Capitol
Hill Update, February 2007
 |
Iraq
is on everyone's minds.
Iran is not far behind.
If
the U.S. chose to go to
war once, what would stop
it from making that choice
again?
You
would. The time
to speak out against the
next war is now.
|
|
 |
The
WAND legislative agenda
for 2007
Our priorities
on Capitol Hill for the
coming year. For example,
how about alternatives to
war? Less for the Pentagon,
more for human beings? Preventing
nuclear terrorism?
Seems fairly obvious to
me... |
 |
Love.
Not war. Nothing says "I
love you" like an anti-war
ad on Capitol Hill.
Valentine's Day 2007
Skip
the candy and the flowers
this year.
Show your love by helping
to pay for an ad that speaks
out clearly against a military
action on Iran.
The ad will be
in CQ Daily on
Tuesday and Thursday this
week.
Please
help WAND pay for this ad!
We're aiming to make
an impact, and a difference,
NOW.
Thanks! See
the full ad.
|
 |
Diplomacy,
not war, with Iran
Tell Congress: Let’s
do all we can to avoid military
action against Iran
Send
a message to your Representative
and Senators today. |
- Support
direct negotiations with Iran
- Promote
stronger cultural and people-to-people
ties with Iran
- Require
a National Intelligence Estimate
(NIE) on the status of Iran’s
nuclear program
- Assess
the usefulness of so-called
pro-democracy provisions
|
The president
said a lotta things in the State
of the Union address; and then
he submitted his federal budget
proposal some days later. That
tells the real story.
And it is the
same old story. Once again, Pentagon
spending up; domestic spending
not. Deficit deepens, rich people
get tax breaks, middle class tax
burden increases, poor people
hung out to dry...
The bottom
line, as reported by WAND Public
Policy Director Marie Rietmann:
In
FY07, we are spending $463 billion
on the Pentagon--Department of
Defense plus the nuclear weapons
portion of the Department of Energy.
The Administration request for
FY08 is $502 billion, an increase
of $37 billion, or nearly 8% (adjusted
for inflation). That is 52% of
the discretionary budget.
And
that does not include the $142
billion that is being requested
for FY08 for the costs of the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If that money were included in
both the request for the Pentagon
and the total for discretionary
spending, the percentage
of Pentagon spending would jump
to over 58% of the discretionary
budget. |
|
Highlights
of the Fiscal
Year 2008 Pentagon
Spending Request
From our friends
at the Center
for Arms Control
and Non-Proliferation
February 5,
2007 | Click
here for
more.
"Top
Line" Funding
- The
Bush Administration
is requesting
$484.1 billion
for the Department
of Defense in
Fiscal Year
2008, which
begins on October
1, 2007. This
is $49 billion
more than the
current level
of $432.4 billion,
an increase
of 11.3 percent,
and inflation-adjust
("real")
increase of
8.6 percent.
This figure
does not include
funding for
the nuclear
weapons activities
of the Department
of Energy, which
is considered
part of total
Defense Department
spending. Nor
does this figure
include the
costs of ongoing
military operations
in Iraq and
Afghanistan...
Funding
for Contingency
Operations (Supplemental
Appropriations)
- In addition
to its annual
budget request,
the Pentagon
is also requesting
$93.4 billion
in supplemental
funding for
combat operations
for Fiscal Year
2007, which
is in addition
to $70 billion
in FY'07 supplemental
funding approved
by Congress
as part of their
regular 2007
budget work.
In addition,
the request
includes $141.7
billion to cover
Iraq and Afghanistan
operations during
FY'08. Congress
has already
approved over
$500 billion
in supplemental
funding for
operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Missile
Defense
- The Administration
is requesting
$8.9 billion
for the Missile
Defense Agency
in FY'08, down
roughly $0.5
billion from
the current
$9.4 billion.
Missile
defense continues
to receive more
funding than
any other weapons
program in the
annual Pentagon
budget...
Homeland
Defense
- The request
contains $17.5
billion for
Pentagon activities
related to homeland
security including
detection of
and protection
against weapons
of mass destruction,
emergency preparedness
and response,
and protecting
critical infrastructure.
