Encampment Youth Take the Streets: Demand Troops Out Now!
About 50 youth just returned to the Encampment from a militant march through the streets of Washington. They took the streets as they marched from the Department of Education to focus on the lack of money for education; to the Department of Justice to demand an end to police brutality and justice for the Jena 6; to a military recruiters office to protest the recruitment of youth to kill and die for wars of profit; and finally to the Capitol building to say "No Justice, No Peace! U.S. Out of the Middle East."
Although they were pursued by more than a dozen police vehicles, they managed to hold the street for about 20 blocks.
There were no arrests -- in fact the march returned to the Encampment with more youth than they started with, as several groups of bypassers joined the march along the way.
Anti-War Encampment Begins in Capital; Mass Demonstration Set for Sept. 29
Support the Anti-War Encampment in the Capital; Travel to Washington D.C. for the mass mobilization against the war this coming Sat. Sept. 21
PANW Editor's Note: Detroit will send a delegation to the Sept. 29 march on washington against the war. The trip is organized by the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI). For information on bus tickets to travel to Washington D.C. contact MECAWI at (313) 680-5508, e-mail: info@mecawi.org, or log on to the following URL: http://www.mecawi.org
End the War - Keep War Funding Off The Floor!
What if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refused to present a bill on the floor of Congress to fund the criminal U.S. occupation of Iraq? The possibility of a Bush veto would not be an issue.
Although there are billions of dollars still in the pipeline, Bush and the Pentagon, faced with a new political reality, would be forced to begin making plans for withdrawal.
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has full control over which pieces of legislation make it onto the floor of House to be voted on. The Democratic Party majority in Congress could just sit on any war spending bill and there would be no funds for the war
Funding for war in Iraq could be stopped at any number of steps in either the House or Senate.
According to the U.S. constitution spending bills have to originate in the House of Representatives. Congress has control over executive branch by having decisive control of funds for war.
Not only does the Speaker of the House control the legislation put on the floor for a vote, the Democrats, as the majority party, currently control the chair of all committees in both houses of congress. The Appropriations Committee could also just not bring the funding bill out of committee.
As the new majority Speaker of the House, one of Nancy Pelosi’s first acts was to declare that Impeachment proceedings against President Bush were ‘off the table’. This meant she would refuse to allow this burning issue to come to the floor of House. If instead as House Speaker, Pelosi were to declare that war funding is ‘off the table’, funding for war would not be possible.
When millions of people voted for Democratic Party politicians, who claimed to be anti-war last November, this is exactly the kinds of legislative actions they expected a Democratic, supposedly anti-war majority in Congress to take.
It is important to confront the direct fraud that the Democratic majority in Congress is putting forth in their complicity on voting to fund the war.
Even though they control the majority in both houses even since election they have given endless excuses about how they do not have the votes to do what they promised to do.
The Democrats claim that because they do not have a 2/3 majority they are powerless to over rule Bush's veto on the war funding. So they must pass a bill that Bush would approve. They could simply refuse to present a bill for ANY war funding.
They clearly have the Constitutional authority, the legislative power and political mandate.
But it will take a massive determined, angry and independent movement to force the conciliatory Democratic majority in Congress to put Impeachment on the table and take war funding off the table.
The Democrats with endless help from the corporate media have presented a hand wringing theatrical fraud about their lack of sufficient votes to take any action against the war.
Spending bills originates in House Appropriations Committee. Dave Obey (D Wisc). Obey could also simple refuse to move funding for the war out of committee. This is the fate of many hundreds of bills introduced into Congress each your. Most bills ‘die in committee’.
The Appropriations Committee has a Sub-committee on Defense chaired by John Murfa (D-PA), who says he wants to bring troops home He could do this by refusing to bring forward funding for the war.
At every stage Congress could act to stop funding the war.
After a funding bill is approved in the House of Representatives it moves to the Senate. Senator Robert Byrd, D-VA, head of the Senate Appropriations committee and so eloquently opposed to war could just refuse to move the bill thru the Senate Appropriations Committee. Harry Reid, Senate Majority leader could refuse to bring a bill to the Senate floor. Any of these measures would also ‘kill’ the multi-billion dollar war funding bill.
