The Impeachment Hearing Room

CODEPINK: Women for Peace : U.S. Conference of Mayors

June 19, 2008

Dear Ed.,

While George Bush has been touring through Europe, beating the drums for war with Iran, CODEPINK has been creating -- city by city -- a groundswell of support for peace. Thanks to our initiative, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (http://usmayors.org/), which is holding its annual meeting from June 20-24 in Miami, Florida, will vote on a critical and timely resolution urging the Bush Administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran. The resolution also asks Congress to prohibit the use of funds to carry out military action against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization. We are delighted to report that 20 mayors(http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=4232) have cosponsored the resolution so far.

Click here (http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=4232) to see if your mayor is a cosponsor. If so, please thank him/her. If not, please ask your Mayor to sign on to the resolution. Click here to find your mayor's name, telephone and email

(http://usmayors.org/meetmayors/mayorsatglance.asp), and scroll below this page for a sample letter and the full text of the resolution. Ask your mayor to send notice of his/her support to Nancy Mancias at Global Exchange (nancy@globalexchange.org or 415-575-5543). Peace can begin in your home town!

Mayors For Peace!

Ask your mayor to cosponsor a resolution opposing military intervention in Iran!

While George Bush has been touring through Europe, beating the drums for war with Iran, CODEPINK has been creating -- city by city -- a groundswell of support for peace. Thanks to our initiative, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is holding its annual meeting from June 20-24 in Miami, Florida, will vote on a critical and timely resolution urging the Bush Administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran. The resolution (see below) also asks Congress to prohibit the use of funds to carry out military action against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization. We are delighted to report that 20 mayors have cosponsored the resolution so far.

Is your mayor on the list?

Names of Mayors who have cosponsored the resolution:

• Bob Kiss, Burlington, VT;
• Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach, FL;
• James M. Baker, Wilmington, DE;
• Dave Norris, Charlottesville, VA;
• R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis, MN;
• William D. Euille, Alexandria, VA;
• Marty Blum, Santa Barbara, CA;
• Dan Coody, Fayetteville, AR;
• Kevin Foy, Chapel Hill, NC;

• Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond, CA; -Kitty Piercy, Eugene, OR;
• Elaine Walker, Bowling Green, KY;
• Jeff Prang, West Hollywood, CA;
• Rhine McLin, Dayton, OH;
• Jennifer Hosterman, Pleasanton, CA;
• Laurel Lunt Prussing, Urbana, IL;
• Anthony B Santos, San Leandro, CA;
• J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth, NJ;
• Scott J. Brook, Coral Springs, FL;
• Bruce R. Williams, Takoma Park, MD
  

If so, please thank him/her. If not, please ask your Mayor to sign on to the resolution.

Ask your mayor to send notice of his/her support to Nancy Mancias at
Global Exchange (nancy@globalexchange.org or 415-575-5543).
Click here to find your mayor's name, telephone and email.

Sample Letter For Your Use:

Dear Mayor X,

The U.S. Conference of Mayors will be holding its annual meeting June 20-24, 2008 in Miami, Florida. An important and timely resolution to urge diplomacy and prevent military confrontation with Iran has been submitted to the International Affairs Committee by member mayors. As a resident of your city, I am writing to urge you to add your name to the growing list of co-sponsors.

A military conflict between the U.S. and Iran would have staggering economic, humanitarian, political and military consequences that would damage American strategic interests for years to come. Sustained, direct, bilateral, and comprehensive talks without preconditions between the governments of the U.S. and Iran represent a realistic way to resolve long-standing conflict between our two countries.

I urge you to sign onto this important resolution and register your support for diplomacy to prevent war with Iran. Please send notice of your support to Nancy Mancias at Global Exchange (nancy@globalexchange.org or 415-575-5543).

