Osama bin Laden is dead.
Let's bring all our troops home!
Bin Laden's death is a moment for remembrance and reflection about all the innocent lives lost NY, DC and PA on 9/11. For the thousands of grieving families, perhaps his death will provide a step toward closure.
It is also a moment to reflect on the cost in lives - both civilian and military - and treasure sacrificed in Afghanistan over the course of nearly ten years.
-
1566 U.S. Military Fatalities
-
10,468 U.S. troops officially listed as wounded
-
Many thousands more scarred by PTSD, addiction, unrecorded brain injury and mental health problems.
-
15,000-60,000 Afghan civilian casualties (no one knows for sure since no records were kept for the first five years of the war)
-
Direct Cost to U.S. Taxpayers: $444 billion so far (which doesn't include future medical care for wounded veterans, interest paid on the war debt or other future costs)
|
Was all this sacrifice necessary? Despite nearly a decade of war, with more than 100,000 U.S. and 30,000 NATO troops (and an equal number of private contractors) now in Afghanistan, and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered, what got bin Laden was patient intelligence gathering, good old fashioned police work, and a few dozen highly trained Navy SEALS and CIA operatives. The American people after 9/11 wanted justice, but sadly, got vengeance instead. We may now experience relief, but have little cause for celebration.
The death of bin Laden will not end the killing. U.S. troops and innocent Afghans will continue to die so long as the U.S. continues its military occupation of Afghanistan. And those deaths will not make us any safer! Indeed, they will keep alive the desire for revenge that fuels terrorism.
Must we continue to invest billions of dollars in a thoroughly corrupt, discredited and illegitimate regime in Kabul to line the pockets of cronies, warlords and drug lords? For how long? How many lives need be sacrificed? For what purpose?
The death of bin Laden creates an opportunity to declare "mission accomplished" and bring all U.S. forces home. Let's redirect the tens of billions of dollars being squandered there to address our urgent domestic needs -- for jobs, restoration of public services, solving city and state budget deficits, rehiring laid off teachers and other public employees, protecting the environment, developing cost-effective sustainable alternatives energy sources, rehabilitating our crumbling public infrastructure, and other pressing social needs.
We must continue to demand that Congress and the President change course and adopt these
new priorities --
-
End the wars!
-
Redirect funds to meet domestic needs!
-
Tax the rich, the banks and corporations that have grown fat at our expense!
-
Invest in our communities, in a sustainable economy, and in peaceful solutions to international problems!
It's time to give peace a chance!
Bring all our troops home now!!
|
|
Here are a few things you can do to make this happen:
-
Call or write your member of Congress and senators to tell them you want our government to end the Iraq and Afghan wars and use those funds to invest in our communities and people. Look up their phone numbers and email contact information HERE.
-
Ask when they will hold a community meeting or town hall event in their district. Attend and bring others with you to voice your demand for new priorities.
-
Ask them to support and vote for --
►Congresswoman Barbara Lee's legislation (H.R.780) to cut off all funding for the Afghan war except what's needed for the safe and orderly redeployment of all the troops and contractors;
►Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's bill (H.R.651) to negotiate with Afghanistan to prohibit any permanent U.S. military bases there; and
►Senator Barbara Boxer's bill (S.186) that requires the president to set a timetable with an end date by which all the troops will be withdrawn.
Don't settle for political double-talk from politicians. Continue making noise and getting others to join you.
-
Get involved in local organizing for new priorities with one of the organizations in the New Priorities Network, and ask your union to get involved if it is not already.
-
Participate in one of the May 18th Brown Bag Lunch Vigils in front of your Congressional representative's local office.
Educate, organize and mobilize until your elected representatives really represent YOU.
|
