Call Congress TODAY: Debate Iraq Policy, Close Torture School

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
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Please forward widely!

United for Peace and Justice urges you to call your Congressional Representative
TODAY about two pressing items:

1) As we explained in a message on Monday, momentum is growing to force a full, open
debate in the House of Representatives about U.S. policy toward Iraq through a
measure called a "discharge petition." (Click here for background:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3287.) We only need 96 more members of
Congress to sign this petition. We hope you will join today's National Call-In day
to urge your representative to sign on if he/she has not already done so.

2) Sometime in the next two days, Congress will vote on an amendment to close the
notorious School of the Americas/WHINSEC. The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001
renamed the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” is a combat
training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia, and
funded by our tax dollars.

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Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard TODAY at 202-224-3121 or toll-free at 888-355-3588.

Ask to speak with your Representative's foreign affairs legislative assistant and
urge your Representative to:

* Sign on to the "discharge" petition calling for an open Congressional debate
on Iraq, if he/she hasn't already done so
(http://www.openiraqdebate.com/inner/roll-call.html);
* Cast a YES vote on the amendment to close the School of the Americas/WHINSEC.

You can also send an email and free fax about the School of the Americas by clicking
here.

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Over the last 60 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 soldiers from many Latin
American nations in torture, psychological warfare and war against civilian
populations. This school has graduated the worst human rights abusers in Latin
American history, and many of the shocking tactics used at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
Bay were pioneered at the SOA to be used on civilians and those working for justice
in Latin America.

Any day now, Rep. McGovern (MA) will introduce an amendment to the Foreign
Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC and stand up
against the legacy of torture as a part of U.S. foreign policy.

UFPJ member group SOA Watch has been working for years to close the School of the
Americas and says this moment is critical. They expect a close vote and need as many
people as possible flooding the offices of the House of Representatives with calls,
e-mails and faxes in support of a YES vote on the amendment everyday through June
8th.

For background on the issue and a suggested message, visit SOA Watch's website:
http://www.soaw.org/legislative.

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Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today --
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/donate

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/