Watch the recording of this special event featuring an interview of Rep. Lee by Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman. This was followed by a conversation with FCNL’s Diane Randall, the Institute for Policy Studies’ Tope Folarin, and Win Without War’s Stephen Miles about the lessons they have all learned 20 years after 9/11.
Background
Three days after the 9/11 attacks, Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13) cast the sole vote against war in the entire Congress. She recognized that a “rush to launch precipitous military counterattacks runs too great a risk that more innocent men, women, children will be killed.”
Congresswoman Lee faced isolation and opprobrium from huge pro-war majorities in the Congress and across the country. But she stood fast, and has remained a leader in fighting for cuts in the military budget and the repeal of the authorizations for war that President George W. Bush launched twenty years ago.
Despite her isolation in Congress, Rep. Lee did not stand alone. Anti-war and other progressive organizations stood with her and mobilized powerful movements that, over time, succeeded in transforming public opinion into widespread opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Co-hosts: Institute for Policy Studies, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Win Without War
