Democrats are Exploiting Antiwar Sentiment for Political Gain
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Greens condemn Democratic resolution for U.S. troop withdrawal by
2008, calling it a phony antiwar posture to give Democrats an
advantage in 2008
If Democrats (including MoveOn) really oppose the war, they should
demand a cutoff of war funding and the immediate return of all U.S.
troops, say Greens.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders strongly criticized a proposed
Democratic resolution in the U.S. calling for withdrawal by September
2008, and demanded that Congress take action to end the U.S.
occupation of Iraq with legislation that would effect an immediate
withdrawal.
The Green Party of the United States has opposed the U.S. war on Iraq
since late 2002, when President Bush announced plans for an invasion,
and has called for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President
Cheney for a list of high crimes and misdemeanors, including lying to
the American people to justify going to war.
Cres Vellucci, member of Veterans For Peace, Vietnam War veteran
(military information specialist), and press secretary of the Green
Party of California:
"The Democrats' resolution is piece of phony and meaningless
antiwar posturing. By proposing a plan that effectively delays the
withdrawal of U.S. troops until September 2008, Democrats are trying
to set themselves up as the 'antiwar party' in the 2008 election,
since it's obvious that President Bush intends to keep U.S. forces in
Iraq throughout 2008 and long after. If Democratic Party leaders
really believe the Iraq War is a disaster -- as do the Green Party and
most Americans -- they should support legislation compelling a rapid
withdrawal of U.S. forces and reducing war funding to the amount it
takes to bring our troops home safe and sound."
Anthony Gronowicz, Ph.D., 2005 Green Party Candidate for Mayor of New
York City:
"
MoveOn.org has limited its support to the bill for delayed
withdrawal, and has refused to publicize alternative legislation. As
the war enters its fifth year, Democratic leaders and their supporters
in MoveOn are willing to keep American military personnel in Iraq
another 18 months. That means another 18 months of Iraqi civilians,
U.S. troops, and U.S. contractors, facing death and injury, so that
Democrats can gain a political advantage in the 2008 election."
Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Green Party's National Women's Caucus:
"The fact that Democrats are about to approve another $120 billion
for President Bush's war shows that they're as ready to indulge the
Bush Administration's imperial designs as they were in October 2002,
when many of them voted to surrender Congress's constitutional war
power to the White House. The result has been mass death and mayhem,
destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and civil society, a brutal civil
war, empowerment of repressive theocratic movements in Iraq, and rage
against the U.S. around the world, especially in Muslim nations. Even
worse, if President Bush acts on his threats to attack Iran or Israel
launches an assault on Iran with U.S. support, we'll see a regional
war for years to come that's likely to turn into a global
confrontation, possibly nuclear, as Saudi Arabia and other nations are
drawn into a wider Sunni-Shiite conflict and powerful countries like
Russia and China choose sides. Congress must act as quickly as
possible to head off the Bush-Cheney agenda. The first step is to end
the occupation of Iraq."
Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States,
Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York and a member of the Green Party's
Peace Action Committee (GPAX):
"Democratic leaders in Congress are using passage of the
'hydrocarbon law' in Iraq as a benchmark for withdrawal of U.S.
troops. The new law would privatize and allow foreign control over
Iraqi oil resources, and would subject Iraq to World Bank and IMF
structural adjustment policies that impoverish people while enriching
corporations. In other words, Democrats are happy to prolong the war
for the very reasons that President Bush launched it in the first
place -- profits for U.S. oil companies, as well as U.S. political and
corporate dominance in the region and the strategic interests of
Israel."
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
"Beyond Quagmire: A panel of experts convened by Rolling Stone agree
that the war in Iraq is lost. The only question now is: How bad will
the coming explosion be?"
By Tim Dickinson, with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Richard Clarke, Gen. Tony
McPeak (retired), et al., Rolling Stone, March 8, 2007
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13710030/leaving_iraq_the_grim_truth
"Dems Aren't Urgent Enough About Withdrawal"
By John Nichols, The Nation, March 9, 2007
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=173172
"Iraq: Why Won't MoveOn Move Forward?"
By Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, Center for Media and Democracy,
March 18, 2007
http://www.prwatch.org/node/5865
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@
greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@
gp.org
