Many good-intentioned people in the United States say we can't withdraw our troops now and abandon Iraqis to chaos and disorder. Yet the U.S. presence on the streets of Iraq is fueling animosity, motivating the armed resistance, and sealing the fate for failed democracy in Iraq. Every extra day and dime the U.S. spends on its reckless course in Iraq deepens the suffering in Iraq and at home.
The President's fourth "supplemental" spending request for the Iraq war will add $80 billion to the more than $151 billion already appropriated. It is time for us to demand that the Administration and Congress stop perpetuating the cycle of violence in Iraq, stop sending so many soldiers and civilians to their graves, and stop diverting precious resources that could be used to rebuild Iraq and fund critical domestic needs
110 of these organizations have banded together to form U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), a national organization committed to ending the war, returning the troops, restoring funding to social programs and government services, and changing the direction of U.S. foreign policy. (A list of USLAW affiliates is posted at the USLAW website at http://uslaboragainstwar.org.)
Union members and their family members are being killed, wounded, disabled and psychologically traumatized in a war that has already killed almost 1500 U.S. military personnel, wounded more than 10,500 others, a war in which more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died. This war is siphoning resources from our communities, starving or eliminating essential public services and social programs, eroding our democratic rights, and making our