Prod Senate to withdraw troops

Mar 9, 2007

Dear Friend,

"There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq. Military action is necessary to help improve security ... but it is not sufficient." That was the message yesterday of General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. military forces in Iraq.

His statement came as Senate Democrats, led by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), introduced a resolution (S.J. Res. 9) that would require the President to begin a troop withdrawal from Iraq within 120 days of adoption of the legislation and establish a goal of pulling out virtually all combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008.

Please call your Senators toll-free at 866-340-9281 and tell them to support the Reid Resolution (S.J. Res. 9).

This provision is a major step towards pressuring the Bush Administration and Senate Republicans to set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

As the Los Angeles Times wrote this morning, "The new Democratic proposals for Iraq . . . in one stroke have transformed a many-sided debate about the conflict into a sharp-edged argument about the endgame." The argument is no longer about whether to bring troops home, but about when.

Debate on the Reid resolution could begin as soon as Tuesday so your call is important.

The measure already has 45 Democratic co-sponsors, including many outspoken critics of the war and key centrists like Evan Bayh (D-IN), but more Democratic and Republican support is needed to ensure its passage. Republican support is needed to ensure its passage. Click here for an analysis of legislation on Iraq in both the Senate and the House.

Please call your Senators toll-free at 866-340-9281 and tell them to support the Reid Resolution (S.J. Res. 9).

The Reid bill is not as strong as proposals advanced by progressives in the House of Representatives that would begin an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, but it brings the U.S. Senate much closer to ending the Iraq fiasco.

At this point, the Senate is scheduled to debate a number of Democratic and Republican measures on the Iraq war. Pressure on Republican Senators is especially crucial as it is unclear if Republicans will decide to block any debate on the war, as they did last month when they prevented a vote opposing President Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq..

Council for a Livable World strongly urges adoption of this measure, and urges you to contact your Senators before Tuesday. The movement to end the war in Iraq has made major advances in the last two months, and the Reid proposal brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal of bringing U.S. troops home.

Please call your Senators toll-free at 866-340-9281 and tell them to support the Reid Resolution (S.J. Res. 9)..

Sincerely,

John Isaacs and Guy Stevens

P.S. Help spread the word and end the war in Iraq! Please forward this email on to five friends and tell them to call their Senators too.