Thursday, November 27, 2008

eAction Report: Obama & Iraq‏



EAction Report: Obama & Iraq

November 2008

Peace Planks for the Obama Administration
After eight years of George Bush there's a lot of work to do to set the country straight. We can expect the progressive chorus will not all be singing in full harmony. Every group believes they're singing lead. For Peace Action, and our supporters, peace issues are primary. Our economy, our security and the quality of democracy are caught up in the web of the military-industrial-political complex
.

Continuing Bush's War on Terror?
Many of us cringed when President-Elect Obama appointed Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. Now the peace movement is writhing over rumors Obama will keep Bush appointee Robert Gates as his Defense Secretary. Peace Action is asking you
to go to Change.gov and tell Obama what you think about Robert Gates in his cabinet. You can tell you friends about this campaign, here.

Hardly a Win for Peace - Hardly a Loss for Iraq
Monday, November 17th, the Iraqi
Cabinet approved the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the US. This agreement stipulates that all US forces will be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011. The pact still needs to be ratified by the Iraqi Parliament and a Boston Globe article, released last week, calls into question whether or not the SOFA violates the US Constitution. Representatives Lynn Woolsey and Maxine Waters have contested the agreement, preferring to hold off until President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

Iraq is Bleeding All Over Western Asia
There are an estimated two and a half million Iraqi refugees scattered around Western Asia - especially concentrated in Syria and Iran. There are countless numbers of people internally displaced within Iraq who have been uprooted from their lives into an unstable and unsafe situation. The refugee issue brings with it more than a catastrophic humanitarian crisis; it complicates already difficult geo-political relationships between Iraq, its neighbors and the US.


Sincerely,


Kevin M. Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

The eAction Report is written by Barbra Bearden, Communication Associate for Peace Action.


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