There would be no need to have a 60% majority to stop a Republican filibuster nor would the supposed anti-war Democrats need a 2/3 majority to overcome a presidential veto.
JUSTIFYING COLLABORATION
To further justify their collaboration on the war, members of Congress use their supposed concern for U.S. troops as a human shield. They are hiding behind soldiers and the threat that if they cut off funds U.S. soldiers would wake up tomorrow and not have food, water, even have funds to pull out.
This is also a fraud. The Pentagon does not live pay check to paycheck like working people do. The budget and supply process is decided months and years in advance. There is a long supply chain – planning and allocation are known many months in advance.
The Pentagon is using the funds for Iraq war to plan and prepare new wars against Iran. Half the U.S. navy has moved to within striking range of Iran. More than 10,000 sites have been targeted by Pentagon planners.
Congress and media know the determination of corporate America is to stay in Iraq for a generation or more.
As Congress again votes before the October 1 deadline to continue the war a political challenge is being prepared by the Troops Out Now Coalition. The greatest contribution of the Encampment scheduled to take place directly in front of Congress from Sept 22 to 29 is to show the kind of independent mass action that is needed to really end the war. Learning through bitter experience about the role of both capitalist parties is an essential part of the struggle to end the war.
Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org Deanna Taylor, Co-chair, Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX), 801-631-2998, deesings@xmission.com Ann Wilcox, GPAX, 202-441-3265, wilcox_ann@yahoo.com
Greens, urging immediate withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq, blast Clinton, Obama, and Edwards for refusing to guarantee withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq by 2013
Reports, upcoming events at the Encampments to End the War in DC and other cities
WASHINGTON , DC — Green Party leaders participating in the week-long Encampment to End the War in Washington, DC and other cities across the US pressed their demands for an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, with a plea to Congress to cancel further war spending.
The events, which will culminate in a march and rally on Saturday, September 29, have been organized by the Troops Out Now Coalition <http://www.troopsoutnow.org>, of which the Green Party is a member.
On Friday, video interviews with Greens at the DC encampment will posted on line at the blog page <http://gpax.wordpress.com> of the Green Party’s Peace Action Committee (GPAX).
Summary of Green positions on the war:
The Green Party of the United States has called for full and immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the occupation of which is entering its sixth year; the party opposes a US military attack on Iran and warns Americans not to believe the new flood of deceptive war propaganda. (more…)
Reference: Raul Menchavez, Northeast Coordinator, BAYAN USA, email: ny @ bayanusa.org
Filipino Artists Gather for DC Concert to Promote Human Rights in the Philippines Don't Use Mindanao War to Increase US Military Aid-- BAYAN USA
Washington, DC-- Responding to the Philippine Congress's implementation of the Human Security Act (HSA) last July, Filipino groups along the east coast will be converging for a concert in Washington DC on Friday, September 28, one week after the 35th anniversary of Martial Law as declared by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.
The concert, organized by the Filipino-American alliance BAYAN USA and featuring Filipino-American hip-hop sensations Blue Scholars and Kiwi Illefonte, aims to bring awareness to the repurcussions of the newly-passed and controversial bill, and connect with the overall issue of increased US military spending to places where US troops are present, such as the Philippines.
The concert will also be featured as part of a one-week encampment organized by the Troops Out Now Anti-War coalition, that will culminate in a march to Capitol Hill on Saturday, September 29th. A similar encampment will also be held in Los Angeles on the same dates.
"The HSA is a disaster for domestic security in the Philippines. It will cause the endangerment and the termination of innocent lives," states Valerie Francisco of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment, or FIRE, a community organizer who recently returned from the Philippines to protest the HSA.
FIRE, along the Anakbayan, the Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, under the banner of BAYAN USA, and local DC groups such as Katarungan will be sponsoring the mini-concert set outdoors and following next-day anti-war march near Capitol Hill. The Fil-Am groups have also warned that US-based advocates and supporters of the broad Arroyo opposition under the HSA are also subject to the measures of the state with such a vague definition of terrorism. This comes in light of reports on extrajudicial killings, increase in forced disappearances throughout the country, and a watchlist of names provided by the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Justice jeopardizing travellers from abroad that speak out against Arroyo's domestic policies.
