james m nordlund
2005-12-02 04:12:30 UTC
Bonjour.
[Greensweek] Green Wave: Write a Green letter or op-ed column on Iraq
withdrawal
Green Wave
November 2005
Attn Greens & friends
As several published articles have noted recently, a large percentage of
the
public has grown disgusted with the Bush Administration and the
Republicans,
but they aren't very impressed by Democrats either.
Greens are in a unique position to advance the party's position on the
Iraq
War, assert some political leadership as the party of opposition to
bipartisan war policies, and stress the failure of Dems to provide antiwar
leadership. We need to do so publicly and as soon as possible.
One of the best ways to do this is to flood newspapers and other media
with
letters to the editor and op-ed column submissions.
Below are a list of bullet points for this purpose, and two sample letters
to the editor. If you use the bullet points or samples, rewrite and
reword
them according to your own style and preference. If you can, make your
letter or column personal, if, for instance, the war has touched you
because
of the loss of someone you know or if you've undertaken a specific action
in
opposition to the war.
These bullet points focus on the invasion itself, but there are other
points
that can also be discussed, such as Green support for Cindy Sheehan, the
US's dependency on oil and dedication to oil company profits as a
motivating
factor, the revelations of the Valerie Plame affair, and the role of
Israel.
Keep your letter as concise as possible and avoid passionate
denunciations.
Eight paragraph letters and tirades that begin with "The New York Times
has
deceived and betrayed the American people..." don't get published.
Guest op-ed columns can be longer and can employ more of the bullet
points.
Check the targeted newspaper's web site for specifications. If you need
some help with editing and submitting your column, send a note to the
Media
Committee <mclarty-jNYZjOsdrz8dnm+***@public.gmane.org>.
BULLET POINTS
(Important!) The only rational action is an end to the occupation and
immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some Democrats
for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
(Important!) President Bush and the Republicans have shamed the US,
breached international and US constitutional law, and weakened our
security.
They did so with permission from the Democratic leadership and the major
media. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need new political
leadership.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) and other Congress members who have condemned
the Iraq War deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak
out? In early 2003, at the beginning of the invasion, it was already
evident that the Bush Administration's motivations were based on
deception.
While Democrats and the media fell for the White House's fraudulent
claims, millions of Americans were skeptical. Many of us, including the
Green Party, spoke out publicly against the invasion.
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they
undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the deceit
and
massive abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical ideologues.
There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam
Hussein
had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when President
Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The accusation that
Saddam
Hussein had conspired with al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush
officials
already knew that the nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery.
President Bush, in his 2003 State of Union address, and Secretary of State
Colin Powell, in his February 2003 speech before the UN, misled the US and
the world -- and we should have known it. [Excellent source for more
information: "Libby Indictment May Open Door to Broader Iraq War
Deceptions"
by Stephen Zunes, in Foreign Policy In Focus, November 14, 2005
<http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2925>]
President Bush still insists that the invasion of Iraq was a necessary
part of his 'War on Terror', even though no one believes Iraq played a
role
in the 9/11 attacks. Instead, the invasion has created more animosity
against the US and its allies and further inflamed violent extremists.
Ever since the Project for a New American Century (whose leaders now
hold
positions in the Bush Administration) tried to persuade President Clinton
to
invade Iraq in 1989, it has been clear that an extreme Republican faction
wanted to remove Saddam Hussein and gain control over Iraq's oil
resources.
This faction has reintroduced the concept of invasion for 'preemptive'
purposes, which had been outlawed after World War II by international
laws,
including the UN Charter, to which the US was signatory.
Ahmed Chalabi recently visited Washington and met with Vice President
Cheney and other leaders. This is the same Ahmed Chalabi who fed the US
misinformation about Iraqi WMDs, who allegedly passed US secrets to Iran,
who was convicted of embezzlement in Jordan -- and was named Interim Oil
Minister in Iraq, with the Bush Administration's blessing.
The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
servicemembers; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence
of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites; alleged wartime
profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold multi-billion-dollar
contracts; the use of depleted uranium and outlawed chemical weapons
(white
phosphorus). Meanwhile, White White House officials try to smear war
critics as unpatriotic, and Vice President Cheney lobbies for legalization
of torture. Worst of all, we have to endure three more years of Mr.
Bush's
lawless, rock-bottom presidency.
The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we
need
to send more troops is equally appalling.
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #1
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak out? In
early
2003, at the beginning of the invasion, it was already evident that the
Bush
Administration's motivations were based on deception. While Democrats and
the media fell for the White House's fraudulent claims, many of us,
including the Green Party, protested the invasion.
The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
servicemembers; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence
of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites; alleged wartime
profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold multi-billion-dollar
contracts; the use of depleted uranium and outlawed chemical weapons
(white
phosphorus). Meanwhile, White House officials try to smear war critics as
unpatriotic, and Vice President Cheney lobbies for legalization of
torture.
Worst of all, we have to endure three more years of Mr. Bush's lawless,
rock-bottom presidency.
The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we need
to send more troops is equally appalling. The only rational action is
immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some Democrats
for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media, has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #2
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak out? In
2003,
it was already evident that the White House's reasons for going to war
were
fraudulent, and many of us, including the Green Party, protested the
invasion.
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they
undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the massive
abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical ideologues.
There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam Hussein
had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when President
Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The accusation that
Saddam
had conspired with al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush officials
already
knew that the nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery.
The only rational action now is immediate withdrawal of US troops from
Iraq.
The demand by some Democrats for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006
will
only result in more US troop and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media, has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
* * * * *
The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
National office: 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191 or 202-319-7192
866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Join the GreensWeek e-mail subscription list for the latest on national
Green Party news and events:
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/greensweek
http://www.gp.org/greensweek/index.html
Arive derci.
