United for Peace & Justice

Open Letter to Congress:

Five Years Is Five Years Too Many
Stop Paying for the Military Occupation of Iraq

March 19th marked the 5th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. In the next week or so, Congress will vote on whether to provide the Bush administration with more than a hundred billion dollars MORE for the war.

We think that five years is five years too many and that the projected three TRILLION dollar price tag for the war in Iraq is three trillion dollars too much! If you agree, we need you to join United for Peace and Justice, the Win Without War coalition and allies in calling on Congress to stop giving President Bush the money that he needs to continue the military occupation of Iraq.

The Honorable John P. Murtha
Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense
Room H-149 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Murtha,

As we enter the sixth year of the Iraq War, we urge you to draft a new supplemental appropriations bill that will direct the president to immediately begin the orderly removal of all U.S troops from Iraq and complete this process as quickly and safely as possible.

The Iraq War has taken the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers and caused the death and displacement of millions of Iraqis. Congress has already approved $500 billion for the war in direct costs. Our nation faces trillions in additional costs to care for veterans’ injuries suffered in the course of this conflict, not to mention the costs of financing the war. This waste of federal dollars comes at a time when our nation faces an economic recession. The war has hollowed out our military, diverted resources from the battle against al Qaeda and from homeland security, and deeply damaged our reputation abroad.
 
Despite clear mandates from your subcommittee and Congress to seek a change in course, Senate Republicans and President Bush have combined to veto measures calling for a sensible withdrawal from Iraq. In January, the President went even further, issuing a signing statement saying that his administration is not bound by the provision in the 2008 Defense Authorization Act that bars the use of appropriated funds in this Act for the construction of permanent American military bases and U. S. control over Iraqi oil resources. He also rejected language to establish an independent, bipartisan "Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan" to investigate allegations of waste, mismanagement, and excessive force by contractors.

Furthermore, at the end of last year, President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki signed a “Declaration of Principles” providing an outline for negotiating an “enduring” U.S.-Iraq relationship for security, economic, political, diplomatic, and cultural relations. President Bush has rejected the notion that Congress has a role in these negotiations over the future U.S. presence in Iraq.

With these actions, the president has made clear his intention to stay the course in Iraq while deepening the U.S. military commitment for an indefinite time and attempting to tie the hands of the next president. Mr. Chairman, it is past time to bring the Iraq war to an end. The costs are too great to allow it to continue indefinitely. The best course of action in the upcoming supplemental appropriations bill is to provide funding only for the safe and timely redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq and end the occupation. 

As part of a responsible redeployment, we support funding for a diplomatic offensive as suggested by the Iraq Study Group. Greater resources and resolve for diplomacy to end the Iraq War are needed for a comprehensive solution.

In addition, we strongly urge you to cease funding for military construction in Iraq and for U.S. military contractors in Iraq. Given the president’s use of signing statements on these issues, the only way to ensure compliance with Congress’ directives is to remove such funding.

Finally, we ask that it be made clear that no funds will be made available for any formal U.S.-Iraq agreement based upon the Bush-Maliki “Declaration of Principles” unless the agreement is approved by Congress and the Iraqi parliament.

Thank you for your continued leadership in the effort to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. Your courage and tenacity in the face of attacks and criticisms is most admirable. We are eager to work with you and your colleagues in the critical weeks and months ahead to end the debacle in Iraq and bring our men and women in uniform home.

Sincerely,

The Win Without War Coalition

20/20 Vision 
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) 
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee 
Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
Center for International Policy (CIP) 
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Council for a Livable World
CREDO Mobile 
Families USA 
Feminist Majority 
Fourth Freedom Forum
Global Exchange 
Greenpeace 
Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR)
MoveOn.org
NAACP
National Council of Churches 
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 
National Organization for Women (NOW) 
NETWORK 
Pax Christi USA 
Peace Action 	
Physicians for Social Responsibility 
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Rainbow/Push Coalition 
Shalom Center 
Sierra Club
Sojourners 
Soulforce
The Tikkun Community
TrueMajority 
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) 
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee 
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church: General Board of Church and Society
United for Peace and Justice 
Us Foundation 
US Labor Against War
USAction 
Veterans For Peace 
Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) 
Artists United to Win Without War
Musicians United to Win Without War

0-25 of 7451 signatures

Number	Date	Name
7451	April 22, 2009	rgergerger rgergerger
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