"These days, to oppose the Arroyo regime is the most genuine act of security. To highlight this issue during the Martial Law anniversary is fitting and appropriate, because the Philippines is still under undeclared Martial Law," states Jonna Baldres of Anakbayan.
The groups have also been calling for restrictions on US military aid to the Philippines, in line with its human rights work. September also marks continued Congressional deliberations on US military spending for 2008. Nearly 50 US solons have signed a petition letter calling for Arroyo to handle the human rights crisis in the Philippines.
In response to a recent US Senate hearing and Congressional deliberations on the fate of US military aid to the Philippine government this pasy year, the Arroyo regime has resorted to deflecting possible aid reduction by pushing for an all-out war in Mindanao, the southern-most island, claiming Al-Qaeda cells exist, much to wide public disagreement.
Following the public reports of UN Rapporteur Philip Alston, and Amnesty International, the Philippine military has been identified as the key perpetrating group of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances. In 2001, President George Bush declared the Philippines the Second Front to the War on Terror.
Since then, the Philippines has remained the fourth largest recipient of US military aid in the world and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.
For more information or to join the Filipino contingent during the anti-war march, contact BAYAN USA at ny @ bayanusa.org . ###
Over four years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Greens continue to call for an immediate end to this war, and accountability at home. Our Gulf Coast remains in shambles, nooses are hung by white children in school yards to intimidate black children, and immigrant families are rounded up in the middle of the night. As Greens, we must come together to say - the United States needs to get its priorities straight, clean house, and we must bring the troops home NOW! Beginning Saturday, September 22, the Green Party of the United States have a tent set up at the Troops Out Now Coalition’s week-long encampment to end the war, on the lawn in front of the Capitol building. We invite all Greens to come to D.C. and L.A. to join with others to resist the continuing war abroad and demand accountability at home.
Jared Ball of the DC Statehood Green Party will speak at the rally on the 29th http://www.voxunion.com/jaredball/ . Ball is a nominee for the Green Party Presidential candidacy. Green Party of the U.S. Co-Chair, Echo Steiner (FL), will co-emcee the rally in Washington D.C. In Los Angeles, GPAX co-chair, Deanna Taylor (UT), and SKCM-Curry of the California Green Party will speak at the rally September 29 in front of the Federal Building. During the D.C. Encampment on Wednesday, September 26 at 5pm, the DC Statehood Party will lead a discussion on D.C. statehood, affordable housing, and preserving neighborhood libraries.
We honor the courage of those thousands who converged this week in Jena, Louisiana, to call out injustice — we seek to continue in that spirit by calling on Greens to assemble at the halls of power, to speak, to act, and to work together to take our country back for the people.
For information on transportation centers, events like the week of hip hop shows, the youth and student day of action, Impeachment Rally, Stop the War at Home Day, and more, visit www.troopsoutnow.org
To support the Green Party presence at the Encampment and rally, visit the GPAX website at www.gp.org/committees/peace — and use it to let us know you’re coming!
The "event" is actually a week-long lead-up to the march, starting with an encampment on the West lawn of the Capitol this past weekend, erecting a giant billboard telling Congress to stop funding the war, activism, rally, and a live concert.
Usavior, from Black Waxx Recordings and Filmworks and Artists and Activists United for Peace, and Sharon Eolis, an activist with the International Action Center and the Healthcare Not Warfare Campaign.
Weds. 9/26 was an awesome day at the Encampment. Folks celebrated some good press: the Washington Post covered Tuesday’s Emergency March to the White House, to Stop War on Iran. The article described the week-long encampment, including quotes from Larry Holmes of TONC.
Weds. the DC Statehood Greens sponsored a discussion on local issues: DC Statehood and empowerment, the closure of neighborhood libraries, and loss of affordable housing in DC. We had a good pre-dinner crowd and excellent feedback on the dialogue. Later, Rick and Michelle Tingling-Clemmons spoke of their trip to Japan with the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Committee, as well as the broader struggle for peace and social justice.
