Pete Stark letter Time to bring troops home Will meet with Cindy

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Pete is a rep in the house, nice to hear he will meet with Cindy too.



Dear Friend:
Recently, I participated in a forum on Capitol Hill to question the war in Iraq and whether it is time to end our involvement and bring our troops home.

Only a member of the Majority party can convene an official Congressional Hearing. Unfortunately, the Republican Leadership would not schedule it, so a group of Democrats held a forum of our own. We heard from a bipartisan panel made up of a retired Marine Corps general, a former U.S. Senator, the founder of the Iraqi-Americans for Peaceful Alternatives and others with expert knowledge of the situation in Iraq and the Middle East. Despite their varied backgrounds and differing political stances, they were in agreement that the best action for the Iraqis and the United States is for our withdrawal.



Representative Stark (far right), along with colleagues, participates in a forum exploring how to bring the U.S. soldiers home from Iraq.


The hearing confirmed what I’ve suspected for quite some time: leaving Iraq is the right thing to do and should no longer be delayed. The War in Iraq has created a breeding ground for hate against the United States. It has cost this country the lives of nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers and nearly $300 billion in emergency spending - not to mention more than 14,000 wounded American soldiers whose lives have been forever impaired. We have neither eliminated Al Qaeda, increased the security of the Iraqi people – 25,000 of whom have been killed since 2003 – or increased our security here at home. It
is time to end this quagmire in Iraq and bring our troops home – and do so now.

I did not support invading Iraq, but once President Bush chose to do so I felt it was important to wait before publicly seeking withdrawal. I hoped the change in the Iraqi government could potentially improve the lives of the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, The Administration, similar to its dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has failed in carrying out that mission. It is time to bring our troops home.

Next week, I hope to meet with Cindy Sheehan, the Vacaville Mother who has continually been denied the opportunity to meet with President Bush to discuss why her 24 year-old son, Casey Sheehan, had to die in Iraq. She will be in Washington, D.C. with people from across the country to again push for removing our troops from Iraq. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and advocates from across the country to push those in the Administration to bring our troops home and instead find diplomatic solutions to the war in Iraq.


Sincerely,


Pete Stark
Member of Congress

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1. Always liked this guy!

I hope more of our congressional reps meet with her and give her their support.

This is a VERY shrewd way to start pulling yourself away from the yay-war, support-the-killing, anti-peace crowd.