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from Voices in the Wilderness... Dear Friends, Take action to end the US occupation of Iraq. Call your Senator and Congressional Representative to tell them to vote against President Bush�s $80 billion supplemental spending bill which was announced today. The bill is expected to be formally introduced on February 7. In all probability it will be acted on very quickly after it is introduced, so now is the time to voice your opposition. You can find out who your Senator is by visiting http://www.senate.gov and who your Representative is by going to http://www.house.gov. Even if your Senator and Representative have voted against funding for the Iraq war in the past, it is essential that you contact them again to vote against this bill. We must maintain public pressure on all elected officials to end the war in Iraq. We also encourage you to consider participating in sit-ins and occupations of the offices of Senators and Representatives who do not publicly pledge to vote against the supplemental spending bill. You can also write a letter to your local editors, and make phone calls to radio talk shows to oppose the supplemental spending bill. Take to the streets and set up vigils on local street corners to oppose the supplemental spending bill. The following are some of the details of the bill and overall military spending in Iraq: 1) The total size of the bill is $80 billion. 2) $75 billion will be allocated to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, with most of that spending being committed to operations in Iraq. 3) $1.5 billion would be used to construct a new US embassy complex in Baghdad (note that this is after the US diverted money originally allocated by Congress for reconstruction in Iraq into building a new US embassy). 4) This supplemental spending bill will drive the US deficit up to $427 billion, according to the White House. 5) Total funding for US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005 total $105 billion. This is more than 2 � times the budget for the Department of Homeland Security and 13 times larger than the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. For more please read * Bush to seek billions more for Iraq war Knight Ridder http://tinyurl.com/4lzdd * Funding request takes war costs beyond $200bn The Financial Times Ltd http://tinyurl.com/3szrp Sincerely, Jeff Leys, Kathy Kelly, Tess Kleinhaus, Laurie Hasbrook, and Scott Blackburn Voices in the Wilderness <><><><><><><> TOP WEBSITE PICKS <><><><><><><> Voices in the Wilderness: 9 Years An Updated Purpose of Voices in the Wilderness http://vitw.org/archives/806 A Way Out By Cliff Kindy �It will require us to be willing to take risks, major risks.� Cliff Kindy, of the Christian Peacemaker Teams writes to us from Iraq about present and future war and OUR FUTURE without war. Cliff implores each of us to take �back the decisions that affect our lives.� Where will you start? http://vitw.org/archives/810 �Why did they shoot? We have no weapons� By Chris Hondros in Tal Afar, Iraq, The Independent �Civilians!� someone shouted, and soldiers ran up. More children - it ended up being six all told - started emerging, crying, their faces mottled with blood in long streaks. WARNING: Graphic Photos http://vitw.org/archives/805 --------------------------- >From the Arms Trade Resource Center http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms Below is a link to an excellent new briefing report from our colleague Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives entitled: "The Iraqi Election 'bait and switch'": Faulty Poll Will Not Bring Peace or U.S. Withdrawal." HTML: http://www.comw.org/pda/0501br17.html or PDF: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0501br17.pdf The short version of its findings is that violence, confusion, and structural inequities in the electoral process tilt dramatically in favor of pro-U.S. Iraqi exiles who already have served in the interim government. While there is likely to be more Shiite representation in the new government, it is not likely to be more independent of the U.S. As a result, Iraqis voting in hopes that a new government marks the beginning of the end of the U.S. occupation will soon be resentful, and the hoped for "stability" in the wake of the elections will not come to pass. There are many more rich details that are worth reading in this 24-page analysis. To take just one example, Conetta points out that the pre-election violence is not only an issue for turnout, but a factor favoring status quo candidates. Since existing Iraqi exile politicians who have served in the Allawi government have had far more visibility, organization, and money in the run-up to these elections, they are far more likely to be elected than the huge numbers of other candidates and parties who have been handicapped by their inability to carry out full-scale grassroots strategies in the climate of violence now prevailing. Add to this the continued presence of powerful U.S. advisors in key ministries post-election, the presence of 150,000 U.S. troops, the continued U.S. "power of the purse" over billions in reconstruction aid, the $30 million or more the U.S. has funneled to favored candidates, and the odds against an even marginally independent government that is viewed as legitimate by most Iraqis over even the medium term become clear. We're not doing the analysis justice. Read it yourself! _____________________________ Note: This message comes from the peace-justice-news e-mail mailing list of articles and commentaries about peace and social justice issues, activism, etc. If you do not regularly receive mailings from this list or have received this message as a forward from someone else and would like to be added to the list, send a blank e-mail with the subject "subscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or you can visit: http://lists.enabled.com/mailman/listinfo/peace-justice-news Go to that same web address to view the list's archives or to unsubscribe. E-mail accounts that become full, inactive or out of order for more than a few days will be deleted from this list. FAIR USE NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the information in this e-mail is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. 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