A Plan For Withdrawal From Iraq...
By Ron Fisher, Virginia
Dear Friends and Associates,
Please help end the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations/wars:
Review the attached Summary of the Iraq Occupation and Plan to Withdraw from Iraq and the below fax memorandum which is being faxed to all Senators; and if you do not have the time to do this at least:
Contact your two Senators via the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and as outlined below ask them to please:
1. Filibuster against, and vote against the $168.9 billion emergency spending supplemental or any other money for the Department of Defense for the occupation/wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2. Vote to require the administration to use the Proposed Plan to End Violence in Iraq and Withdraw U.S. Armed Forces in a Peaceful, Just, and Timely Manner, available at www.WeThePeopleNow.org.
3. Vote to use existing and supplemental funds: to bring our troops home, for diplomacy, and for food and relief supplies for the over 5 million Iraqi and Afghanistan refugees who have lost their homes
The $162.5 billion for the Department of Defense to continue the “wars”/occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan into June of 2009 was defeated in the House of Representatives 149 to 141 with all Republican abstaining.
However, apparently the Democratic leadership will take Byrd’s bill to the floor of the Senate for votes early this week. If it passes, they will rush it to a conference and could get over $168.9 billion appropriated for DOD before the start of their May 22 Memorial Day recess/vacation.
If this emergency Supplemental goes through, it will be by far the largest ever. It will increase the suffering of Iraqis, make our declining economy much worse, cause the price of gasoline and fuel to continue to increase, etc.
If you would like to work together to defeat this supplemental, end the Iraq war, replace Cheney, Bush and others, please contact me.
Critical comments on the attached documents, this email and www.WeThePeopleNow.org are welcomed.
Please widely distribute this email.
Thanks.
Ron Fisher
Captain US Navy (retired)
Director, WeThePeopleNow.org
Fisher@WeThePeopleNow.org
Phone: 703-521-3926, cell 703-725-7849
PO Box 1310, Falls Church VA 22041
WeThePeopleNow.org
Dedicated to helping we the People gain and exercise control of our Governments Now!
May 19, 2008
FAX MEMORANDUM TO ALL U. S. SENATORS AND THEIR STAFFS:
SUBJECT: Request That You Truly Support Our Troops. Stop Funding the Iraq and Afghanistan Occupations/Wars. Use Supplemental Funds for Refugee Relief, for Returning Our Troops to the U. S., Diplomacy, Food and Medical Relief and to Help Restore Iraq’s Infrastructure and Economy.
You have the authority, responsibility, wherewithal and moral obligation, to end the illegal and immoral occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
I respectfully request that you please:
1. Read The Summary of the U.S. Occupation and Attempted Colonization of Iraq (http://www.WeThePeopleNow.org/summary_iraq_occupation.pdf) and The Proposed Plan to End Violence in Iraq and Withdraw U.S. Armed Forces in a Peaceful, Just, and Timely Manner (http://WeThePeopleNow.org/proposed_plan_iraq.pdf).
2. Filibuster against, vote against cloture and vote against the $168.9 billion ($103 billion FY 2008 and $65.9 billion FY 2009) emergency spending supplemental or any other money for the Department of Defense for the occupation/wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
3. Ensure that the war is an election issue as long as it lasts. Filibuster against, vote against cloture and vote against even considering the $65.9 billion FY 2009 emergency spending supplemental and drop all considerations of a FY 09 supplemental at this time. There is no FY 2009 appropriation to supplement. This is an unlawful, dumb attempt to hoodwink the people and try to keep the war from being an election issue. All bona fide funding needs that are know should be included in the regular appropriation process for the 2009 defense appropriations bill.
4. Offer amendments regarding “Iraq policy” for:
a. A requirement for an immediate cease-fire and an orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors from Iraq and using, as the starting point the draft Proposed Plan to End Violence in Iraq and Withdraw U.S. Armed Forces in a Peaceful, Just, and Timely Manner (http://WeThePeopleNow.org/proposed_plan_iraq.pdf). Some of the key elements of this plan are listed below.
b. Prohibitions against any funds being used for:
ii. Afghan and Iraq military counterinsurgency efforts.
iii. Torturing or treating any detainee inhumanely, arresting or detaining anyone without probable cause, secretly arresting or detaining anyone, and performing secret renditions.
iv. Deploying units that are not fully mission capable or that don’t meet required dwell time between deployments.
v. U.S. security contractors.
vi. Additional construction of any or on any U.S. military bases in Iraq.
vii. Preparing or executing any security or defense agreements between the U.S. and Iraq or Afghanistan.
viii. Any other foreign military financing or military assistance for Iraq or Afghanistan without the specific approval of Congress.
ix. Threats, attacks or covert operations and propaganda or other campaigns which lead to threats or attacks against Iran.
x. Deploying nuclear weapons to, or maintaining nuclear weapons in, the Middle East.