The increase
in DoD's FY'08
contribution
over last year
is 5.6 percent.
Cooperative
Threat Reduction
(CTR)
- The Administration
is requesting
$348.0 million
for the CTR
(also known
as "Nunn-Lugar")
program, 6.5
percent below
the current
level of $372.1
million and
15 percent below
FY'06. Further,
the request
recommends a
reduction (or
rescission)
of $1 million
in current funding.
The CTR program
assists Russia
and the former
Soviet republics
safeguard weapons
of mass destruction
and related
technologies.
Federal
Budget Deficit
-In January
the Congressional
Budget Office
estimated that
the deficit
for FY07 will
be $172 billion.
And while this
is lower than
the FY06 deficit
of $248 billion,
it assumes that
only $70 billion
will be appropriated
for military
operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan,
and does not
include the
$93 billion
in additional
supplemental
fundings requested
today. Including
those funds,
the projected
FY07 deficit
jumps to $265
billion.
|
Bush
Budget Projects A Surplus by 2012
Democrats Say Plan Would Grow
Debt
By
Lori Montgomery | Washington
Post | February 5, 2007
The
budget that President Bush will
submit to Congress today shows
the federal deficit falling
in each of the next four years
and would produce a $61 billion
surplus in 2012, administration
officials said. But to get there,
Bush is counting on strong economic
growth, diminishing costs in
the Iraq war and tight domestic
spending to offset the cost
of his tax cuts.
Democrats
yesterday criticized the five-year
budget plan as overly optimistic,
and predicted that extending
the tax cuts past their 2010
expiration date would dig the
nation deeper into debt rather
than produce a budget surplus.
Republicans countered that the
tax cuts are critical to maintaining
a healthy economy and that a
balanced budget is not possible
without them.
|
Bush
Plan Reins In Domestic Spending
Proposal Aims to Balance Budget
And Fund Wars
By
Michael Abramowitz and Lori Montgomery
Washington
Post | February 6, 2007
President
Bush took aim yesterday at domestic
spending as part of a plan to
balance the budget in five years
without raising taxes while
increasing funding for the Iraq
war and permanently expanding
the military.
With
the $2.9 trillion budget he
submitted to Congress, Bush
signaled he would attempt to
squeeze spending on health care,
education, housing and other
domestic programs important
to the Democratic majority for
the duration of his term. Overall
domestic spending would be held
below the rate of inflation
in the fiscal year that begins
Oct. 1 and frozen thereafter.
|
| One
victory: The House Appropriations
Committee added $68.5 million
to two of the Energy Department's
nuclear nonproliferation programs
in the Continuing Resolution (CR),
H.J.Res. 20. The bill goes to
the House floor tomorrow (Wednesday).
It was jointly drafted by the
staff of the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees, so
the increases will likely also
be adopted in the Senate. The
current CR expires February 15,
so there is urgency in passing
this bill.
Three
members of Congress worked to
make these increases happen,
House Energy and Water Appropriations
Subcommittee chairman Pete Visclosky
(IN), the subcommittee's ranking
Republican David Hobson (OH),
and the Senate Energy and Water
Appropriations Subcommittee
chairman Byron Dorgan (ND).
Rep. Robert Andrews (NJ), Sen.
Dianne Feinstein (CA), and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV)
also helped.
Thanks
to Marie Rietmann (Women's Action
for New Directions) and Stephen
Young (Union of Concerned Scientists)
for their lobbying help.
Best,
David
Culp, Legislative Representative
Friends Committee on National
Legislation (Quakers)
|
President's
Budget Full of Cheap Rhetoric;
Wrong Priorities
President Favors
Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Over
Domestic Needs
OMB
Watch
With the release of his Fiscal
Year 2008 (FY 08) budget proposal
on Feb 5, President George W.
Bush has once again traded in
his "compassionate"
conservative label and adopted
one of outright hostility toward
investing in services benefiting
middle- and low-income Americans.
While the president has shifted
his rhetoric this year in an
awkward attempt to be perceived
as fiscally responsible, the
specific priorities reflected
in his budget proposal are little
different from previous years.
