People's Petition for a Way Out of Iraq - the Nation

[dweller]

A campaign is being launched this week by a host of groups including Progressive Democrats of America, Peace
Action and others to demand an exit strategy from Iraq. A central part of these efforts is a new petition which lays
out a way to get out of Iraq and will be presented to Congress in mid-September.

This comes at what could be a tipping point moment. The country is waking up to the truth that Bush's decisions
have led to the unnecessary deaths of more than 1,800 Americans, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, while making the
US, the world and Iraq less secure. A majority of Americans now understand that we were deliberately misled into
war; a majority recognize that the US made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq; and a majority believe that no matter
how long US troops remain there, they will not be able to establish a stable, democratic government.

Cindy Sheehan's dignified and defiant stance in Crawford has highlighted the callousness of a President who lacks
the compassion to grieve or mourn for those he sent into battle. As E.L. Doctorow wrote last year, "I fault this
president for not knowing what death is...He does not feel a personal responsibility for the thousand dead young men
and women who wanted to be what they could be."

President Bush should meet with Sheehan. But, even more important, he should listen to the grieving mother, and to
the growing number of military families and citizens who are demanding an end to the disastrous occupation of Iraq.
Bush should also listen to those who will testify at informal Congressional hearings--now expected on the eve of the
September 24 to 26 antiwar demonstrations--designed to explore possible exit strategies. It is anticipated that
leading US academics, opposition politicians, civil society activists and Iraqi parliamentarians seeking an end to US
occupation will testify.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=13372
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