5. To delete any requirements that: Iraqis pay for Iraq Reconstruction or Iraq reimburses the U.S. for fuel costs.
6. Offer amendments regarding “Critical Needs,” by including significant emergency funding:
a. At least $6 billion for emergency relief, and migration and refugee assistance for Iraqi and Afghan refugees and others who have been displaced and impoverished by U. S. attacks and occupations.
b. At least $10 billion for infrastructure, social programs, economic development assistance in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide electricity, sewage, housing, medical assistance, food, and assistance with security. Funds should be distributed by USAID and the work done by Iraqis and Afghans and by Iraqi and Afghan businesses.
c. Diplomatic efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the rest of the Mideast to be managed by the State Department.
d. Peacekeeping operations to maintain and monitor the peace and to provide training for peacekeeping teams including preparing peacekeeping teams in case they are needed in Iraq, Afghanistan and the West Bank.
e. Food aid and other assistance to help ease the global food crisis.
f. U.S. economic "stimulus" items, in particular for U.S. jobs in health care, environmental protection, pre-K education, restorative justice, and others.
g. U.S. emergency food, healthcare, and affordable housing programs.
h. U.S. infrastructure projects such as bridge and road repairs.
i. U.S. wildfire prevention, mitigation, and suppression programs.
Following is justification for the above request:
The Summary of the U.S. Occupation and Attempted Colonization of Iraq (http://www.WeThePeopleNow.org/summary_iraq_occupation.pdf) clearly shows that:
1. The primary reason that the U. S. invaded and occupied Iraq was to help U.S. oil companies illegally control as much as possible of Iraq’s oil industries and reserves and to help U.S. oil companies get as much as possible of the trillions of dollars of Iraqi oil profits. Iraq would probably have been will to sell oil to U.S. oil companies for less than $20 a barrel if we had let them keep the profits of $18- $19 per barrel.
3. U.S. officials set policies so that U.S. oil companies would not even have to sell Iraqi oil to the United States and could increase the price of oil at will by withholding Iraq oil from the world market.
4. The Administration intends to try to keep U.S. Armed Forces and defense security contractors and mercenaries in Iraq indefinitely to provide security for U.S. oil companies who would control Iraq’s oil industries and reserves and so that Iraq will not re-nationalize their oil reserves.
5. The Geneva Conventions and the Hague Regulations, both ratified by the U.S. require, among other things that:
a. The people of an occupied country and prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. The legal definition of "humane" is: Kind, tender, compassionate. Disposed to eliminate the cause of suffering of man or beast.
b. An occupying power must take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.
c. An occupying power is required to ensure functioning electricity, potable running water, safe streets, and that the basic necessities of life are provided and is not permitted to make changes in the country's law beyond those absolutely necessary to meet these obligations.
The following is quoted from the article Weary of War? Don't Collaborate, By Kathy Kelly, 18 April 2008: Today, available statistics about the consequences of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq [authorized and paid for by the U.S. Congress with taxpayers dollars] speak of misery and chaos nearly unimaginable to most Americans One out of six Iraqis have been displaced from their homes.
A March 2007 report from Save the Children, a US-based NGO, stated that 122,000 Iraqi children didn't reach their fifth birthdays in the year 2005 alone. UNAMI, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, in its most recently issued report on humanitarian conditions in Iraq, stated that 54 percent of Iraqis live on less than $1 per day, including 15 percent who are forced to live on less than fifty cents per day.
Seventy percent of Iraq's people lack access to potable water. Forty-three percent of Iraqi children under age five suffer a form of malnourishment, with 23 percent suffering from chronic malnourishment and eight percent suffering acute malnourishment. Forty percent of Iraq's population are children under age 15.
The Iraq occupation is generating terrorists, hurting Middle East and U.S. security, and harming our military, general welfare, our reputation in the world and causing the price of oil and gasoline to go out of sight. It is contributing to the increased costs and lower quality of our living standard and is wrongful, unlawful, and an enormous travesty. Huge numbers of Iraqi women, children, and men have suffered death, terrible physical and mental wounds, economic devastation, and destruction of their culture by our occupation of Iraq.