The evening concert was incredible: local artists including peace songstress Mary Shapiro, and Pam Parker and Luci Murphy of the DC Labor Chorus. The crowd sang along, well into the night!
Today (Thurs.) will feature a program on New Orleans recovery, with Malik Rahim of Common Ground (www.commongroundrelief.org) and others. Evening entertainment will continue, from 8 pm to 12 midnight; the nightly show is called “Rock the Rulers”! Tomorrow (Fri) we will have an evening vigil focusing on health care (joined by the cast of Michael Moore’s film “Sicko”), and folks will prepare for the big march on Saturday.
Washington Post article on 9/26 encampment demo in front of White House to defend Iran
Antiwar Protesters Decry Handling of Iran
By Michael E. Ruane Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 26, 2007; A11
A group of antiwar protesters demonstrated outside the White House yesterday to condemn what they termed the government's "demonization" of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said they think the Bush administration is preparing the public for an attack on Iran.
The 25 protesters, most of them from the Troops Out Now Coalition, walked in a circle on the sidewalk north of the White House, chanting "Get out of Iraq! Stay out of Iran!" and holding signs that read: "Don't Terrorize Iran" and "Don't Appease Israel."
They dismissed the criticisms this week of the Iranian president, saying the United States had criticized Saddam Hussein before invading Iraq.
"There's a hysteria in the media emanating from New York . . . against the president of Iran," coalition spokesman Larry Holmes said. "We're here in response to what's been going on in New York: the Columbia debate, the front pages of the tabloids, the electronic media, demonizing the president. And we know what it's about.
"We know that the government is in very advanced stages of planning for a war in Iran. They've got a naval armada" in the Persian Gulf, he said. "The Pentagon's got its plans. And now we see the psychological preparation."
The Iranian president has been criticized this week for questioning the Holocaust and saying there are no homosexuals in Iran.
Referring to Ahmadinejad's controversial statements, Holmes said: "I don't think it's relevant. I think that's an interesting philosophical discussion about theology, about social views, that you have over coffee."
Yesterday's protest is part of week-long antiwar rally that will culminate Saturday in a march scheduled to begin at noon from a coalition camp on the west side of the U.S. Capitol.
Spokesmen said the events are aimed mainly at stopping the war in Iraq and what they called injustice at home. The march route was being worked out, organizers said. The National Park Service said the group's permit suggests that between 2,000 and 5,000 marchers are expected.
"The focus here is stop the war at home and abroad," coalition spokesman Dustin Langley said Monday. "We think there's a real connection between the fact that they're spending $750 million a day on the war and people here die because they don't have access to health care."
The march comes after a large antiwar protest Sept. 15 and precedes an antiwar, anti-global warming rally scheduled for next month. The coalition says there have been numerous marches because the war has not ended and because antiwar groups might have different targets.
"Repeated protests are even more important than whether we get half a million people out here," Langley said. "It may just be important to be here and just dog them because they're lying to us."
Politics and protest lost on modern youth By Saira Khan Senior Staff Writer
Do you ever feel that you were born too late? That perhaps you should have been born in a different era? Well, I do. I was born in a very boring era, the 1980s. I missed out on the 60s and 70s--the great music, the sexy rock stars, the fashion, the political movements, and the wonderful leaders and figures that could enchant an arena of people with their powerful words. People such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X were known to be great orators with very commanding presences. I envy our elders who were able to witness their charm, charisma, and presence first hand. Our generation, unfortunately, has seen no such commanding political activists.
I think it is safe to say that, had I been around for the 60s, I would have been a well-rounded woman. I would have been at Woodstock and rallying with the Students for a Democratic Society in April of 1965, the first major anti-war rally that took place in Washington. That's what I love the most about that era--the youth of America were united in their efforts against the war. Students nowadays don't have a third of the passion that our parents, aunts, uncles, and/or grandparents had.
To be fair, I have to admit I have not been very politically active either. Aside from voting against the monster known as the Bush Administration in 2004 and writing a few articles bashing it, I have not done much to voice my concerns. However, I am proud to say that that will change after this coming weekend. I will be attending my first ever war protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 29.
