Obama's wars: Surging out of Iraq - Peace Movement Urges President Obama to End Militarism and Make the 21st Century the Last to Know War

The letter below was sent to Barack Obama on his first day in office. The letter was signed by more than 3,000 people. The initial signatories, members of the Project Board of Voters for Peace, are published below.

January 21, 2009


The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

This letter is signed by leaders of the peace movement. We are writing to make specific recommendations for you to take action on in order to bring change to U.S. foreign policy especially involving the use of military force. While the last eight years have included numerous errors in the misuse of military force, the military-dominated foreign policy of the United States has longer roots that have included both Democratic and Republican administrations. The anti-war movement believes the time is now to end the emphasis on militarism in U.S. relations with other nations and to set a goal of ending war in the 21st Century.

Now that the United States and world economy are in serious jeopardy it is essential for the U.S. to reconsider its foreign policy. The military budget is approaching $1 trillion dollars including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the war on terror. This is more than half the discretionary spending of the federal budget and as much as the rest of the world combined spends on weapons and the military. The United States should be investing in reviving the economy, ending the fossil fuel economy, diplomacy, foreign aid and human needs at home and abroad as well as proper benefits to all U.S. veterans. These expenditures will do more to make the nation secure then continued militarism.

Specifically, we urge the following:

1. The United States needs to make a complete withdrawal from Iraq – not a partial withdrawal of only some combat troops. All troops and private security forces need to be withdrawn immediately.

2. The United States should not escalate the war in Afghanistan; indeed U.S. troops should be withdrawn. The leadership of Afghanistan is critical of U.S. (i.e. NATO) military operations in their country. The United States should emphasize financial assistance for rebuilding the country and education of Afghanis as well as negotiation with all parties.

3. The United States should immediately stop all attacks inside Pakistan. Military force is not an effective way of combating the Taliban and al Qaeda. In fact, U.S. intelligence agencies have pointed out that the war in Iraq has created more “terrorists” than it has captured or killed. Military raids into Pakistan will have the same effect thereby making the U.S. less secure. Indeed, the U.S. should not be attacking any country but should act within the framework of international law.

4. Working with the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate the military budget needs to be dramatically reduced. There are numerous weapons systems that are no longer needed, are over budget and redundant. Rather than adding more troops the United States needs to reduce the military and use the military for defensive purposes. It is time for green jobs not camouflage jobs.

5. The more than 800 U.S. military bases around the world should be closed and U.S. troops brought back to their home bases and attrition be used to reduce the
size of "standing Army" of the United States. This should be done as part of reconsideration of U.S. foreign policy that uses military intervention throughout the world in what many have described as an American empire.

6. The United States should take a more balanced approach to Israel’s occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. The creation of a viable Palestinian state needs to be a high priority of your administration. Immediate action should be taken to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza created by Israel.

7. The military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and all other “black sites” should be immediately closed and those humans incarcerated should be immediately brought to trial in civilian courts or released. All unlawful detentions, rendition, torture, and denial of due process should be ended. The alternative justice system created by the Military Commission’s Act should be repealed.

8. The U.S. military should stop training for action inside the United States against U.S. citizens. There has been a prohibition on the use of the military domestically since the civil war (the Posse Comitatus Act) and this separation should be fully restored. The National Guard should be brought home and be used for domestic activities, especially responding to natural disasters.

9. The nuclear arsenal of the United States should be unilaterally reduced rather than upgraded and your administration should start negotiations with all countries that have nuclear weapons to reduce the stockpile of such weapons and set a target date for the global elimination of all nuclear weapons.

10. The United States should stop using the threat of military force in its negotiations with other countries.

We oppose your appointments to your foreign policy and national security team as the people you have nominated for key positions in your administration appear, in our analysis, likely to make it more difficult for you to accomplish the goals listed above. Robert Gates, Rahm Emanuel, James Jones and Hillary Clinton have long track records of working against a foreign policy not dominated by militarism. If your concern is to find people with experience and connections in Washington, we would like to recommend for consideration the 153 members of Congress who voted against authorizing the invasion of Iraq. If these nominations move forward we urge the U.S. Senate to reject them.

Mr. President-Elect, after eight years of war and a previous Century that was among the bloodiest in history which demonstrated the failure of war as a policy, it is time to take bold leadership and declare that war is not the answer and set a goal of ending war in the 21st Century. Achieving this goal would serve humanity in ways that would be everlasting. Please use your unique leadership skills to bring the human race to a new level of understanding that the use of military force creates more problems than it solves.

Reply to Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Voters for Peace, 2842 N. Calvert St., Batimore, MD 21218 or [email protected].

cc: Majority Leader Harry Reid
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Sincerely,

Original Signers
Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Voters for Peace
Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action, Project Board, Voters for Peace
Tina Richards, Project Board, Voters for Peace Board
Linda Schade, Executive Director, Climate Security, Project Board, Voters for Peace
Cindy Sheehan, Project Board, Voters for Peace
David Swanson, co-founder, AfterDowningStreet, Project Board, Voters for Peace
Ann Wright, US Army Reserve Colonel (retired) and former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war, Project Board, Voters for Peace