Visit to Senators to Push for Peace in Afghanistan: Massachusetts Peace, Justice And Environment Network

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Visit to Senators to Push for Peace in Afghanistan

Posted on Dec 22, 2008 by Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding (and Interfaith Peace)

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Message*	Wright Salisbury, of MAPJEN member group Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, was one of a group of peace activists who visited the offices of Massachusetts Senators Kennedy and Kerry in Boston on December 17, 2008. The group of 8 activists, including representatives of Peaceful Tomorrows, veterans groups and the Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, delivered copies of Afghanistan: Ending A Failed Military Strategy --- A Primer for Activists to the Senators? offices and made a plea to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan. The 22 page primer is a project of Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn their grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, they hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. This primer outlines ten reasons the US should end the occupation in Afghanistan. It calls instead for a drastically revamped US policy focused on diplomacy, negotiation, aid, reconstruction and international cooperation. Peaceful Tomorrows maintains that, as calls grow louder for the US military to send more troops to Afghanistan, it is up to the US peace movement to address the realities and counter the misconceptions surrounding the war and occupation. We must educate our own communities about the true consequences of US foreign policy in Afghanistan, connect with Afghan peacemakers and grassroots movements that are calling for alternatives to military action, and devise strategies for joining together to build a lasting peace. Recommendations for a Changed US Policy: 1. Set a swift timetable for the withdrawal of US and NATO military forces, to be substituted by UN forces for short-term security. 2. Immediately cease air strikes on targets in Afghanistan and Pakstan. 3. Support negotiations between all parties involved in the conflict, including Afghan women leaders. 4. Reform humanitarian aid and reconstruction funding efforts to prioritize Afghan organizations over foreign contractors. Ensure that funded projects address the needs and requests of Afghans and are not simple pet projects of foreign donors. 5. Invest in long-term aid that increases self-reliance such as sustainable agriculture efforts. 6. Immediately discontinue the use of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, which are costly, inefficient, and have militarized the aid process. 7. Standardize, increase, and publicly document compensation to Afghan families and communities affected by US military actions. 8. Sign the treaty to ban cluster bombs, pay for cluster bomb and landmine clean up in Afghanistan, and pledge never to use these weapons again. A downloadable pdf version of the paper can be found at: http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?id=914 For more information about Peaceful Tomorrows, see: [url]www.peacefultomorrows.org[/url] For information about the Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, see: [url]www.allianceforunderstanding.org[/url]
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Wright Salisbury, of MAPJEN member group Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, was one of a group of peace activists who visited the offices of Massachusetts Senators Kennedy and Kerry in Boston on December 17, 2008.

The group of 8 activists, including representatives of Peaceful Tomorrows, veterans groups and the Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, delivered copies of Afghanistan: Ending A Failed Military Strategy --- A Primer for Activists to the Senators? offices and made a plea to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

The 22 page primer is a project of Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn their grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, they hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism.

This primer outlines ten reasons the US should end the occupation in Afghanistan. It calls instead for a drastically revamped US policy focused on diplomacy, negotiation, aid, reconstruction and international cooperation.

Peaceful Tomorrows maintains that, as calls grow louder for the US military to send more troops to Afghanistan, it is up to the US peace movement to address the realities and counter the misconceptions surrounding the war and occupation. We must educate our own communities about the true consequences of US foreign policy in Afghanistan, connect with Afghan peacemakers and grassroots movements that are calling for alternatives to military action, and devise strategies for joining together to build a lasting peace.

Recommendations for a Changed US Policy:
1. Set a swift timetable for the withdrawal of US and NATO military forces, to be substituted by UN forces for short-term security.
2. Immediately cease air strikes on targets in Afghanistan and Pakstan.
3. Support negotiations between all parties involved in the conflict, including Afghan women leaders.
4. Reform humanitarian aid and reconstruction funding efforts to prioritize Afghan organizations over foreign contractors. Ensure that funded projects address the needs and requests of Afghans and are not simple pet projects of foreign donors.
5. Invest in long-term aid that increases self-reliance such as sustainable agriculture efforts.
6. Immediately discontinue the use of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, which are costly, inefficient, and have militarized the aid process.
7. Standardize, increase, and publicly document compensation to Afghan families and communities affected by US military actions.
8. Sign the treaty to ban cluster bombs, pay for cluster bomb and landmine clean up in Afghanistan, and pledge never to use these weapons again.

A downloadable pdf version of the paper can be found at:
http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?id=914

For more information about Peaceful Tomorrows, see: www.peacefultomorrows.org

For information about the Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, see: www.allianceforunderstanding.org