A few weeks ago I came across a single flier sitting in the Commons reading "STOP THE WAR NOW." The flier advertised a week-long demonstration that is taking place right now in Washington (September 22-29) and a parallel one taking place in Los Angeles. Between these dates you will be able to see and participate in music, speeches, and all sorts of creative art protesting the "War on Terror." The week will end on with a mass march. It is expected that more than 100 buses and numerous vans and cars will be arriving at the nation's capital to attend the demonstration. I definitely plan on being there. And, if you do not support the war, then so should you.
Support for the war is at an all-time low. The Washington Post reported the results of a survey they conducted: about three-quarters of Americans feel that the number of casualties in Iraq is "unacceptable," two-thirds say the U.S. military is "bogged down," roughly 6 out of 10 say the war "was not worth fighting," and about four out of ten Americans believe that the Iraq war is becoming similar to the experience in Vietnam.
We have entered a period where the American population is more united that it has is ever been in regard to this war. Therefore, it is imperative for all of you that share the same sentiments of the thousands of people who are at this very moment camping out in Washington and doing their bit to end the bloodshed, to come out and join the march and demonstrations. We need to give a face to our anger, our antiwar rage, and let that face be mine, and yours, and of the person next you, and so on. Come out on the 29th and together let's try and bring the troops home.
To get involved, contact the Baltimore All People's Congress at (410)467-6132 for information regarding transport or visit www.TroopsOutNow.org. To volunteer with the Troops Out Now Coalition call (212)633-6646). Some of the endorsers for this march include: Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Donna Smith from the movie Sicko, All Peoples Congress, Baltimore, MD, Black Radical Congress, and Code Pink.
A press conference was held Sept. 24 to announce the Encampment and the mass march on Sept. 29. Larry Holmes of the Troops Out Now Coalition opened the conference, saying, "The Democrats say they want to cut war funding but they can't get past a veto. We know this isn't true. They could simply make sure the funding question doesn't get to the floor. Meanwhile, Bush is prepared to veto $30 to $35 billion for health care for children."
Holmes also discussed the serious threat of a new war on Iran: "Iranian President Ahmadinejad is being demonized in the media, and we're not naive. We know that they are preparing the population for an expansion of the war in Iraq to war in Iran. But the biggest terrorists are in the world sit in the White House."
Rev. Lennox Yearwood spoke about unity in the people's struggle against multiple wars: "I'm so pleased to see support here at the Encampment for the struggle in Jena; I was pleased to hear, in Jena, people talking about how the bombs in Baghdad are affecting people in the United States. ... If it calls for getting arrested, getting in the way, then we'll get arrested and get in the way. Our struggles will continue, but we will win." Yearwood was recently beaten by D.C. police at an anti-war press conference.
Adam Kokesh, Co-Chair of the board of directors for Iraq Veterans Against the War described his organization's demands, including immediate withdrawal of all forces from Iraq, "and when we say all forces, we mean Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Blackwater, Halliburton"; and full payment of reparations to the people of Iraq.
Nana Soul of Artists and Activists United for Peace, a TONC member organization, described the weeklong concert that is being held as part of the Encampment. "The movement needs cultural inspiration, talent and creativity. Iraq may be the issue today, but we know that this isn't the first time that the United States has invaded a sovereign nation. They use tools at home like not funding health care and education. We have a chance to translate these actions."
Rick Clemens, Ann Wilcox and Joyce Robinson-Paul represented the Green Party. Clemens, a Vietnam War veteran, stressed: "This war is about imperialism, about the exploitation of labor power and markets of other peoples. There is no thing as ending the war without ending the economic system that perpetuates war--capitalism." Wilcox discussed the effects of the war at home in Washington, D.C., where neighborhood libraries are being closed and thousands of affordable housing units have been lost.
Toby Blomé of Code Pink Women for Peace described the two encampments their group has undertaken at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's house, after she refused to meet with them to discuss war funding for three months. They plan on going to her office regularly during the Encampment and will be fasting for the week as "another way to show commitment to ending the occupation and bringing the troops home."
Vernon Hoffman, who biked 4,500 miles with his family from Portland, Oregon to join the Encampment, said he'd "rather bike for peace than kill for oil." He described how throughout the country, people took opened up their homes for the family and their anti-war message.
