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Genuine "Support Our Troops" Resolution Friends, Below is a copy of "A Genuine 'Support Our Troops' Resolution" that was taken last Thursday into the office of Senator Tom Daschle by 18 of us representing United for Peace and Justice and Code Pink: Women for Peace. We held the office for two hours; about a dozen different press outlets came there and filmed, recorded or took notes about our sit-in; then we left the office and marched loudly around the Senate Hart Office Building chanting, "Support Our Troops! Bring Them Home Now! Don't Bomb Iraq!" Just before we left the building under threat of being arrested by the police, three of us sat down and were arrested. We took this action on the day that the Senate, and then the House, overwhelmingly passed their so-called "support our troops," pro-war resolution. This resolution is a very slightly modified version of one put together by Karen Dolan and others at the Institute for Policy Studies. It may be helpful to you in your work right now. Ted Glick Whereas, We support our men and women in the armed forces 100 percent. We salute them for their sacrifice on behalf of our nation. We thank them for their willingness to risk their lives; Whereas, Even as we praise our servicemen and women, we regret that the President of the United States has ordered them to start a preemptive war fought without international support; Whereas, We believe a preemptive, unilateral war is unworthy of the honor and tradition of the U.S. military. Our armed forces should not be invading and occupying other countries; Whereas, The House Budget Committee's Republican majority voted to cut the Department of Veterans Affairs budget by $25 billion over the next 10 years; Whereas, The House Budget Committee's Republican majority voted to cut the Impact Aid program that supports the education of soldiers' children by $204 million; Whereas, The Bush Administration ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to limit veterans access to healthcare and benefits by ordering VA to stop publicizing the availability of benefits; Whereas, In the last Gulf War, veterans were exposed to the fall out from destroyed chemical weapons, ammunition depots, oil fires, depleted uranium and experimental drugs resulting in the disabling of more than 163,000 veterans, and; Whereas, Despite the requirements of the 1997 Force Health Protection law (Public Law 105-85), the Department of Defense is repeating the mistakes from the 1991 by failing to identify who went to war, their exposures, and their health consequences; and, Whereas, An offensive war and budget cuts demonstrate that Congress and the President have thus far failed to provide support for veterans and families of active duty troops and reservists. Whereas, An offensive war and budget cuts demonstrate that Congress and the President have thus far failed to provide support for veterans and families of active duty troops and reservists; Be it Therefore Resolved that the U.S. Congress calls for the immediate return of U.S. troops to the U.S.; And Be it Further Resolved, We call for an increase in government spending for veterans and higher pay and benefits for service members and their families; And Be it Further Resolved, That we urge our government to adopt a foreign policy that achieves victory through diplomacy and engagement with the United Nations and democracies rather than resorting to war as the first option to resolve disputes. Avoiding and ending unnecessary combat in Iraq is the best way to support our troops and ensure their safe and speedy return home. From: Ted Glick <indpol@igc.org |