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Full text of the Resolution:

Resolution Opposing Military Intervention In Iran Submitted To The Us Conference Of Mayors

1. WHEREAS, the President and members of his Administration have alleged that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States, U.S. troops in the Middle East and U.S. allies; and

2. WHEREAS, these allegations are similar to the lead-up to the Iraq War and U.S. occupation, with the selective use of information and unsubstantiated accusations about Iran's nuclear program and its supply of weapons to Iraqi forces as centerpieces of a case to the American people for aggression against Iran; and

3. WHEREAS, Iran has not threatened to attack the United States, and no compelling evidence has been presented to document that Iran poses a real and imminent threat to the security and safety of the United States that would justify an unprovoked unilateral pre-emptive military attack; and

4. WHEREAS, we support the people of Iran who are struggling for freedom and democracy, and nothing herein should be misconstrued as support for the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it should be understood that a unilateral, pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iran could well prove counterproductive to the cause of promoting freedom and democracy there; and

5. WHEREAS, a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), representing the consensus view all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, concluded that Iran froze its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and an earlier NIE concluded that Iran's involvement in Iraq "is not likely to be a major driver of violence" there; and

6. WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to cause untold thousands of American and Iranian casualties, lead to major economic dislocations, and threaten even greater destabilization in the Middle East; and

7. WHEREAS, a pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iran would violate international law and our commitments under the U.N. Charter and further isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world; and

8. WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to inflame hatred for the U.S. in the Middle East and elsewhere, inspire terrorism, and lessen the security of Americans; and

9. WHEREAS, the Iraq war and occupation has already cost the lives of over 4,000 American soldiers, the maiming and wounding of over 38,000 American soldiers, the death and maiming of over one million Iraqi civilians; and

10. WHEREAS, the Iraq War and occupation has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $500 billion, depriving our cities of much-need funds for services and infrastructure; and

11. WHEREAS, except at our peril, we cannot ignore the history of U.S. government misinformation used to inspire U.S. aggression in Vietnam and again in Iraq, as embodied in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and more recently in the what we know now as false claims of weapons of mass destruction; and

12. WHEREAS, any conflict with Iran is likely to incur far greater costs and divert more precious national resources away from critical human needs,

13. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors hereby urges the Bush Administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran on nuclear issues and ending the violence in Iraq; and

14. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to prohibit the use of funds to carry out any military action against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization; and

15. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of the resolution be forwarded to President George W. Bush and all members of Congress.

Peace can begin in your home town!

While we're working to stop the next war now, we must remember the innocent victims of the war on Iraq, millions of whom have had to flee their own home towns. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has led to the most massive refugee crisis in the world today. We give our sincerest thanks to those of you who, on Mothers and Fathers Day, paid tribute to Iraqi parents by donating to our Refugee Fund. The tens of thousands of dollars we've raised together have funded food rations for the hungry, schooling for refugee children, and job training and business supplies for displaced Iraqi women and men

(http://www.collateralrepairproject.org/MicroProj1-08.html). If you would like to donate now, please click here

(https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3683).

Dozens of important representatives from women's organizations have signed our letter calling for the US and UN to allocate greater funds for refugees

(http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1209).

We will deliver this petition to the UN on Friday, June 20th, World Refugee Day. Won't you add your name to the growing chorus of people calling on the US and global community to show compassion for displaced Iraqis?

Thank you for raising your voices for peace and justice,

Alicia, Dana, Deidra, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Lori, Medea, Nancy, Rae, Sarah and Tighe

P.S. Get your CODEPINK ringtone now!

(http://act.credoaction.com/downloads/ringtone.html?tone=494038) You can get Emma Revolution's CODEPINK song as your ringer and start putting your cellphone where your progressive values are. CODEPINK encourages you to switch to CREDO Mobile, a phone company that lets you voice your beliefs with every call. By donating a portion of your bill to progressive nonprofits, CREDO has raised a total of $60 million so far for causes you care about-including CODEPINK! For more information on how it works and the organizations they support, click here (http://www.credomobile.com/)

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