The president is attempting
to balance the federal budget
on the backs of regular Americans
– slashing investments
in children's health care, education,
nutrition supports, cancer research,
housing, environmental protection,
and home energy assistance and
many other areas – all
the while continuing tax cut
giveaways for the well-off.
This
unrealistic sham of a budget
continues to neglect urgent
needs, sacrificing investments
in improving the quality of
life of all Americans to extend
irresponsible tax cuts, and
expands the use of budget gimmicks
and omissions to feign fiscal
responsibility. As a whole,
the budget represents a continuation
of the wrong priorities for
America.
Tax Cuts for the Rich,
Program Cuts for Everyone Else |
| WiLL
organizes letter to Congress
from women state legislators
across the country
WiLL is encouraging
women state legislators to take
action and respond quickly to
the President’s budget request
before many of his proposed
cuts pass through Congress.
An
excerpt from the letter; more
information here.
"Increased funding for
the Pentagon and cuts in funds
for other vital security programs
do not make Americans more secure,
nor do such actions reflect
the values of the public. The
Administration's request for
the Defense Department and the
nuclear weapons portion of the
Department of Energy is $502
billion for FY08, 8% more than
last year's budget. This does
not include the $142 billion
requested for the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan for FY08. We
believe this is not the best
use of our federal tax dollars.
" |
 |
Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
Okay,
so I was in tears watching
Nancy Pelosi bang the
gavel at the State of
the Union address. |
|
She
just looked so competent
and professional, and
yet so female and stylish,
and yet so powerful,
and yet so reasonable.
You
just don't see women
like that on TV! But
once in a great while,
you do. Thank you, Madam
Speaker...
|
|
WAND
DC Reception on Capitol
Hill
February 2007

Even
though it snowed just
a bit and shut down the
city, dozens of folks
turned out for the WAND
DC Reception on Capitol
Hill on February 7, 2007.
We were delighted to celebrate
the newest Congresswomen
at the tables of power,
and to provide networking
opportunities for all
of us in the peace and
security community.
Thanks
to everyone who worked
so hard to put together
this event, and to everyone
who showed up! More
photos here.

Congresswoman
Nancy Boyda (KS) with
Congresswoman Carol Shea
Porter (NH) and WAND executive
director Susan Shaer.
Boyda
delighted the crowd when
she reported that Nancy
Pelosi is doing well as
Speaker of the House because
she's behaving like a
real mom: She asks for
directions, and she makes
lists.
Actually
makes one hopeful...
|
| Capitol
Hill Briefing on Balancing
Security Spending

(l
to r): Bill Johnstone-9/11
Commission staff and currently
affiliated with Partnership
for a Secure America;
Miriam Pemberton-Foreign
Policy In Focus, Institute
for Policy Studies;Christopher
Hellman-Center for Arms
Control and Non-Proliferation;
Marie Rietmann-Women’s
Action for New Directions
WAND
sponsored a briefing February
16, 2007 on “A Unified
Security Budget for the
United States." The
budget shows how a rebalanced
security strategy would
put new emphasis on cost-effective
preventive medicine, reducing
the need for expensive
military cures.
This
budget has been written
for several years now
by Dr. Pemberton and Larry
Korb, assistant secretary
of defense for President
Reagan. Mr. Johnstone
and Mr. Hellman are assisting
in its preparation for
FY08.
|
WAND
Atlanta "REAL State
of the Union" Event
February
13, 2007 | First Iconium
Baptist Church
Jay
Bookman, the deputy editorial
page editor of the Atlanta
Journal Constitution,
and outspoken civil rights
activist the Reverend
Joseph Lowery delivered
the 5th annual talk reflecting
on the President’s
FY08 Federal Budget, the
war in Iraq and the health
of our country.
More
pictures here.

|
| We
Bid a Sad, Sad Farewell
to Molly Ivins
From
her last column:
“We
are the people who run
this country. We are the
deciders. And every single
day, every single one
of us needs to step outside
and take some action to
help stop this war.”
If
ever a woman spoke truth
to power, it was Molly.
And she kept on doing
it, with great skill and
humor, til the end.
Molly
spoke at our WAND/WiLL
conference in 2003, and
brought down the house.
