Leaders of the peace movement said they are asking Americans across the
country to step up their efforts to oppose troop escalation, by calling
their U.S. Representatives and Senators to take a stand against
escalation of the failed military strategy in Afghanistan. The website
has a chart that tracks each Member of Congress and whether they have
taken a stand against troop escalation.
"We're at a major fork in the road," said Robert Naiman of Just Foreign
Policy. "One road leads to years of quagmire and needless death and
trauma for American soldiers and Afghan civilians. The other road leads
to national reconciliation in Afghanistan, regional diplomacy, an exit
strategy, and a timetable for military withdrawal."
The groups, CodePink, Just Foreign Policy, Peace Action, United for
Peace and Justice, and Voters for Peace, are urging Americans to report
their conversations with Congressional offices on the website
NoEscalation.org. The groups will contact hundreds of thousands of
voters and direct them to the website.
"Sending 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan will fail to
substantially increase security, to stop violent extremists and to make
Americans safer," stated Paul Kawika Martin, the political director of
Peace Action - the United State's largest grassroots peace organization
- who recently returned from a seven-day trip to Afghanistan. "Instead,
U.S. and NATO forces need to stop air and Predator drone strikes,
arbitrary arrests and detentions and other actions that kill, injure or
terrorize innocent civilians and create recruits for the Taliban. The
billions of dollars it would cost to send troops would pay more
security dividends invested into Afghanistan to provide its populous
with physical, economic and food security."
On Monday, CNN released a poll revealing that six in 10 Americans
oppose sending more U.S. troops, and a majority see the war in
Afghanistan as another Vietnam. Top Administration officials, including
Vice-President Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, and Ambassador
Holbrooke's advisor Barnett Rubin are said to be arguing against
escalation. Democratic leaders in the House have expressed skepticism.
Many Members of Congress have said that they want to "wait and see"
what decision President Obama makes. But the groups say the time to
influence the President's decision is before he makes it.
Besides opposing and speaking out against a troop increase, Members of
the House are being urged to support Representative McGovern's (D-MA)
bipartisan bill (HR 2404) calling for an exit strategy and
Representative Lee's (D-CA) bill (HR 3699) prohibiting a troop
increase. Senators are being asked to introduce legislation opposing a
troop increase and calling for an exit strategy or timetable for
military withdrawal.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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"MVP brazenly asks for this authorization while simultaneously notifying FERC that the company has completed less than two-thirds of the project to final restoration and with the mere promise that it will notify the commission when it fully complies with the requirements of a consent decree it entered into with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last fall," she continued.
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Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition—which called MVP's request "reckless and impossible"—said in a statement that "we are watching our worst nightmare unfold in real-time: The reckless MVP is barreling towards completion."
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Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
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Morgan Harper, director of policy and advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project, praised the FTC for "listening to the comments of thousands of entrepreneurs and workers of all income levels across industries" and finalizing a rule that "is a clear-cut win."
Demand Progress' Emily Peterson-Cassin similarly commended the commission "for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
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Voting rights tracker Democracy Docket noted that Monday's ruling "does not have any bearing on North Carolina's strict felony disenfranchisement law, which denies the right to vote for those with felony convictions who remain on probation, parole, or a suspended sentence—often leaving individuals without voting rights for many years after release from incarceration."
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As similar battles play out in other states, Democratic U.S. lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont in December introduced legislation to end former felon disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated people the right to vote.
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