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com
[Greensweek] Green Wave: Write a Green letter or op-ed column on Iraq
withdrawal
Green Wave
November 2005
Attn Greens & friends
As several published articles have noted recently, a large percentage of
the
public has grown disgusted with the Bush Administration and the
Republicans,
but they aren't very impressed by Democrats either.
Greens are in a unique position to advance the party's position on the
Iraq
War, assert some political leadership as the party of opposition to
bipartisan war policies, and stress the failure of Dems to provide antiwar
leadership. We need to do so publicly and as soon as possible.
One of the best ways to do this is to flood newspapers and other media
with
letters to the editor and op-ed column submissions.
Below are a list of bullet points for this purpose, and two sample letters
to the editor. If you use the bullet points or samples, rewrite and
reword
them according to your own style and preference. If you can, make your
letter or column personal, if, for instance, the war has touched you
because
of the loss of someone you know or if you've undertaken a specific action
in
opposition to the war.
These bullet points focus on the invasion itself, but there are other
points
that can also be discussed, such as Green support for Cindy Sheehan, the
US's dependency on oil and dedication to oil company profits as a
motivating
factor, the revelations of the Valerie Plame affair, and the role of
Israel.
Keep your letter as concise as possible and avoid passionate
denunciations.
Eight paragraph letters and tirades that begin with "The New York Times
has
deceived and betrayed the American people..." don't get published.
Guest op-ed columns can be longer and can employ more of the bullet
points.
Check the targeted newspaper's web site for specifications. If you need
some help with editing and submitting your column, send a note to the
Media
Committee <mclarty-jNYZjOsdrz8dnm+***@public.gmane.org>.
BULLET POINTS
(Important!) The only rational action is an end to the occupation and
immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some Democrats
for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
(Important!) President Bush and the Republicans have shamed the US,
breached international and US constitutional law, and weakened our
security.
They did so with permission from the Democratic leadership and the major
media. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need new political
leadership.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) and other Congress members who have condemned
the Iraq War deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak
out? In early 2003, at the beginning of the invasion, it was already
evident that the Bush Administration's motivations were based on
deception.
While Democrats and the media fell for the White House's fraudulent
claims, millions of Americans were skeptical. Many of us, including the
Green Party, spoke out publicly against the invasion.
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they
undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the deceit
and
massive abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical ideologues.
There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam
Hussein
had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when President
Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The accusation that
Saddam
Hussein had conspired with al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush
officials
already knew that the nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery.
President Bush, in his 2003 State of Union address, and Secretary of State
Colin Powell, in his February 2003 speech before the UN, misled the US and
the world -- and we should have known it. [Excellent source for more
information: "Libby Indictment May Open Door to Broader Iraq War
Deceptions"
by Stephen Zunes, in Foreign Policy In Focus, November 14, 2005
<http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2925>]
President Bush still insists that the invasion of Iraq was a necessary
part of his 'War on Terror', even though no one believes Iraq played a
role
in the 9/11 attacks. Instead, the invasion has created more animosity
against the US and its allies and further inflamed violent extremists.
Ever since the Project for a New American Century (whose leaders now
hold
positions in the Bush Administration) tried to persuade President Clinton
to
invade Iraq in 1989, it has been clear that an extreme Republican faction
wanted to remove Saddam Hussein and gain control over Iraq's oil
resources.
This faction has reintroduced the concept of invasion for 'preemptive'
purposes, which had been outlawed after World War II by international
laws,
including the UN Charter, to which the US was signatory.
Ahmed Chalabi recently visited Washington and met with Vice President
Cheney and other leaders. This is the same Ahmed Chalabi who fed the US
misinformation about Iraqi WMDs, who allegedly passed US secrets to Iran,
who was convicted of embezzlement in Jordan -- and was named Interim Oil
Minister in Iraq, with the Bush Administration's blessing.
The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
servicemembers; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence
of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites; alleged wartime
profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold multi-billion-dollar
contracts; the use of depleted uranium and outlawed chemical weapons
(white
phosphorus). Meanwhile, White White House officials try to smear war
critics as unpatriotic, and Vice President Cheney lobbies for legalization
of torture. Worst of all, we have to endure three more years of Mr.
Bush's
lawless, rock-bottom presidency.
The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we
need
to send more troops is equally appalling.
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #1
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak out? In
early
2003, at the beginning of the invasion, it was already evident that the
Bush
Administration's motivations were based on deception. While Democrats and
the media fell for the White House's fraudulent claims, many of us,
including the Green Party, protested the invasion.
The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
servicemembers; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence
of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites; alleged wartime
profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold multi-billion-dollar
contracts; the use of depleted uranium and outlawed chemical weapons
(white
phosphorus). Meanwhile, White House officials try to smear war critics as
unpatriotic, and Vice President Cheney lobbies for legalization of
torture.
Worst of all, we have to endure three more years of Mr. Bush's lawless,
rock-bottom presidency.
The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we need
to send more troops is equally appalling. The only rational action is
immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some Democrats
for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media, has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #2
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak out? In
2003,
it was already evident that the White House's reasons for going to war
were
fraudulent, and many of us, including the Green Party, protested the
invasion.
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they
undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the massive
abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical ideologues.
There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam Hussein
had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when President
Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The accusation that
Saddam
had conspired with al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush officials
already
knew that the nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery.
The only rational action now is immediate withdrawal of US troops from
Iraq.
The demand by some Democrats for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006
will
only result in more US troop and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media, has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
* * * * *
The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
National office: 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191 or 202-319-7192
866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Join the GreensWeek e-mail subscription list for the latest on national
Green Party news and events:
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/greensweek
http://www.gp.org/greensweek/index.html
Arive derci.
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com