On The Parliamentary Front Against The American Middle East Wars

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Dear Al,
When the United States decides to drop bombs on people in another country, our leaders say it’s regrettable but necessary.  In recent conflicts such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, these actions were presented as vital to the deposition of corrupt and villainous leaders. Yet, in each case, we have learned that bombing brought on deeper consequences: the deployment of soldiers, destruction of vital infrastructure, and high civilian casualties.  As a result, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya all have become horribly worse off after US military "solutions", while  Somalia, Yeman, and Syria are all being threatened with ruin.  The U.S. has once again chosen bombing as its first course of action in the fight against ISIS.  It is important that the peace movement be here and able to tell our people and leaders to tell the truth.

Make a tax-deductible donation today, so we can continue this important work!

Doing the same thing over again hoping for a different result is insanity! Despite such disastrous outcomes in the past, our country’s foreign policy continues to rely on military solutions in the interest of the many corporations, contractors, and politicians invested in the sustained global dominance of the United States.  What we desperately need instead is a foreign policy that benefits all of us.  Over the past year, Massachusetts Peace Action convened a group of veteran activists, scholars and students to answer the question of what a Foreign Policy for All would look like.  We grounded our search in five core values: democracy, cooperation, justice, human rights and sustainability.   We identified thirteen policy pillars, including:
• Strengthen International Law: Reform the United Nations and embrace global law;
• Non-intervention: Renounce preemptive strikes; 
• Nuclear disarmament: Negotiate elimination of weapons worldwide;
• Climate justice: Make global green development a top priority; and
• Demilitarization: Cut U.S. military spending in half.

We held a ground-breaking conference last month in Cambridge that drew over 300 people to hear Noam Chomsky, Bill Fletcher, Phyllis Bennis and Stephen Kinzer and to participate in 15 small group discussions and follow-on work.  We believe that the Foreign Policy for All can serve as a counter-weight to the military-first solutions favored by our leaders. It offers voters and elected officials a vision of how the U.S. could play a positive, peaceful role in the world.  The full Foreign Policy for All document is available online.  You can send us your comments here.
Your tax-deductible donations are appreciated and crucial for our continued development.


In order to successfully share our work with a wider audience, we need to refine it, explain it, and promote it in a big way.  To do that, we need your financial support. Can you make a tax-deductible gift to the Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund today?  Your gift will underwrite follow-up workshops around the state next year to build on the momentum of the November conference. It will pay for printing and postage to get copies of the next version of the plan to lawmakers, journalists and policy makers. It will allow our staff and volunteers to travel across the state, building support in dialogue with citizen groups, editorialists and others who shape public opinion.  You can donate online  and through mail.  The important thing is that you give today, before year’s end, so you can take advantage of the tax benefits and so that in 2015 we can do the important work to bring about a true Foreign Policy for All.

Thank you for making it possible! Cole Harrison Executive Director P.S. We need your support. Donate today!

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