June 14, 2005


Dear CODEPINK Activist,

A few weeks ago, CODEPINK joined together with other groups to form the After Downing Street coalition in order to publicize the shocking Downing Street memo. This memo shows the Bush administration's determination to invade Iraq even though Iraq posed no threat to us, and its decision to "fix" intelligence data to justify the case for invasion. With more than 100,000 deaths, over $300 billion tax dollars spent, and a severely tarnished international reputation, we, the American people, must now ensure that those in charge are held accountable. The Downing Street memo presents a unique opportunity to do that and we need your help.

Here are important ways you can help:

1. Sign Rep. Conyers petition and get your congressional Rep to sign as well. Shortly after the May 1st leak of the memo, Rep. John Conyers sent a letter to George W. Bush asking for an explanation. To date, more than 100 of his congressional colleagues have also signed on. Please urge your congressperson to join! (See link below to send a letter to your Rep.) If you have not already signed the letter yourself (over 500,000 people have!), or if you are willing to send the letter to friends for their signature, click here.

2. Pressure your Congressional Representative to join this effort. On Thursday, Rep. Conyers will hold a public hearing to look into the constitutional questions raised by the memo. Directly following the hearing, Rep. Conyers, together with other members of Congress and concerned citizens (including CODEPINK), will go to the White House to hand deliver the letter with the 500,000 signatures! Send your Rep an email letter urging him or her to: a) sign on to Conyers' petition letter, b) attend the June 16 hearing on the Downing Street Minutes, and c) support a resolution of inquiry into impeacheable offenses. Please email your Rep today and ask him or her to do the right thing! Spread the word!

If you are in the DC area, come join us at the June 16 Hearing and Rally in Lafayette Park.

3. Pressure your media to cover the hearing and the memo itself. The White House would love to see this memo fade away, and so would much of the mainstream press! Let's force them to cover the issue. Contact your local media. Click here for action ideas, sample letters to the editor, press releases and op-eds.

The way we see it, this memo shows that the Bush administration has engaged in a conspiracy to deceive Congress and the American people about the reasons for going to war. That constitutes a High Crime, and grounds for impeachment. While it is highly unlikely that a Republican Congress will impeach George Bush, it is critical for us to push the process and to educate the American people about the lies that sucked us into this quagmire in Iraq. Let's ride the Downing Street wave as far as we can take it!

With a passion for truth,

Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae, and Tiffany