When she passed last month,
a lot of us had a lot
of fond memories of her
wit, her courage, and
her passion.
(Molly
in the middle)

A
few snippets:
Raise
hell - and have fun doing
it
By Aria Seligmann | February
2, 2007 |Eugene Register
Guard
Full article, click
here.
A
simple message in my spam
folder: Molly Ivins has
passed. Tears immediately
rolled down my cheeks,
remembering how Molly,
when she came to Eugene
in October 2003, changed
my life.
From
WAND executive director
Susan Shaer;
read
the whole piece here.
She
was a natural. A beer
loving, cigarette smoking,
down-home girl. I envision
her gamboling with her
fellow journalists in
a bar outside the State
Capitol in Texas and taking
in all the gossip, then
flinging it out to the
world in her popular column.
The antics of the Texas
leg (as she fondly called
it) made them all seem
silly and petty and also
quite venal. It was always
funny, but you could take
very seriously the criticism
she penned.
Remembering Molly Ivins
By John Nichols
John Nichols remembers Molly Ivins telling crowds,
"even when she was
battling cancer and Karl
Rove, that they should
relish the lucky break
of their consciences and
their conflicts. Speaking
truth to power is the
best job in any democracy,
she explained. It took
her to towns across this
great yet battered land
to say: 'So keep fightin'
for freedom and justice,
beloveds, but don't you
forget to have fun doin'
it. Lord, let your laughter
ring forth. Be outrageous,
ridicule the fraidy-cats,
rejoice in all the oddities
that freedom can produce.
And when you get through
kickin' ass and celebratin'
the sheer joy of a good
fight, be sure to tell
those who come after how
much fun it was.'"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107J.shtml
Tribute to
the Life and Work
of
Molly
Ivins
New
York,
NY
The
Berkeley Daily Planet had a
challenge to
columnists
one
day before
Molly
Ivins died: continue
her work
by writing your
own pieces railing against the
war in Iraq.
WMC runs Planet
executive editor
Becky O’Malley’s
appreciation
and call to
journalistic
action.
Deadline: Ongoing
Submit contributions to tribute@berkeleydailyplanet.com.
Visit www.womensmediacenter.com
for
more
information.
|
|
 |
UN
Report: January 2007
by Sayre Sheldon, WAND representative
on the NGO Working Group
for Women, Peace and Security |
|
Once again the UN comes to the
time of year for evaluating
what progress women have
made around the world.
From February 28 to March
9 the Commission on the
Status of Women will be
meeting. WAND will be
represented by the Working
Group for Women, Peace
and Security which will
be holding round-table
meetings and trainings
for increasing women's
presence in peace-keeping
and conflict prevention.
You may have seen the photograph
of the all-female group
of peacemakers assigned
to Liberia made up of
100 women from India.
A first -- but the fact
remains that only 1% of
all peacekeepers are women
at present. This year's
status of women meetings
will focus on protecting
girls from violence and
in Liberia itself there
have been many rapes of
young girls which as yet
go unpunished, so difficult
is it to enact new laws
after years of war.
On a more cheerful note, we
at home may be debating
whether we can elect a
woman president but women
in leadership positions
around the world are increasing.
|
|
Oregon
flags represent the
fallen in Iraq
It
looks like snow...but
it is flags
February
2007

Oregon WAND contributed to the purchase of flags and
members worked to set
up the exhibit. The Iraq
Body Count Exhibit is
set up on the U. of Oregon
campus. From a distance,
it looks as if an early
thaw has arrived on the
University of Oregon campus,
as hundreds of thousands
of red and white flecks
stand out brilliantly
like new tulips against
the green grass.
Full
story here.
|
Arms
Control Association Welcomes Agreement
on North Korean Nuclear Program
as "Essential First Step"
Press
Release February 13, 2007
(Washington, D.C.):
Arms Control Association (ACA)
experts called the multilateral
agreement reached earlier today
with North Korea a "long
overdue and essential first step
toward reducing the threat posed
by North Korea's nuclear weapons
program."
|
|
Bold
vision needed to counter nuclear
threat
Ratifying the Test Ban Treaty
and securing nuclear weapons are
two of the actions that can be
taken to improve global security.
