[Pacg] National Congressional Call-In Day!

[Carolina 1961]

*Friends, I did not get this message until late... be sure to at
least call your Congressman and Senators tomorrow...*

Please refer to Congressman Braley's statement on Petraeus' testimony at the
end of this message -- thank him for his strong stance on this issue.

*NATIONWIDE CONGRESSIONAL CALL-IN DAY
THURSDAY, APRIL 10TH
CALL TODAY!*
*Congressional­ switchboard: 202-224-3121*
Or, click here to look up the phone numbers for your representative's and
senators' offices.
The general has spoken. The ambassador had his say. *Now it's time for
Congress to hear from YOU. *

On Tuesday and Wednesday, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testified
before Senate and House committees. Through all of the rhetoric and fanfare,
one thing remained crystal clear: The war and occupation in Iraq continue
and there is no end in sight!

What's urgently needed is less talk and more effective action by members of
Congress. They have it in their power to stop this war, if they'll use it.
They can refuse to allocate additional money for the war.

On Thursday, April 10th, people from every corner of the country are calling
the offices of their representatives and senators in Congress. Won't you
take a minute to make this important call today?
Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your
representative's and senators' offices, or click here to look up the direct
numbers to their DC and local offices.

When you place your calls, please be sure to:

1) Emphasize that it is time to stop funding the war and occupation in Iraq
- Congress must say no to the request for an additional $102.5 billion!!

2) Call on your representatives in the House to co-sponsor HR 5507 and bring
all the troops home! Introduced by the leaders of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus,
this is a strong bill that requires the rapid removal of all U.S. troops and
security contractors from Iraq and addresses many other important issues.
We also encourage you to watch some of the testimony from the recent Winter
Soldier hearings, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War. There is a lot
of very powerful material there, and information that can make your calls to
Congress even stronger. Visit www.ivaw.org.
Yours, for peace and justice,
John Bruhns, Legislative Action Coordinator, UFPJ

           *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
April 8, 2008
*
Braley Statement on Petraeus Testimony*

Washington, DC – *Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa)* released the following
statement today on the testimony of General David Petraeus before Congress:

"While there have been recent security gains on the ground in Iraq, we are
no closer today to a political solution for Iraq than we were last September
when General Petraeus first testified before Congress.  General Petraeus
himself acknowledged as much last month when he said that 'no one' felt
there had been 'sufficient progress' at Iraqi national reconciliation.

"Like he did last fall, General Petraeus today asked for more time for the
President's surge to work.  But all the time in the world won't get the
Iraqis to come together and reach a political solution for their country
unless they are willing to commit to it.

"General Petraeus also expressed concern with setting a timetable for
redeployment.  But we can't stay in Iraq forever: our troops are spread thin
across the globe, our military readiness is dangerously depleted, and we
have lost our focus on the war on terror in Afghanistan.

"It's time to show the Iraqis that we are serious about them taking control
of their own country.  We need to follow the advice that the Iraq Study
Group gave long ago: it's time to set a timeline to redeploy our troops and
turn Iraq over to the Iraqis."

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