Dear Supporter,

In this month's edition of the Action Alert Network enewsletter, check out our response to the President's State of the Union speech, an overview of our campaign to prevent war with Iran, and have a look at our work for ending the War in Afghanistan this year.

And if you haven't done so already, please take a moment to fill out our annual membership survey. Your input directly shapes our work, and we've been overwhelmed with the thoughtful and insightful comments we've received so far. We will close the survey next week and share our analysis of the results.

Onward!

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

Responding to the State of the Union

President Obama’s third State of the Union message began and ended in homily honoring our men and women in uniform.  The President referred to them as the one institution that actually worked like it should.  Mission focused, trusting one another, working as a team.

He encouraged our government to be just like them.  We’ll see…

If you were watching the address on the CSPAN website, you could see Members of Congress furiously tweeting their thoughts which then appeared below the screen.  Many of them apparently didn’t hear the clarion call for togetherness, instead engaging in accusations of class warfare and decrying higher taxes for the rich as soon as the President’s words on those topics left his lips. Read More

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We Can't Afford to Wait till the Bombs Drop

For the past several weeks, tensions have been rising as a new round of sanctions on Iran were approved and Iran responded with a threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a move certain to invite a military response from the US.

In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, the President took a menacing tone toward Iran, stating: “Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.“

The President noted that “peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better” and he’s certainly right about that.

But wait a minute...the US and Israel seem to agree that Iran has not yet decided whether to become a nuclear weapons state.  Earlier this month on Face the Nation, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asked and answered the question directly;  “Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No.”  For its part, Israel is reported to have offered the same conclusion to Joint Chief Chair General Martin E. Dempsey last week in the form of an intelligence assessment.

So if Iran isn’t actually trying to develop a nuclear weapon, why all the talk of war? Read More

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2012: Ending the War in Afghanistan

On the heels of nearly all U.S. troops leaving Iraq, thanks to your pressure and others in the peace movement, troops are slowly coming out of Afghanistan.  In 2012, we will continue to push to accelerate the withdrawal and ensure all foreign troops leave as soon as possible.

The NATO Summit in Chicago in May represents our first opportunity.  Already, our affiliate, Chicago Area Peace Action, is organizing various grassroots events to pressure NATO to get out of Afghanistan.

We suspect that in this election year, Congress will have few if any opportunities to vote on Afghanistan policy.  We will continue to pressure congress and use non-legislative methods to pressure the President.

For example, last year, we successfully organized 27 Senators on a letter asking the President for a "sizable and sustained reduction of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, beginning in July 2011."  This year, we plan a more strongly worded letter. Read More

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