Peace advocates question Rep. Doris Matsui about why she supports funding Iraq War

Peace advocates question Rep. Doris Matsui about why she supports funding Iraq War

by Dan Bacher

As peace advocates entered the eighth week of their historic “peace-in” in Representative Doris Matsui's Sacramento District office, members of the Sacramento Coalition to End the War on Monday, February 26 presented Matsui's staff with a list of questions for the Congresswoman about why she continues to support funding the Iraq war and occupation.

The “peace in” is the longest ever occupation of a Congressional Office on any issue and has spurred other occupations and protests around the country in Congressional offices to ask the Representatives to vote no on any new war funding. National and international peace advocates, including Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan and Fr. Roy Bourgeois of SOA Watch, have spoken and demonstrated at the peace-in to show their solidarity with the Sacramento area activists.

"Since this Congress has been in session, 153 U.S. soldiers have died and hundreds have been wounded," said Coalition spokeswoman Debra Reiger. "Yet Representative Doris Matsui is still saying that she intends to vote more funding for this war to ‘protect the troops.’ We don't understand how continuing the war protects the troops."

Reiger also said that she doesn’t understand how Rep. Matsui can claim that she wants to end the occupation, knowing that the American public wants to end it, while continuing to say she is going to vote for more funding of the Iraq war and occupation.

"To help us and her constituents understand more fully Representative Matsui's reasoning, we have submitted a list of eight questions to her and asked her to respond to us in a week or sooner. We realize that these are difficult questions that she is undoubtedly struggling with. We look forward to hearing back from her soon."

Last week, while recounting the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II at an event at Sacramento State University, Rep. Matsui told news outlets that she needs to keep funding the war on Iraq to "protect the troops." To date, the war has killed nearly 3,200 U.S. troops and nearly 1,000 U.S. civilians, and an estimated 690,000 Iraqis and made 3.8 million of them homeless, according to Cres Vellucci of the Coalition.

"Since Congress has been ‘protecting the troops' by funding this war, thousands of U.S. service women and men have died, at least 20,000 are physically wounded or disabled, and an estimated 50,000 have post-traumatic stress syndrome," said George Main, president of the Sacramento Chapter of Veterans for Peace. "I just don't see how funding this war ‘protects the troops."

“If Congress continues to fund this criminal enterprise based on lies, they are in essence abandoning the troops,” said Karen Bernal of Sacramento for Democracy, the Sacramento chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). “Rep. Matsui can’t fund and oppose the war at the same time. There is enough money already in the budget to bring the troops home safely – doing this requires less than $10 billion.”

In a positive development, Rep. Doris Matsui recently signed on to Rep. Edward Markey's "no funding for the escalation" bill (HR 353). After leaders of the Smedley D. Butler Brigade Chapter 9 of Veterans for Peace held a two day vigil at Rep. Edward Markey's office in Medford, Massachusetts, the Congressman agreed to vote against more funding for the Iraq War and for bringing the troops home.

Congressman Markey signed a pledge to vote against the $100 billion supplemental appropriation for Iraq coming before Congress. Now that Representative Markey has stated he is going to vote against all supplemental funding, Sacramento area activists are asking Rep. Matsui to do the same.

The set of questions delivered to Rep. Matsui by peace advocates include the lawmaker's justification for continuing the funding to "protect" the troops, how spending $100 billion more will end the war and occupation and why she hasn't signed onto legislation that would bring U.S. troops home now. Peace advocates gave the questions (below) to Matsui's district staff and also faxed them to her Washington D.C. office.

Calls to encourage Matsui to answer the questions and to stop funding the war can be made to her Sacramento office, 916-498-5600 or to her Washington D.C. office, 202-225-7163.


Questions for Congresswoman Doris Matsui:


1. You have stated that you want to “bring the war to a close” and have stated that “the American People sent a message in the last election ... that they consider bringing this war to a close to be the singular imperative of their leaders.”

How does voting for funding that continues the war and occupation “bring this war to a close”?

2. You have consistently voted to fund the war on Iraq. Recently you told a Sacramento news outlet that you would vote for more funding to “protect the troops.”

Between when you took office on March 10, 2005 and prior to the start of the 110th Congress, 1577 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq. Since the 110th Congress went into session on January 4, an average of 3 U.S. soldiers per day have died. This brings the death toll of U.S. troops to nearly 3200; at least another 20,000 have been physically wounded or disabled and an estimated 50,000 have reported psychological damage from the war.

How does voting for funding to continue the occupation, protect the troops?

3. You also stated that “concern about the safety of troops who are in harm’s way is one thing; sending more into harm’s way is quite another altogether.”

Given that additional men and women are sent to Iraq on a continual basis to relieve troops whose tours of duty are over or have not been extended, how does continuing the funding for this war not also continue the sending of additional men and women into harm’s way into what you describe as a catastrophe?

4. You have stated that you “opposed this war from the outset."

If so, then why have you not signed on to proposed legislation bills (HR 413 and HR 508) that would rescind the authorization that Congress gave Bush in October 2002 to use military force against Iraq?

5. You have stated that the Administration “has certainly relinquished the moral authority to send additional men and women into this catastrophe.” You have also noted that the President’s “stubborn insistence on pursuing the present course has been rejected by our military leaders ... and a strong majority of the public ... with good reason.” You also recently voted for a non-binding resolution objecting the President’s proposed surge. These statements and action clearly indicate that you do not have confidence in President Bush’s ability to handle, much less end, this war and occupation.

Then why did you sign on to HR 787, which, although it calls for redeployment to start by May 2007, gives this President the ability to stop that redeployment at any point in renewable three month increments without Congressional approval? (HR 787 provides that if Congress objects to a halt in redeployment and wants to get it going again, it must introduce and pass new legislation to do so.)

6. You have stated that, “finally, four years into a very controversial war, Congress will begin to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities as representatives of the People.” The Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to fund.

How does voting for more funding to continue the war fulfill the constitutional responsibilities of Congress?

7. As of this writing, the war on and occupation of Iraq has cost nearly $390 billion. There are many, many domestic needs that are going unmet, including lack of health care for millions of Americans, needs for affordable housing and education, cuts proposed to Medicare, and we have still not restored New Orleans.

How does the cost of this war and needs that will go unmet because of it bear on your decision to continue funding the war?

8. The Iraqi people have suffered greatly from the U.S. invasion and occupation, an estimated 690,000-plus have been killed, tens of thousands wounded or disabled, 2 million are refugees and 1.8 million are internally displaced. These numbers increase daily. Polls taken in Iraq indicate that the overwhelming majority want the U.S. to leave.

How do these facts bear on your decision to continue funding the occupation

(For more information, contact Cres Vellucci, Sacramento Coalition to End the War, 916/996-9170).