Write a Letter to the Editor about Afghanistan

War is NOT over, and our voices are still desperately needed. What's the first step for us to stop the war in Afghanistan? Shift American public opinion! And what's the best, most effective way for us to come together to begin that shift? Through the media!

That's why CODEPINK is inviting you to submit a letter to the editor of your local or national newspaper -- all with the message of ending war in Afghanistan!

Send your letter in three easy steps: Select a paper in your zip region, compose your letter, and click submit!

The best Letters to the Editor will come from the heart and include your own voice and sentiments. We have provided the template below to help you get started but feel free to add your own thoughts to it (though you will want to keep it simple and in the 250 word range). You will also want to cite the article to which you are responding. Take a look at a Letter to the Editor in your local paper to see how other published letters have done it!

If you wish to include the specific amount of money your city or state is paying for the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, and what you could be getting instead (teachers, scholarships, healthcare, housing, public music and arts, etc.), click here to get the stats from National Priorities.

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Step 2 - Write your message

Subject:

Your Letter:

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, we remember and mourn the dead: 4296 US troops dead in Iraq; 685 dead in Afghanistan). Let us also protect the living from unnecessary occupation and trauma by drawing down and ending, not escalating, these two wars.  Disapproval ratings for military efforts in Afghanistan are rapidly rising. In a March USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 42 percent of respondents said the United States made "a mistake" in sending military forces to Afghanistan, up from 30 percent in February. Many thousands of calls poured into the House of Reps' switchboard last week, as citizens urged Congress to vote no on the war supplemental of over $94 billion.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus, in hearings over the past several weeks with US, Afghan, and Pakistan military advisers, concluded that the supplemental "exacerbates" failed strategies by funding predominately military ($84 billion) with only $10 billion for economic development, institution building, local community funding and skills training.

The House of Reps' vote for the war supplemental last week, 368-60, was cowardly, demonstrating a lack of fresh thinking and resolve.  Jim McGovern, (D-MA), who voted against the war supplemental, said, "I'm tired of wars with no deadlines, no exits and no ends."

So am I. So are the veterans and military families who bear the brunt of speeded-up redeployments, stop-loss, chronic anxiety and bereavement.  There is no right way to fight a wrong war. The escalation of war in Afghanistan is not the change that Americans voted for.

Email*

Country

Click on a point to add it to the letter.

Nearly two million American servicemen and women have cycled through the combat zones of Iraq or Afghanistan, or sometimes both. Some are on their third, fourth, fifth, and sixth deployments. They are returning with an unprecedented high rate of long-term disabilities; common ones include traumatic brain injury, PTSD, hearing loss and amputation. Often, they and their families have not had adequate support for their continuing care, especially for mental health disorders. The longer these wars drag on, the more traumatized veterans will return, and the higher the costs to their families and society.

U.S. air raids continue to kill and maim Afghan civilians and destroy Afghan property. According to the UN Assistance Mission, U.S. strikes produced 64% of all civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2008. In early May, 'collateral damage' from U.S. air strikes took over 100 innocent lives. Malalai Joya, an elected member of the Afghan Parliament and outspoken critic of warlords, recently said, 'Our nation is still living under the shadow of war... The propaganda to the world about liberating Afghanistan and women and fighting against terrorists are lies.'

Continued U.S. air strikes, combat and military presence further incite the Taliban and al-Qaeda and inspire more of their violence, which is often directed towards Afghan women and children.

Last November, American voters wanted to believe in change that included a change in disastrous US foreign policy; these sentiments created space for Obama and led to his election.