As You Take to the Streets, Take This With You
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As you take to the streets to protest and commemorate the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March, make sure that the message of protest is getting through to Congress. Take along copies of FCNL's flyer that spells out how people around the country can keep the U.S. from establishing a permanent military presence in Iraq. Make sure you have enough War is Not the Answer signs and bumper stickers to go around.
Why Bother With Congress?
Did you know that the Senate spent nearly two days this week debating a proposal to cut off funding for the Iraq war? Does it surprise you that they ended the debate without voting on the bill?
Without overwhelming pressure from events in Iraq and from people in the U.S., Congress isn't likely to take bold moves on to cut war funding. Congress is fundamentally an incremental and conservative institution; even during the Vietnam War, Congress didn't cut off funding until 1975, long after public sentiment had shifted against the war and two years after the war officially ended.
 But Congress's actions today will determine what options future Congresses and the next administration will have to change the course of the Iraq war. The Bush administration is negotiating a long-term agreement with Iraq that would allow for a decades-long military presence, including permanent U.S. military bases. This agreement is one of many signs that the Bush administration plans to lock future administrations into a permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq, similar to what the U.S. has in South Korea.
The evidence is pretty overwhelming: The United States has already built several enormous military bases in Iraq, including one with the second busiest airport in the world that stretches over 15 square miles, and has its own auto dealership and bus service. Our research team has developed a map of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq that is also a part of our flyer that you can use to educate others about efforts to lock in a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq. Congress needs to act soon to prevent any agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments from including permanent bases.
Ask Congress to support legislation that would bar the U.S. from building permanent bases in Iraq and require a congressional decision on whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq. The outrage, sadness, and anger at this anniversary need to be conveyed to members of Congress in a language that they can understand, with a concrete action that they can take. If the U.S. establishes a foothold of bases in Iraq, it will be a lot harder for the war to truly end.
P.S. As we work to build a movement to end this war, I encourage all of you to watch the new PBS documentary about the life of one of my personal heroes – Pete Seeger, the folksinger, teacher, and activist who helped to end the last war and continues at age 88 to work for the world we all hope for.
Contact your members of Congress through FCNL's web site.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Sen. ________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
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