Dear Al, With another allegation of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government against civilians in rebel held areas, the White House seems poised to take military action against Syria. The Syrian government has denied using chemicals and allowed the United Nations inspectors into the area in which the alleged attack took place at the request of the Russians. American or NATO missile attacks will do nothing to help the Syrian people. Call the White House comment line now at 202-456-1111 and say: "I oppose military intervention and military support in Syria. I support massive efforts for a political solution and continued humanitarian aid." Americans strongly oppose the use of troops in another war in the Middle East. The U.S. would likely seek NATO support in an air campaign with bombing and missile strikes. If the goal of the bombing was to destroy the capacity of the Syrian government to use chemical weapons, that would be hard to achieve. Experts believe that we do not have the intelligence of the location of all the chemical weapons. An error in such an attack could disperse more chemicals. Please call now, 202-456-1111, as the President may make decisions soon. Arming rebel forces, as the U.S. has begun to do is no solution. In fact, some rebel forces are supportive of Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. In the wake of the gas attacks they threatened to slaughter thousands of civilians in areas supportive of the Syrian government. Additionally, providing military support is like throwing gasoline on the fire and does not encourage a political settlement, which is the only way the violence will end. With over 100,000 deaths, 4 million people displaced from their homes and the likely use of chemical weapons, the U.S. does need to take urgent action. History proves that the military approach will not bring a solution. Only one week ago the European press reported that the Russians were pushing ahead with their call for an international conference to achieve a cease fire and the US had agreed to meet to press that issue forward. Sadly the U.S. announced today that it would not attend the meeting on a peace conference because of the current crisis. We must not let the horrors of the last few days derail motion toward a real solution. The U.S. needs to continue working with Russia to hold the repeatedly delayed peace talks and must add all key regional actors to those talks. Other diplomatic avenues need to be traveled to produce a negotiated settlement. The U.S. should support the International Criminal Court in arresting those committing war crimes such as the use of chemical weapons. And lastly, continued humanitarian aid and aid to refugees is needed to assist civilians. With the 50th anniversary of Peace Action supporter, Reverend Martin Luther King's "I have a dream speech" this week, we know the power of nonviolence. Only nonviolent acts will solve the conflict within Syria. Call the President now at 202-456-1111. For Peace and Diplomacy, Shelagh Foreman Program Director Massachusetts Peace Action PS: Syria is at a truly dangerous moment involving many regional countries and nuclear powers, choosing sides and adding to a risk of massive disaster. Please sign and forward our petition.

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