Congressman Marty Meehan (5th district Democrat) was on The Connection with Dick Gordon on NPR this morning talking about the bipartisan call for an Iraq exit strategy. Very interesting commentary and good calls from listeners. If you missed it live you can listen from the archive here: http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2005/06/20050620_a_main.asp

In general, Meehan's point is that our presence in Iraq is fueling the insurgency. Therefore, no amount of time we spend there trying to "fix it" will help. Therefore, we need to begin arranging our exit. It's great to hear our more of our elected officials starting to talk about this more openly!

I like it. This might be worth pushing back on.

Here is the appropriations membership list: http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutTheCommittee.M...

The quote is already in propeace.net's quote database: http://www.propeace.net/node/381. Maybe we should use it as a sig line, as below.

Jason.

"We should not use public money to support the further destruction of human life."
- President George W. Bush, ABC News, May 24, 2005

Here is a way to hold the commander in chief to his own word.

"We should not use public money to support the further destruction of human life."
- President George W. Bush, ABC News, May 24, 2005

• Make a list of the names of everyone who "serves" on the Appropriations Committee, and I will write a letter instructing them to obey the words of the commander in chief (but I'll capitalize it properly when I write it) and IMMEDIATELY stop all public funding for "the further destruction of human life."
• Have five or ten copies of the above quote complete with source beautifully printed and framed, and hang them in whatever meeting rooms, break rooms, and bathrooms are used by the Appropriations Committee members. Give these to Dennis and his comrades; they will know where and how to hang them IMMEDIATELY.
• Find just one lobbyist among the constituency of each of the members of the Appropriations Committee to activate the propeace community in those constituencies to write letters using mine as a template to drive home this one simple point.
• Depending on the results of the next appropriations vote:
  • The same constituencies along with the rest of the propeace community can then write joyful thank-you letters in praise of Committee members who obey the orders of the commander in chief, or
  • Bring impeachment proceedings against the Committee members for failing to obey said orders.

This is an example of positive propeace propaganda and holding the responsible parties accountable when they violate our trust. I believe the last appropriation was intended to "support the troops" until September; it should be sufficient to "demobilize" all military interest in Iraq (and anywhere else where "public money" is being used "to support the further destruction of human life.")

Simple? Yes. Sufficient? Probably not, but it's one aspect in the multilateral propeace blitz referenced in my previous comment.

"Blue in a Red State"

You say that "the terms and timetable set forth will likely continue to be negotiated." IF you are correct, then I will concede that at least our leaders are showing some signs of life. "Movement" is also a sign of life. But "let us not be rocked to sleep." We are a long way from exhausting the options and needing to resort to revolution. Solutions? I'll give you some solutions!

I'm not a politician, but if I were part of the faction that wants immediate cease-fire and withdrawal, I would be making sure my little minority was approaching the issue on all fronts and not just saying the same things to the same people and accepting the same responses. We are still letting them put the cart before the horse. Nobody has yet explained to me how so many dates have been set and passed and nobody is held accountable; or why, with the latest polls showing that 51% favor IMMEDIATE withdrawal (which means a vast majority in favor of SOME sort of withdrawal), the notion of maintaining a military presence can even be admitted to the debate; or why there is not a massive educational campaign under way to teach the citizenry the rules about impeachment (about which I know little, other than that it doesn't just apply to the commander in chief) so that we could get leadership in power that actually represents that citizenry. When a leader's personal life or political tactics enter that gray zone, we scream the I-word, but when the very viability of the planet is in question, we have to whisper it? What's wrong with THAT picture!?!

And I'm not a diplomat, but if just one ambassador would appeal to the international community for help in bringing this travesty to an end instead of hanging his/her head in shame and waiting for it to be over, it seems to me that sanctions could be brought against this country's corporate interests abroad. It wouldn't be pretty, but I would like to see enough increased hardship (e.g. unemployment rates in excess of 20%, returning soldiers with DU poisoning or PTSD killing themselves for lack of proper treatment and support on the whitehouse lawn two or three times a week, starved or ill corpses - especially very young or very elderly ones - in parks or on riverbanks for lack of affordable health care and adequate social programs, etc.) to force the leadership to comply with international law so that said sanctions would be lifted. It wouldn't take much of a straw to break this camel's back; we're stretched to the max already. We've certainly created worse conditions than that; just a little taste of our own medicine might be shocking enough to inspire drastic change in policy. After all, if it gets TOO messy, the power elite would be embarrassed.

And I'm not a military leader, but if I were the one using such strong words as "for every insurgent we kill, three more pop up," or "there is no military solution; the solution must be political," I would be ordering my men and women into the nearest ships and planes, or at least making it clear that I won't notice if nobody comes back from their next two-week furlough in the U.S. or their next weekend pass to Malta.

But I AM a linguist, and I learned from Aaron Scott at Rockridge Institute to be mindful of the shadow of our frames. The shadow of "setting a date 15 months hence to BEGIN withdrawing troops" with no mention of an immediate cease-fire or even de-escalation is that we are "CONDONING another FIFTEEN MONTHS of further loss of life, destruction of a culture, and ecological damage." This is not a message that I care to send to the Iraqis, or the rest of the world, or our own citizens - especially the children. What ill does THAT message bode for the possibility of creating a shift of consciousness or a culture of peace?

"Blue in a Red State"

Fair comment. I think this boils down not to who is awake versus who is asleep or what indicates those states, but to when to throw support to the established process versus when to spurn that process in demand of a "more perfect union". To me this bipartisan step looks like an effort to do something, to create some movement, and I applaud that even though I want the U.S. to exit Iraq immediately. What would you propose to accomplish the fastest possible exit from Iraq, given that those who set the policy do not seem to want to set an exit date, or possibly even to exit at all? What is your solution? Given the current commander of the armed forces and the political make-up of both houses of congress, what do you think is the fastest way to accomplish an exit from Iraq?

Politically, this bipartisan step represents a wedge to the pro-war factions. It will force a separation between those who want us to stay in Iraq and those who would like us to exit at some point. It's at an early stage. The terms and timetable set forth will likely continue to be negotiated. My resolve will be behind negotiating more propeace terms and a more expeditious timetable.

...and they threw us a stale crust of bread and we thought it was a chocolate mousse. Please see the Story with the above title and take it to heart.

Didn't anybody notice that the date for the START of the troop withdrawal is just in time for the '06 elections? They are so clever; this is as close as they can get to the elections so that the war will once again be a non-issue. Are you really willing to condone FIFTEEN MONTHS of further loss of life, destruction of a culture, and ecological damage? Did anybody hear any words like "cease fire" or "truce" while waiting for the troops to come home?

Please do not weaken in your resolve to put an end to this madness. Please save your celebrations and thanks for the chocolate mousse. Use the crust of bread as a foot in the door; reward it with a tentative smile instead and MAYBE they'll at least agree to talk about it. I hate to tell you decent-hearted folks, but you've been Rocked to Sleep.

"Blue in a Red State"