Lastly, a young war resister described how he enlisted in the military in 2005 because of limited career opportunities in his hometown. However, he says, "I happened to join at the same time as Hurricane Katrina, and I saw on TV the bodies floating in the streets. It really hit home to me. I got out of training 25 weeks later and nothing had changed. Despite all the rhetoric about homeland security and national security, this government's priorities are not for the people."
Other actions at the Encampment today included an event on Pelosi hosted by Code Pink, and an outreach sound truck caravan through the streets of D.C. to mobilize for the march on the 29th.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: LeiLani Dowell 1-917-701-7593 Dustin Langley 1-646-354-8056 Frank Neisser 1-617-792-8136 http://troopsoutnow.org
When: Monday, September 24, 3:00 p.m.
Where: Anti-war Encampment on the West Side of the Capitol Reflection Pool, near 3rd Street on the Capitol Mall
THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS HAVE THE POWER TO CUT OFF WAR FUNDING--THE MOVEMENT MUST MAKE THEM DO IT
MARCH ON WASHINGTON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 STOP THE WAR BY CUTTING OFF WAR FUNDING
The Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) will be holding a press conference on Monday, Sept. 24 at 3 pm at the site of a weeklong anti-war Encampment, on the Capitol mall at the west side of the reflection pool.
Participants in Monday's press conference will include:
• Adam Kokesh, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and other Iraq veterans • Members of the Hoffman family, which traveled 4,500 miles by bicycle from Portland, Oregon to attend the Encampment • Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus • Nana Soul, Artists and Activists United for Peace • Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler, Plymouth Congregational Church, DC • Anne Wright, career Army veteran and former State Dept. official • Larry Holmes, Vietnam War GI resister and spokesperson for TONC • Representatives from Code Pink, the Green Party, the student movement, labor and the community.
This week, Congress begins preparation for voting on President Bush and the Pentagon's request for $200 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Saturday, Sept. 29, thousands will gather at the anti-war Encampment to march and demand that not one more dollar be approved for war.
TONC spokesperson Larry Holmes said: "The Democrats in Congress don't need enough votes to override a presidential veto in order to cut off all war funding. All the leadership of Congress has to do is simply keep any vote on war funding from coming to the floor, or even getting out of the Senate or House Appropriations committees."
Participants at the press conference will discuss plans for the Sept. 29 march and the five days of action at the Encampment before the big march.
There will be a volunteers outreach meeting this week on Wednesday at 7PM. Some of us will already be in Washington at the Encampment. We still need to try to do last minute leafleting at rush hour. When we were out leafleting at Times Square on Saturday afternoon, we met some people who decided to go to March. One man who is an EMS worker came back to tell us that he had called in to his work to get the day off and it was granted.
We will also need many volunteers for many tasks at the demonstration on September 29th. If you are able to take on a task, please come to the table with the "Volunteer sign-in" sign.
Remember to purchase your bus tickets if you haven't already. .
Here are pictures from the Los Angeles Encampment to Stop the War, 9.22.07
It was beautiful weather, a great day. More people joined us, and of course Ron Kovic moved the group with his recollections of his experience over 30 years ago where he and other disabled veterans took over the 17th floor of the Veterans Adminstration leading to a 17 day hunger strike.
Activists from across the U.S. - from as far away as Oregon, Florida, and Maine - are in Washington DC in front of the Capitol, where they're assembling tents, canopies, a stage, and giant scaffolding for a large banner with the demand for Congress to cut off war funding.
End the War - Keep War Funding Off The Floor! What if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refused to present a bill on the floor of Congress to fund the criminal U.S. occupation of Iraq? The possibility of a Bush veto would not be an issue.
Although there are billions of dollars still in the pipeline, Bush and the Pentagon, faced with a new political reality, would be forced to begin making plans for withdrawal.
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has full control over which pieces of legislation make it onto the floor of House to be voted on. The Democratic Party majority in Congress could just sit on any war spending bill and there would be no funds for the war
Funding for war in Iraq could be stopped at any number of steps in either the House or Senate.
According to the U.S. constitution spending bills have to originate in the House of Representatives. Congress has control over executive branch by having decisive control of funds for war.
