September 2002 Call to Action News
Peace movement on the alert to prevent war against Iraq
While CTA members are busy with the sex abuse crisis and other church reform issues, the other half of CTA's agenda, peace and justice, is also urgently demanding attention.
The Bush administration is planning a war on Iraq. Troop movements indicate that it could come as early as October. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings in August to determine whether a military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein is necessary, but in today's "war on terrorism" climate, their questions were less than tough. Meanwhile, the Pentagon hones a war plan that will require up to 250,000 troops.
Bush says a war on Iraq is needed because Saddam Hussein has or wants to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). But chief U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter and other U.N. officials report that Iraq's WMDs have been successfully eradicated. Yet Rumsfeld tells our NATO allies that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" - hardly solid grounds for a war that will likely kill thousands of American troops, and vastly more Iraqi civilians through combat and then through infrastructure devastation. The war will further destabilize the Middle East, alienate America's closest allies, (even Britain's Tony Blair, a Bush cheerleader, faces massive public opposition), commit the military to a three-to-five year stay while Iraq rebuilds; and cost tens of billions in taxpayer dollars.
Religious voices oppose war
A swelling chorus of religious leaders is denouncing the Bush war plans: Catholic bishops in Australia and Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and many more. Pax Christi USA (www.paxchristiusa.org), the American Friends Service Committee and six other U.S. peace groups are asking members to sign a joint pledge to commit civil disobedience at U.S. federal facilities to prevent or halt a war against Iraq.
What you can do
Contact your senators and representatives immediately, especially members of the Foreign Relations Committee (listed below). Ask them to get answers to your hard questions:
What is the concrete evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction?
How long will American troops be in Iraq? What's the objective? What's the plan to get out?
Do the State Department and Secretary of State Colin Powell support this war? What about the top military brass?
Why don't our allies support this war?
If we attack, will Iraq find new allies in the region?
How many Americans will die in such a war? How many Iraqis?
How much money will such a war cost?
Why is America now attacking without explicit provocation?
President Bush is seen by people in other countries as pursuing a strange vendetta. Is the Bush administration pulling our country into a family grudge match?
You can reach your senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202 224-3121.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Chair Joseph Biden (D-DE) 202-224-5042 Ranking Member Jesse Helms (R-NC) 202-224-6342 Barbara Boxer (D-CA) 202-224-3553 Christopher Dodd (D-CT) 202-224-2823 Bill Nelson (D-FL) 202-224-5274 Richard Lugar (R-IN) 202-224-4814 Sam Brownback (R-KS) 202-224-6521 John Kerry (D-MA) 202-224-2742 Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) 202-224-4524 Paul Wellstone (D-MN) 202-224-5641 Chuck Hagel (R-NE) 202-224-4224 Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) 202-224-3224 Gordon Smith (R-OR) 202-224-3753 Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) 202-224-2921 Bill Frist (R-TN) 202-224-4944 George Allen (R-VA) 202-224-4024 Russ Feingold (D-WI) 202-224-5323 John Rockefeller (D-WV) 202-224-6472 Michael Enzi (R-WY) 202-224-3424
Use the NETWORK website's "Legislative Action Center" to send your legislators an e-mail letter. Enter your zip code to find your senators or representatives.
Iraq on CTA website
CTA has a new page on its website, "Prevent war on Iraq,"
with news updates and actions you can take. Click
here.