Call Your Senators This Week And Tell Them: Don’t Iraq Iran!

This week marks the tenth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Yet, it seems that a majority of the Senate hasn’t learned its lesson: S. Res. 65, AIPAC/Lindsey Graham’s “backdoor to war” with Iran bill, now has 65 co-sponsors. [1] Even Senators who opposed the Iraq war, such as Sens. Boxer and Durbin, have signed on to the bill.

But allies are popping up in unexpected places. The New York Times recently came out in support of negotiations—and slammed S. Res. 65. [2]

We’ve defeated AIPAC before—and with enough pressure, we can do it again. Over 20,000 Just Foreign Policy members have emailed their Senators on S. Res. 65. But AIPAC supporters have been working hard as well. That’s why we need to scale up our opposition.

This week, Just Foreign Policy is joining with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the National Iranian American Council, and Peace Action West for a national call-in to the Senate opposing Graham’s “backdoor to war” with Iran bill. Could you follow up your email with a phone call to your Senator? Here’s what you do:

1. Check to see if your Senator has co-sponsored the bill here:
   https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sres65-call-in
2. Call the Capital Switchboard using this toll-free number provided by FCNL: 1-855-68-NO WAR (1-855-686-6927)
3. Ask to be connected to your Senator’s office.
4. When you are connected to your Senator’s office:
   1. If your Senator hasn’t co-sponsored the bill, thank them for staying off, and urge them to resist pressure to sign the bill, noting that the bill
      1. tries to “pre-approve” US participation in an Israeli attack on Iran; and
      2. tries to move up the “red line” for war

      Urge them to press that the bill go through committee-mark up.

   2. If your Senator has co-sponsored the bill, express your disappointment with their position, noting that the bill
      1. tries to “pre-approve” US participation in an Israeli attack on Iran; and
      2. tries to move up the “red line” for war

      Urge them to counterbalance their action by publicly affirming support for diplomacy, and by insisting that the bill go to committee mark-up so concerns about it can be addressed.

5. When you’re done, report your call at the bottom of this page:
   https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sres65-call-in

Thank you for all you do to help bring about a more just foreign policy,

Megan Iorio, Chelsea Mozen, Sarah Burns and Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy

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References:

1. The full text of the bill, including a current list of co-sponsors, can be found here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:S.RES.65:
2. “Congress Gets in the Way,” New York Times Editorial, March 8, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/opinion/congress-gets-in-the-way-on-iran.html