Not only does the Speaker of the House control the legislation put on the floor for a vote, the Democrats, as the majority party, currently control the chair of all committees in both houses of congress. The Appropriations Committee could also just not bring the funding bill out of committee.
As the new majority Speaker of the House, one of Nancy Pelosi’s first acts was to declare that Impeachment proceedings against President Bush were ‘off the table’. This meant she would refuse to allow this burning issue to come to the floor of House. If instead as House Speaker, Pelosi were to declare that war funding is ‘off the table’, funding for war would not be possible.
When millions of people voted for Democratic Party politicians, who claimed to be anti-war last November, this is exactly the kinds of legislative actions they expected a Democratic, supposedly anti-war majority in Congress to take.
It is important to confront the direct fraud that the Democratic majority in Congress is putting forth in their complicity on voting to fund the war.
Even though they control the majority in both houses even since election they have given endless excuses about how they do not have the votes to do what they promised to do.
The Democrats claim that because they do not have a 2/3 majority they are powerless to over rule Bush's veto on the war funding. So they must pass a bill that Bush would approve. They could simply refuse to present a bill for ANY war funding.
They clearly have the Constitutional authority, the legislative power and political mandate.
But it will take a massive determined, angry and independent movement to force the conciliatory Democratic majority in Congress to put Impeachment on the table and take war funding off the table.
The Democrats with endless help from the corporate media have presented a hand wringing theatrical fraud about their lack of sufficient votes to take any action against the war.
Spending bills originates in House Appropriations Committee. Dave Obey (D Wisc). Obey could also simple refuse to move funding for the war out of committee. This is the fate of many hundreds of bills introduced into Congress each your. Most bills ‘die in committee’.
The Appropriations Committee has a Sub-committee on Defense chaired by John Murfa (D-PA), who says he wants to bring troops home He could do this by refusing to bring forward funding for the war.
At every stage Congress could act to stop funding the war.
After a funding bill is approved in the House of Representatives it moves to the Senate. Senator Robert Byrd, D-VA, head of the Senate Appropriations committee and so eloquently opposed to war could just refuse to move the bill thru the Senate Appropriations Committee. Harry Reid, Senate Majority leader could refuse to bring a bill to the Senate floor. Any of these measures would also ‘kill’ the multi-billion dollar war funding bill.
There would be no need to have a 60% majority to stop a Republican filibuster nor would the supposed anti-war Democrats need a 2/3 majority to overcome a presidential veto.
JUSTIFYING COLLABORATION
To further justify their collaboration on the war, members of Congress use their supposed concern for U.S. troops as a human shield. They are hiding behind soldiers and the threat that if they cut off funds U.S. soldiers would wake up tomorrow and not have food, water, even have funds to pull out.
This is also a fraud. The Pentagon does not live pay check to paycheck like working people do. The budget and supply process is decided months and years in advance. There is a long supply chain – planning and allocation are known many months in advance.
The Pentagon is using the funds for Iraq war to plan and prepare new wars against Iran. Half the U.S. navy has moved to within striking range of Iran. More than 10,000 sites have been targeted by Pentagon planners.
Congress and media know the determination of corporate America is to stay in Iraq for a generation or more.
As Congress again votes before the October 1 deadline to continue the war a political challenge is being prepared by the Troops Out Now Coalition. The greatest contribution of the Encampment scheduled to take place directly in front of Congress from Sept 22 to 29 is to show the kind of independent mass action that is needed to really end the war. Learning through bitter experience about the role of both capitalist parties is an essential part of the struggle to end the war.
Solidarity Message from UK encampment in front of Parliament
From: "NEIL WILLIAMS" Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 To: "Troops Out Now Coalition" Subject: Re: A Two-Month Surge of Resistance Against the War at Home and Abroad
Good luck everyone - lets hope it is huge!
Your news is posted on the Respect Supporters Blog (we have many USA viewers).
Donate!
If you can't join us at the Encampment - you can still be a part of this mobilzation to Stop the War at Home and Abroad. Please consider making a generous donation to help cover the costs of transportation, food, tents, sound equipment, and much more. You can donate online donate online at http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml.
