Queens Peace Council

QPC Letter to Members of Congress: No More Endless War in Iraq

admin — December 10, 2014 add comment

Dear Member of Congress from Queens,

The Defense Authorization Bill is up for renewal in a few days. It will have provision for the funding of the new war in Iraq and the ongoing war in Syria. The Administration continues to push for U.S. bombing in Iraq and Syria.

We residents of Queens believe that bombing will not solve the short or long-term crises in these countries or help the victims of the Islamic State. The U.S. should stop bombing in Iraq.

A decade of U.S. occupation did not lead to peace in Iraq. The U.S. war in Iraq helped create the conditions that led to the current crisis. The government installed with the 2003 U.S. invasion disenfranchised the Sunni minority, many of whom now tacitly support the Islamic State. Bombing will cause more bloodshed and instability and enable violent, anti-government groups to recruit more supporters.

Instead we could pursue alternative strategies for long-term peace. We should support an inclusive government in Iraq. We should increase humanitarian assistance. We should work regionally to impose an arms embargo against all armed actors in Iraq and Syria. We should engage with the U.N. to reinvigorate efforts for a lasting political solution in Iraq and Syria

We appeal to you to reject any new war authorization. The US Constitution gives Congress responsibility to review any use of military force. Expanding the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force would be a mistake. This perpetual, broad authorization bypasses regular order, and leaves decisions of war solely in the Executive Branch.

Let there be no more endless war in Iraq.

The Queens Peace Council

December 10, 2014

Open Letter to the Government of the United States and the United Nations

Open Letter to the Government of the United States and the United Nations

Mr. Joseph R. Biden Jr.
President of the United States

Mr. António Guterres
Secretary General of the United Nations

The global spread of COVID-19 has exposed the illegal and immoral practice of imposing unilateral coercive measures (economic sanctions) by the United States government against more than thirty nations. The government of the United States is now using the public distraction caused by the pandemic to intensify its military actions against the targeted nations.

The economic war against those nations had already resulted in unimaginable suffering of the people in the targeted nations even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the devastation of the global pandemic, the targeted countries — especially Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Syria and Zimbabwe — are finding it prohibitively difficult to protect and save the lives of their citizens in the face of the ongoing global emergency. These sanctions constitute crimes against humanity.

As a concerned citizen of the world, I call upon the United States government to:</p>

End its economic sanctions against all targeted countries immediately.
Unfreeze the financial assets and bank accounts of the targeted countries so that they can purchase and receive the necessary food, medicine and medical equipment and supplies needed to combat the pandemic.
Stop all military threats and actions against the targeted countries, including the removal of U.S. Navy warships dispatched to Venezuela under the false pretense of “War on Drugs.”
Drop the baseless charge of “Drug Trafficking” against the President Nicolás Maduro and other officials of the government of Venezuela.
Respect the call issued by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, for a global ceasefire.

I call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations and the leading bodies of the United Nations to invoke the articles of the UN Charter to demand respect for international law by the government of the United States.

I also call upon the UN Security Council to lift all UN-imposed sanctions against the targeted countries as well.

**your signature**

Sign the USPC Petition: Cut the Runaway Military Budget!

CUT THE MILITARY BUDGET!
REDIRECT FUNDS TO GREEN JOBS AND TO OUR COMMUNITIES!

We are appalled by continues pouring of our national treasure into the wasteful and destructive military budget. Throwing our resources into promoting war and militarism steals resources needed for ourselves, our neighbors and our communities and prevents creating jobs that produce goods and services desperately needed by the American people.

We call on Congress to fully reject this military budget. We call on Congress to reverse course, to significantly reduce the military budget, ensure the livelihood of workers in the war industries and redirect the money saved to all human needs — green jobs, health care, education, food security, clean air and water and veterans benefits, among others.

**your signature**