Steve Andreasen | Minneapolis
Star Tribune| February 14,
2007
The good news for the men and
women who are seeking the presidency
today is that the danger of a
nuclear war on that scale has
largely disappeared with the end
of the Cold War. The bad
news is that the risk of a nuclear
weapon being used today is as
high as it has been at any time
in the past 20 years...
|
|
NUCLEAR
INITIATIVE: Fuel reprocessing
proposal full of risks
By
Bobbie Paul, WAND Atlanta Executive
Director| Atlanta
Journal-Constitution | 02/09/07
President Bush's latest weapon
of "mass deception,"
being heavily marketed by the
nuclear industry is called Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership. This
initiative is expected to cost
between $3 billion and $6 billion
in its first five years. GNEP
offers a misguided plan to expand
global nuclear energy production,
while solving the nuclear waste
problem here at home and creating
a "proliferation resistant"
technology to keep nuclear materials
out of the hands of terrorists.
These claims are
misleading and obscure the real
reason for this government funded
initiative.
Basically, GNEP
is a huge import/export project
of the nuclear industry that requires
the U.S. to manufacture nuclear
fuel rods, ship them to other
countries to run reactors, and
then take the highly radioactive
fuel rods back for reprocessing
in newly constructed facilities.
|
 |
Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
Dear Iraq: We're sorry.
Really really sorry. |
|
I thought I did all I could to prevent that guy from returning
to the White House. But
it wasn't enough.
I thought
I did all I could to get
a Democratic majority in
the House and Senate. But
that's not enough.
Now we're
here: the war grinds on,
the violence flares ever
more fiercely, women and
children perish. And that
guy's solution? Pour more
gasoline on it.
So
it all makes this question
ever more urgent: How how
how did we get to this point?
And how are we going to
get out of this juncture?
A
sage and serious woman has
tried to come up with some
answers for us. She's summed
it all up in a nice, easy
document. It's worth a read.
|
|
 |
March
on DC January 27 a huge success!
WAND members and friends traveled
from all over the country to join
the march on DC on January 27. It
was a great day for the weather
and for activism.
See
more photos
and a report!
A
video with Atlanta WAND Dancing
Flowers |
|
More
troops, more dollars
National Priorities Project breaks
it down for you
Click
here for loads of information.
In
light of the President's request
for additional troops in Iraq,
NPP has produced a revised publication,
More Troops, More Dollars, which
breaks down the cost of the war
by state and congressional district.
It also shows what the money spent
in Iraq could buy each district
in health care for children, affordable
housing units and new elementary
schools. Additionally, state level
data is available on the number
of soldiers killed and wounded
in Iraq.
And
more from NPP
NPP
now has available
state-level factsheets that
provide both an overview of the
President's budget request for
next fiscal year and breakdowns
of how his proposed cuts will
impact each state in seven different
program areas. The factsheet also
provides the cost of the Iraq
War for each state based on the
new request for an additional
$100 billion in war spending.
|
|
WAND
is part of a coalition of groups
working every day to move Congress
to do something already about
the war. Please explore
the site.
In
an exclusive interview on the web
site www.movecongress.org,
Congressman Jack Murtha
(D-PA), Chairman of the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Defense, described
his strategy to use the Supplemental
Appropriations bill that is now
before his committee to stop the
surge of troops into Iraq and begin
to “force” their redeployment.
He described the redeployment
of US troops out of Iraq as “the
first step to security in the Middle
East”. Key
to Murtha’s strategy will
be establishing a set of strict
requirements that the administration
will need to meet to deploy troops
into Iraq:
- 1)
Troops will need to be certified
as “fully combat ready”
with the training and equipment
that they need;
- 2)
Deployments cannot be extended
beyond one year;
- 3)
Troops must have at least one-year
at home between deployments;
- 4)
The “stop-loss”
program where soldiers are forced
to extend their agreed upon
enlistment period will be prohibited.
Chairman
Murtha described other measures
the committee is considering for
inclusion in the legislation:
- 1)
Prohibit an attack on Iran without
Congressional authorization;
- 2)
Prohibit the construction of
permanent military bases in
Iraq;
- 3)
Close the US military prison
at Guantanamo Bay Cuba;
- 4)
Bulldoze the Abu Ghraib prison
into rubble;
- 5)
Substantially reduce private
security contractors and establish
greater accountability for those
who remain.