Iraqi girls as young as 11 and 12 years old have to turn to prostitution to support their selves and their families.
This is the result of Congress authorizing the president to use force in Iraq, “taking impeachment off the table” and appropriating $526 billion so far for the Iraq war and $140 billion for the Afghanistan war.
Also, the world is on the verge of possibly the worse depression of modern times.
Now the Congressional Democratic Leadership, Senator Byrd and others on the Appropriation Committee are recommending, among other things:
• That Senators vote for another $168.9 billion in the supplemental for the Department of Defense to continue the occupations/wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into June of 2009.
• Nothing for refugee aid. There is only $675 million for refugee aid if anything in the House version of the Supplemental. This is less than 13 to 40 cents per day for each of the 4.7 million Iraq refugees the U. S. Has created. It will be impossible to deliver even 13 cents per day to the majority of the refugees as long as the U.S. is occupying Iraq.
If the supplemental passes as the democratic leadership proposes, the Bush Administration and DOD will have enough funds to continue the murderous occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan well into the next administration, continue to help big oil companies steal Iraq oil, threaten and/or attack Iran, generate more refugees and continue the abuses as they so choose.
Many senators and representatives, blame the president for the war while ignoring the fact that Congress “authorized” the President to use force, have appropriated $526 billion so far for the Iraq war and $140 billion for the Afghanistan war and have “taken impeachment off the table.”
Legislators and staff members who continue to take part in appropriating funds in support of these wrongful and unlawful occupations/wars will be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If you do not have the courage and integrity to end this illegal occupation, you should resign and turn your jobs over to legislators like Dennis Kucinich who has an abundance of courage and integrity and will end it.
If Congress does not provide the administration and the Pentagon with additional funds, this will help end the Iraq occupation and focus efforts on diplomacy, peace, and the economy. If Congress does not provide the administration and the Pentagon with additional funds, we will have a chance for a stable, peaceful Mideast and a more prosperous world.
Please truly support our troops and your constituents, end the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations, and use funds from the supplemental: to bring our troops and equipment home, for diplomacy, and for food and relief supplies for Iraqi refugees and those remaining behind.
Thank you for reviewing and considering this document. Please contact me if you have questions or if I can be of help.
Yours sincerely,
Ron Fisher
Captain US Navy (retired)
Director, WeThePeopleNow.org
703-521-3926
PO Box 1310, Falls Church VA 22041
Attachment:
Proposed Plan to End Violence in Iraq and
Withdraw all U.S. Forces from Iraq in a Timely, Peaceful, and Just Manner
Key Elements
(A complete copy of this plan is available at
http://www.WeThePeopleNow.org/summary_iraq_occupation.pdf)
3. Order an immediate unilateral cease-fire and halt all offensive and clandestine operations by coalition forces, the CIA, and U.S.-paid mercenaries. Call on all factions in Iraq to do the same. Immediately return sovereignty, the control of all oil reserves, and other resources to the people of Iraq,
4. Order an immediate withdrawal of CIA operatives and U.S. - paid mercenaries.
5. Move aircraft carriers, other surface combatants, and submarines, if any, out of the Persian Gulf and out of sight of land.
6. Commence massive humanitarian and resettlement aid efforts to ensure that all Iraqis have food, water, shelter, and health care.
7. In coordination with the Iraq government, request that the United Nations prepare an appropriate international peacekeeping mission from neutral nations with at least 50 percent of the mission to be from nations with large Muslim populations.
8. Immediately release all "security detainees" who have not been charged with a crime and pay them restitution if their confinement has been wrongful and unlawful and/or if they have been abused or tortured. Turn over the operation of security facilities to the Iraqi government.
9. In coordination with the Iraq government, the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and all the countries and factions in the area to encourage, support, and participate in, but not attempt to control, comprehensive and broadly inclusive negotiations on peace, reconciliation, and all other relevant issues.
10. Conduct a timely phased withdrawal of all U.S. Armed Forces personnel and civilian contractors from Iraq. If UN peacekeeping mission and government assistance teams are needed, phase them in as the U.S. withdraws.
11. Permanently close all U.S. military bases and facilities in Iraq and transfer them along with vehicles and equipment to the Iraqi police and/or international peacekeeping missions.
2 attachments — Download all attachments
| proposed_plan_iraq042908.wpd |
| summary_iraq_occupation_042608.wpd |
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