HELP END US Involvement In Afghanistan and Pakistan SIMPLE ACTION

This map is courtesy of Atlapedia dot com here



This map is also courtesy of Atlapedia dot com here

Act NOW & SPREAD the word!

Of course, be advised that wherever possible - a clause or statement needs to be added (whether by phone, letter, fax, petition and letters to editor) that we MUST also withdraw troops, air power and contractors from Pakistan as well as Afghanistan!
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This week, Representative Kucinich plans to introduce a privileged resolution invoking the War Powers Act to force the President to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year. Because it will be a privileged resolution, Congress will be forced to debate the issue of the open-ended U.S. war in and occupation of Afghanistan.

Will you ask your Representative to become an original co-sponsor of Representative Kucinich's resolution?

here

U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians continue to die needless deaths in Afghanistan because of the failure of Congress to act to bring the war in Afghanistan towards a close, or even to debate it. On February 24, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said it had confirmed 28 civilian deaths from the U.S.-led assault on the Afghan village of Marjah,[1] a town of some 80,000 people. At least six U.S. soldiers have been killed in the offensive.[2] But the assault on Marjah is merely a "prelude" to the planned U.S.-led assault on the Afghan city of Kandahar, ten times the size of Marjah, the Washington Post reports. [3]

It is virtually certain that the Kandahar offensive will result in many more American and Afghan deaths -- deaths that could be avoided if the U.S. would adopt a political strategy to end the war, instead of the current military escalation.

The next step towards ending the war is to force a real debate in Congress. Will you join us in supporting Representative Kucinich's effort to force a debate by asking your Representative to become an original co-sponsor of Rep. Kucinich's resolution?

here

Thank you for all you do to help bring about a just foreign policy,

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, Megan Iorio and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

Please support our work. Donate for a Just Foreign Policy.
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References:

1. "Human rights commission in Afghanistan reports 28 civilians killed in Marjah offensive,"Associated Press, Wednesday, February 24th 2010
here
2. "Operation Enduring Freedom - Coalition Deaths by Nationality," here3. "In Afghanistan, U.S. plans major push into Kandahar," Anne Kornblut and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post, Saturday, February 27, 2010
here

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See also the kind of folk we've sent to Pakistan and Afghanistan as US representatives and those who are twisting legal arms to keep them there: Xe (of Blackwater Worldwide)

CREW Calls on DOJ Inspector General to Investigate Department’s Systemic Supervision and Training Issues in Wake of Blackwater Decision Posted on : 2010-03-02 | Author : Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
News Category : PressRelease

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit citizensforethics dot org

Matt Jacob, 202-408-5565
mjacob@citizensforethics.org

WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine to investigate the Criminal Division’s inadequate training and supervision of line attorneys. CREW based its request on the December 31, 2009 dismissal of the indictments of four Blackwater security guards after their constitutional rights had been violated by prosecutors, as well as the decision of the United States to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) after prosecutors failed to disclose evidence.

In the Blackwater case, Judge Ricardo Urbina was forced to dismiss all charges against Blackwater security guards for their role in a massacre that left 14 dead and 20 others wounded. The court found government lawyers improperly relied on the compelled statements of the defendants in pursuing the case. The worst example was using immunized testimony to obtain a warrant to search email accounts to obtain drafts of the defendants’ compelled written statements. This could not have been done without the sign-off of at least one supervisor.

In April 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder asked a court to dismiss the indictment of former Senator Ted Stevens although a jury already had found him guilty because government prosecutors unconstitutionally had failed to provide the defense with notes of an interview with a key witness.

Although the Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the conduct of the prosecutors in the Stevens case, and is likely also investigating that of the Blackwater prosecutors, CREW explained that the IG should investigate because the cases suggest a bigger problem: overall poor supervision and case management and inadequate training. CREW also pointed to two other high profile cases: the search of former Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) Capitol Hill office and the initial indictment of former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), in which prosecutors violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the constitution.

CREW’s Executive Director Melanie Sloan stated, “The fact that prosecutors have bungled such well-publicized matters – where you’d think everyone would be at the top of their game – suggests misconduct, ineptitude and insufficient training may be rampant in less visible matters where defendants are not represented by elite criminal defense lawyers, who have the tools necessary to expose these deficiencies.” Sloan continued, “All Americans lose when those charged with grave offenses escape prosecution not because of their innocence, but because the Department of Justice has failed to properly train and supervise its lawyers. An investigation by the IG and recommendations for systemic reform would help restore public confidence in the department.”

Click here to read CREW’s letter to Inspector General Glenn Fine. Click here to read Judge Urbina’s December 31, 2009 opinion.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit citizensforethics dot org

CREW
Matt Jacob, 202-408-5565
mjacob@citizensforethics.org