Key
to adoption of Chairman Murtha’s
plan will be the strong support
of Congressional Democrats, starting
with House leadership. Tom Andrews,
former Member of the House Armed
Services Committee and National
Director of Win Without War, sponsor
of the web site, said that activists
will make an intensive effort
to persuade Members of Congress
to support redeployment.
“A
non-binding resolution is useless
and counterproductive if not followed
by strong binding Congressional
action. We are launching an effort
to convince Members of Congress
to back up their words with action
upon their return to Washington.”
Chairman
Murtha reported that his subcommittee
will vote on the Supplemental
Appropriations bill on March 14
and send it to the Appropriations
Committee where action will be
taken three or four days later. |
Official's
Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted
'Dubious' Intelligence Fueled Push
for War
By Walter Pincus and R.
Jeffrey Smith
Washington
Post | February 9, 2007
Intelligence
provided by former undersecretary
of defense Douglas J. Feith to
buttress the White House case
for invading Iraq included "reporting
of dubious quality or reliability"
that supported the political views
of senior administration officials
rather than the conclusions of
the intelligence community, according
to a report by the Pentagon's
inspector general.
Feith's
office "was predisposed to
finding a significant relationship
between Iraq and al Qaeda,"
according to portions of the report,
released yesterday by Sen. Carl
M. Levin (D-Mich.). The inspector
general described Feith's activities
as "an alternative intelligence
assessment process."
|
| And
then there's the "surge"
Since the House
passed the nonbinding resolution
to oppose the escalation, you
gotta wonder how it's all going
to roll out.
It won't be easy,
it won't be quick, and it won't
be cheap:
From the NYT:
...yesterday’s
vote, in which 17 Republicans
joined the Democrats to produce
a margin of 246 to 182, was the
easy part. It takes no great courage
or creativity for a politician
to express continuing support
for the troops and opposition
to a vastly unpopular and unpromising
military escalation...
The
next necessary steps will require
harder thinking and harder choices.
Congress needs to do what Mr.
Bush is refusing to do: link further
financing for the war to the performance
of Iraq’s Shiite-led government,
which is making no serious effort
to rescue its country from civil
war.
|
| Victory
Is Not an Option
The Mission Can't Be Accomplished
-- It's Time for a New Strategy
By
William E. Odom | Washington
Post | February 11, 2007
The
new National Intelligence Estimate
on Iraq starkly delineates the
gulf that separates President
Bush's illusions from the realities
of the war. Victory, as the president
sees it, requires a stable liberal
democracy in Iraq that is pro-American.
The NIE describes a war that has
no chance of producing that result.
In this critical respect, the
NIE, the consensus judgment of
all the U.S. intelligence agencies,
is a declaration of defeat.
Its
gloomy implications -- hedged,
as intelligence agencies prefer,
in rubbery language that cannot
soften its impact -- put the intelligence
community and the American public
on the same page. The public awakened
to the reality of failure in Iraq
last year and turned the Republicans
out of control of Congress to
wake it up. But a majority of
its members are still asleep,
or only half-awake to their new
writ to end the war soon.
|
|
Expect
The Worst In Iraq
By
David Ignatius | Washington
Post | February 7, 2007
Somehow,
after four years, the debate on
Iraq is still animated by wishful
thinking. The White House talks
as if a surge of 20,000 troops
is going to stop a civil war.
Democrats argue that when America
withdraws its troops, Iraqis will
finally take responsibility for
their own security. But we all
need to face the likelihood that
this story isn't going to have
a happy ending.
|
 |
Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
Oh, I didn't want to have
to do this. |
|
Start
a new section of the Bulletin
with news about Iran.
More
specifically, news about
potential U.S. military
action on Iran.
But
there ya go: it's time.
It's clear that the administration
is happy to consider this
path. And if they're gonna
consider it, we're gonna
have to do all we can to
tell them what a very very
bad idea that is.
