Yesterday (May 26, 2011) the US Congress came very close to voting to end the US-led war in Afghanistan. Those voting to end the war included not just the usual progressive Democrats, but also some moderate ones and 26 Republicans. This presents an opportunity to put additional pressure on our congressional representatives to end the war, so the next time they vote, they might actually succeed in ending it.
One way to increase the pressure: Sign onto the New Priorities Campaign.
The New Priorities Campaign (NPC) is a new movement to end the US-led wars abroad, reduce US military spending, and redirect the funds to US domestic needs. It is currently collecting petition signatures from citizens and endorsements from organizations and policymakers.
It began in Washington, DC in October 2011 following the 250,000-person One Nation Working Together march organized by the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, and progressive political organizations. Representatives of 35 organizations met after the march to strategize about ways to reduce the US’s annual trillion dollar military and military-related budget and reallocate the funds.
The New Priorities Campaign brings together organizations and individuals from diverse constituencies, communities and movements to demand of public officials a change of direction for the US — one that prioritizes putting people back to work, restoring and fully funding essential public services, rebuilding and repairing infrastructure, funding the development of new alternative energy technologies, cleaning up and protecting the environment, developing a sustainable peace economy, reducing poverty and inequality, and generally meeting important social and other human needs.
The main goal of the NPC is to make systematic and major reductions in military spending and to redirect such funds to domestic needs, such as starved state and local government budgets. The organizers believe that this effort, to be successful, must encompass a broad movement consisting of labor, faith, and social justice organizations. The campaign also believes there is an urgent need for far more progressive tax system, so wealthy individuals and large corporations pay higher percentages of their income.
The NPC Declaration of Principles:
- End the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
- Redirect the Pentagon budget to our domestic needs
- Increase taxes on the rich, banks, oil and other corporations
- Invest in our communities, our nation’s infrastructure and social needs to create jobs in a peaceful economy
The New Priorities Campaign started as a SF Bay Area regional organization, but is growing into a nation-wide organization through the New Priorities Network, an umbrella organization for organizations with similar principles and goals.
Check it out! And write your congressperson to either thank them for voting to end the war or to chide them for voting to continue it.
Further information:
- New Priorities Campaign (NPC)
- NPC Principles and Petition
- NPC Introductory Slide Show
- National New Priorities Network
- One Nation Working Together
- Rethink Afghanistan Analysis, with links to state-by-state vote tallies
