My letter to my Congressman on escalation in Iraq (comments please)

[NewJeffCT]

Joe Courtney (CT-02) is a Democrat... but, I thought I'd write him anyhow.

Congressman Courtney,

I am a resident of your district in xxxxxx. I am also a registered Democrat and donated to your 2006 campaign for Congress.

I am writing to you to urge you to do everything in your power as a Congressman to stop President Bush from escalating the war in Iraq and to start bringing the troops home.

Last summer, during Operation Together Forward II, the military augmented their troop presence in Baghdad by redeploying soldiers from other places in Iraq to Baghdad. The results were stepped-up violence in the city and a death toll among US soldiers and Iraqi citizens that increased from month-to-month. I think it is insanity to try this failed policy on a larger scale.

Additionally, Congress has often used their "power of the purse" to put a stop to disastrous policy. The Boland Amendment in 1982 prohibited the Reagan White House from aiding the Contras in Nicaragua. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1974 established a personnel ceiling of 4,000 Americans in Vietnam within six months and 3,000 within one year. In 1983, the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Act required the president to get Congressional approval for increasing the size of US forces in Lebanon, while in 1993, Congress did similar in regards to Somalia.

With these Congressional precendents, and given the failure of the previous escalation in Baghdad only six months ago, it is time to stop any sort of escalation in Iraq and to start removing our troops from Iraq. After all, in May of 2003, President Bush announced, "their mission is complete," in his radio address after his "Mission Accomplished" stunt on the aircraft carrier. If their mission is complete, why are they still there nearly four years later?

Thanks for your attention.

[bdamomma]

1. you are doing your civil duty, very good letter.

it will just show your congressman that you are paying attention

[Sherman A1]

2. This is what I emailed to Senator Bond (R) MO on Monday

Dear Senator Bond,
I would like to tell you how happy I was to see your comments in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding your thoughts on a troop surge in Iraq. I completely agree that this concept requires considerable skepticism and considerable explanation. I wish that the Senate & House had been much more skeptical prior to our invasion of Iraq and performed much more oversight of the Executive Branch in these last 6 years, however your comments as published are exceptionally good to hear.

Regards,

[NewJeffCT]

3. good letter

Thanks for writing.