So
we're starting. We've already
made a couple online actions
about Iran. Now we've pitched
in to place this ad in a
publication that reaches
Congress. And we're trying
to spread the word through
briefings and talks.
You
can help. The time to take
preventive action for a
"preventive" war
is NOW. If they can do it,
we can, too.
Thanks
for all you do.
|
|
 |
Love.
Not war. Nothing says "I
love you" like an anti-war
ad on Capitol Hill.
Valentine's Day 2007
Skip
the candy and the flowers this
year.
Show your love by helping to pay
for an ad that speaks out clearly
against a military action on Iran.
The ad will be in CQ
Daily on Tuesday and Thursday
this week.
Please
help WAND pay for this ad! We're
aiming to make an impact, and
a difference, NOW.
Thanks! See
the full ad. |
Former
military chiefs urge talks with
Iran
February 3, 2007 | CNN.com
Three
former senior U.S. military officials
warn that any military action
against Iran would have "disastrous
consequences" and urged Washington
to hold immediate and unconditional
talks with Tehran.
The
Bush administration has increased
the regularity and vehemence of
its accusations against Iran,
prompting speculation it could
be laying the ground for military
attack against the Islamic state.
Washington
has also sent a second aircraft
carrier to the Gulf, a move seen
as a warning to Iran, which the
United States accuses of seeking
atomic arms and fueling instability
in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle
East. Iran denies the charges.
In
a letter to London's Sunday Times
newspaper, the three former U.S.
military leaders said attacking
Iran "would have disastrous
consequences for security in the
region, coalition forces in Iraq
and would further exacerbate regional
and global tensions," they
wrote.
"The
current crisis must be resolved
through diplomacy," they
said.
|
Congress
must stop an attack on Iran
By Leonard Weiss and Larry Diamond
LA
Times | February 5, 2007
...Nothing prevents Congress
from using its power of the purse
to prevent an American attack
on Iran. President Bush's
neoconservative advisors and pundit
supporters have been beating the
drums of war with Iran since 2003,
when the president declared Iran
to be part of an "axis of
evil." Recall that a senior
administration official told The
Times that Iran should "take
a number" in the wake of
the invasion of Iraq. In his recent
address to the nation on the troop
surge in Iraq, Bush issued more
threats to Iran. Now the president
has named a Navy admiral to head
the U.S. Central Command and dispatched
a second aircraft carrier and
minesweepers to the Persian Gulf,
presumably to prevent Iran from
closing the Strait of Hormuz in
the event of conflict.
|
Military
action on Iran would be 'catastrophic':
El Baradei
Thu. 25 Jan 2007 | iranfocus.com
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 25, 2007
(AFP) - UN nuclear watchdog chief
Mohamed El Baradei on Thursday
urged an end to talk of a military
solution to the Iran nuclear crisis,
saying any strike against Tehran
would be "catastrophic".
"I
hope we will stop talking about
military action," El Baradei
said during a discussion on nuclear
proliferation at the World Economic
Forum in Davos.
"Military
action against Iran would be counter
productive and catastrophic,"
he said, stressing that the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was
unaware of any facility in Iran
capable of producing nuclear weapons.
"Do
they have the knowledge? Sure,
they have the knowledge. Are you
going to bomb the knowledge?"
he said.
The
UN Security Council passed a resolution
last month imposing sanctions
on Iran for its repeated refusal
to cooperate fully with the Vienna-based
IAEA or to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran
insists that its nuclear programme
is solely aimed at meeting peaceful
energy needs, but the West fears
it could be diverted towards building
an atomic bomb.
In
Vienna on Thursday, IAEA spokeswoman
Melissa Fleming said the agency
had asked Iran to "to reconsider
their decision" to ban 38
IAEA inspectors from working in
the country.
IAEA
inspectors regularly visit Iranian
nuclear sites under the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which
Iran is a signatory.
|
|
Why
care?
Because a military
intervention would be difficult,
if not impossible. Expensive,
if not disastrous for our economy
and federal budget.
And, oh right,
it would kill innocent civilians.
A lot. Remember them?
A
little meditation on this: Video.
