FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2009 CONTACT
Jodie Evans, CODEPINK co-founder, 310-621-5635
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK media coordinator, 508-769-2138
CODEPINK urges no more money for war
Urges rapid withdrawal, diplomacy, investment in American needs
WASHINGTON -- As the House today comes down to the wire in its debate
on the $100 billion war funding bill, with just a few votes to spare, CODEPINK Action
calls for no more money for mismanaged, destabilizing, immoral wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan that will further strain the weak U.S. economy and
moral authority.
Many Representatives were voted into office in 2006 on the promise of
ending the Iraq War, and they should uphold their pledge to reject
further war. In addition, the American people cannot afford to spend
$100 billion dollars on war and a junkyard of pork at a time of
sky-high unemployment and record deficits, nor do they support it. A
USA Today/Gallup Poll earlier this spring found 42 percent of Americans
felt the Afghanistan war was "a mistake," an increase of 30 percent
earlier this year and 34 percent in August 2008. A March CBS poll found
six in 10 Americans now say the U.S. did the wrong thing in entering
Iraq. In addition, many military officials and think-tanks have
concluded there is no military solution to Afghanistan. "You don't kill
or capture your way out of an industrial-strength insurgency," Gen.
David Petraeus told The Associated Press recently, and Special Envoy
Richard Holbrooke said, "It is like no other problem we have
confronted...I have never seen anything like the mess we have
inherited."
“This bill will fund a greater military presence, which means more
civilian casualties, more recruits for al-Qaeda and destabilization,
not to mention Congressional pet projects," said Jodie Evans, CODEPINK
co-founder. "It's a vicious cycle that has to end. What we need is an
exit strategy, and an investment in development for real security."
This bill also does not outline any sort of withdrawal schedule in
Afghanistan, signaling no clear long-term strategy and potential years
of more war, and will fund a continuation of failed U.S. policies that
have inspired a Taliban resurgence there, raised civilian deaths, and
destabilized infrastructure and social system.
The United States needs a reallocation of war funds into the needs of
the American people: health care, education, green jobs and
infrastructure. We call for the removal of all troops from Iraq, as
well as contractors and bases. In the case of Afghanistan and Pakistan,
we call for a surge in negotiations, with women at the table, and a
surge in economic and humanitarian aid.
CODEPINK Action is a 501(c)(4) issue
advocacy organization used for nonpartisan civic engagement projects,
the civic action arm of CODEPINK Women for Peace. For interviews and
more information, please call Jean Stevens, national media coordinator,
at 508-769-2138 or Jodie Evans, CODEPINK co-founder, at 310-621-5635. |
