Dear Supporter,

Only a few days remain before the 2012 election campaigns begin in earnest with the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary.  It may seems like there’s a lot of time between now and the November elections, but for those looking to impact government spending priorities and end the war in Afghanistan, the time to act is now.

As individuals, our voices can easily be drowned out by well-funded special interests whose outsized influence has only grown stronger thanks to the Citizen United decision.  Only by working together, can we expect to counter the influence of the 1% and achieve our goals for a peaceful and just future.

As you make your year-end charitable-giving decisions for 2011, stand up to the agenda of war and economic ruin with a year-end, tax-deductible contribution to Peace Action Education Fund (PAEF).

With your continued support I think we can make very real progress:

Ending the war in Afghanistan: Because we’ve been successfully growing the opposition, the Obama administration is more aggressively seeking a negotiated settlement and preparing to withdraw ‘surge’ troops this coming August.

On the other side of the ledger, the administration is negotiating with Afghanistan on a more permanent military presence, just as they did in Iraq.  

If you and I keep after election minded-politicians in the months to come, demanding an end to US military operations in Afghanistan, we can end this terrible war.  

Move the Money: Ending the bloodshed in Afghanistan would also save the US around $100 billion a year.  But there is much more the Pentagon can contribute to our nation’s economic recovery.  The military’s appetite for ever more advanced, ever more expensive, weaponry is far greater than is what is needed and what the US can afford.

How much scrutiny military spending receives in coming budget debates is proportionate to the amount of political pressure our elected representatives feel.  A bipartisan caucus favoring cuts in military spending is growing, again thanks to our work together.

By keeping our demand that wasteful military spending be eliminated front and center and insisting the 1% pay their fair share, we can achieve the economic recovery we need without cutting Medicare and Social Security.

Let’s not settle for less. Please stand with me by making your end of the year, tax-deductible contribution to Peace Action Education Fund (PAEF) today.

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

P.S. As you make your choices for year-end giving, please consider the impact a peaceful planet would have on all our lives. It's worth working for. I hope you and those you love are enjoying the holiday season and I wish you a terrific 2012.