Shirin
Ebadi (2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
and Iranian human rights lawyer)
told audiences when WAND helped
host her visit here in January that
we need to learn more about Iran
and that Iranian-Americans need
to tell Americans about the good
things about their country and help
us Americans get to know Iran. |
 |
WiLL
brings Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
to BPW conference
WiLL national field director Laura
Boyd enjoys remarks by U.S. Rep.
Lynn Woolsey at a February luncheon
of the Business and Professional
Women in DC. Woolsey addressed her
priorities for the coming year,
including common sense budgeting,
ending the war, and SMART security. |
|
WiLL
joins effort to have state legislatures
debate the "surge" in
Iraq; speak out to Congress
In January, WiLL participated
in a national conference call
with state legislators all over
the country to launch a state
legislative campaign to prevent
President Bush's escalation in
Iraq.
Now
WiLL members and state directors
across the country are pitching
in to introduce resolutions at
the state level.
More
information about this effort. |
| WiLL
organizes letter to Congress from
women state legislators across
the country
WiLL is encouraging women
state legislators to take action
and respond quickly to the President’s
budget request before many of
his proposed cuts pass through
Congress.
An
excerpt from the letter; more
information here.
"Increased
funding for the Pentagon and cuts
in funds for other vital security
programs do not make Americans
more secure, nor do such actions
reflect the values of the public.
The Administration's request for
the Defense Department and the
nuclear weapons portion of the
Department of Energy is $502 billion
for FY08, 8% more than last year's
budget. This does not include
the $142 billion requested for
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
for FY08. We believe this is not
the best use of our federal tax
dollars. "
|
Weeping
for our Children
by
Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss | Full
piece here.
 |
My
email inbox has recently congealed
with a slew of invitations to
march on Washington on January
27th. If the recent election
of the 110th Congress was a
referendum on Bush’s war
policy, this march is a bold
reminder that the American people
are still not being heard amidst
the clatter of experts and leaders.
Part
of me aches to go. I marched
on Washington four years ago,
locking step with millions around
the world who demanded an end
to the Iraq war before it ever
began. |
Another
sad farewell: to Father Robert
Drinan
From The
Nation:
The
Jesuit priest, who has died this
week at the age of 86, never hesitated
to identify Nixon's military adventurism
in southeast Asia as both "morally
objectionable" and "illegal."
And the wily and whimsical scholar--who
had joked with supporters such
as a young John Kerry about campaigning
on the slogan: "Vote for
Father Drinan or Go to Hell"--was
determined to hold Nixon to account
on both counts.
|
|

|
The
Women’s Equality Summit
and Congressional Action Day -
March 26 & 27, 2007
Over 400 will attend for a day
of sharing information and strategies
followed by a day of meetings
with Senators and Representatives
on Capitol Hill. Click
here for more information!
|
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR
A BETTER WORLD |

| Be
the Change!
Our very own Amanda Hendler Voss
(who leads our Faith in Action program
and just gave birth to a beeyootiful
baby) is quoted in this book several
times. It's filled with stories
of everyday citizens, celebrities,
and high-profile leaders –
people who have made a powerful
difference in their communities
around the world. Jim Lehrer
calls it "a book that could
change your life." |
 |
Love.
Not war. Nothing says "I
love you" like an anti-war
ad on Capitol Hill.
Valentine's Day 2007
Skip
the candy and the flowers this
year.
Show your love by helping to pay
for an ad that speaks out clearly
against a military action on Iran.
The ad will be in CQ
Daily on Tuesday and Thursday
this week.
Please
help WAND pay for this ad! We're
aiming to make an impact, and
a difference, NOW.
Thanks! See
the full ad. |
Women
Leading Change International
Professional, Personal,
Spiritual Development for Women
Women Leading Change is an intensive
program that has the potential to
significantly impact your leadership
and your life. The trifocal nature
of the program entails a deep dive
into self, career and soul. Since
we also believe in having fun and
providing space to rest the spirit
as we grow, we have designed a five-day,
four-night residential program to
meet three times a year on the following
dates:
April 11 - 15 2007 | October
10 - 14 2007 | March 12 - 16 2008
|
 |
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worry, we just moved it to a separate
page.
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Don't
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Click
here and you'll find
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| Power | Peace!
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