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Presidents Day week of lobbying against the War in Afghanistan
Last December, President Obama announced the latest in a series of escalations of the war in Afghanistan. When he took office one year ago, there were 32,000 troops in Afghanistan. During 2009, that number was increased to 68,000. When this most recent escalation is completed, there will be 100,000 U.S. troops and 150,000 contractors in Afghanistan.
In 2009 the death toll for U.S. troops tripled starting in June, and rose to a monthly high of 59 in October. General Barry McCaffrey, who studies our Afghan operations for West Point, warns that American casualties will reach 500 per month by summer.
The death toll for Afghan civilians has skyrocketed as well, particularly since the U.S. has radically increased the number of drone attacks which indiscriminately kill innocent civilians. Estimates are that 98 innocent Afghans are killed for every two terrorists killed by drone strikes.
In his State of the Union speech this week, Obama announced a spending freeze for non-defense discretionary items, while the defense budget has ballooned to over $700 billion per year. The cost of keeping 100,000 troops in Afghanistan is $100 billion per year, enough to provide health care for all Americans! That’s enough to build 33,000 schools for Afghan children and still have $99 billion left over!
Three out of four members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation (Gregg, Shaheen, and Hodes) have given their blessing to this massive escalation of violence and waste.
During the February congressional recess, we plan to visit the New Hampshire offices of our pro-war legislators to lobby for an end to these disastrous policies. You can make a difference by joining in this action. Please circle Tuesday, February 16th through the Friday the 19th on your calendar, and join us for this important protest.
If you can give two hours, or more, please let us know by calling New Hampshire Peace Action at 603-228-0559. Tell us when you could help out, and we’ll give you more detailed information on the planned actions.
