For more information, visit the Churches for Middle East Peace website.

BACKGROUND:
The National Council of Churches' office in Washington has been a beehive of advocacy activity this week. NCC's General Secretary Bob Edgar called for religious leaders - both Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic -- to come to Washington for "Seven Days of Action in Washington on Iraq" and orchestrated lobby visits with the many Representatives and Senators he worked with during his six terms as a Representative from Pennsylvania. A crew from Bill Moyers' program followed Edgar today filming a program segment that will be broadcast on PBS on an upcoming Friday eve, maybe October 18th.

The word from congressional offices is that the majority of constituent phone calls have been opposed to war against Iraq, but the rush to war is very strong. A vote on a congressional resolution is likely before the Congress recesses for elections and could take place as early as next Wednesday or Thursday. In both the Senate and House, resolutions are being developed that moderate the White House's language that would give the Administration a blank check for unilateral military action against Iraq and beyond. Members are negotiating resolution language with the White House and it is most likely that a compromise resolution that would place
restrictions on unilateral or immediate military action will pass overwhelmingly.

ACTION:
At a strategy meeting on Capitol Hill this morning the following advocacy actions were suggested:

• Call either or both the home and Washington offices of your Representative and, most importantly, your two Senators. The Senate may be the more likely chamber to place important restrictions on the use of U.S. military force. Call the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask to be connected to the office of your Representative or Senator, giving your Member's name. Once you are connected to the office, identify yourself by name and city and state that you are a constituent and would like to speak to the staffperson who handles foreign relations. If you get his or her voice mail, leave your advocacy message (see below). As follow-up you may ask for the fax number and/or e-mail address and write out your thoughts. Most importantly, ALWAYS BE POLITE.

As California Democratic Rep. Bob Filner urged (with mixed metaphors), "We need visible noise in this country." Don't succumb to thinking that it's over. Keep in mind that citizen advocacy and action against war is necessary now before a congressional vote and will be necessary still after congressional authorization. Organizing should be done with a sense of urgency and with recognition that mobilization of the mainstream public would be most effective. CMEP reminds advocates to proceed with a sense of resolve and hope, and not anger, in action that is non-violent and resonates with a message of peace.

Your advocacy message, especially if by telephone, should be polite, short and to the point. Make these points:

• I am alarmed at the talk of the U.S. taking military action against Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and urge your opposition to the U.S. going to war against Iraq.
• The United States should work cooperatively within the United Nations Security Council to contain the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
  

Following is the guide prepared by Churches for Middle East Peace for lobby visits in Washington. I hope these tips might be useful to you as well.

SEVEN DAYS OF ACTION IN WASHINGTON ON IRAQ
Guidance for advocacy visits

EMPHASIZE VALUES.
We expect our government to:

• pursue peace, not war.
• work with the community of nations, not engage in rattling sabers or threats to
• overthrow governments.
• espect international law while holding in high regard all human life.

EMPHASIZE THE MORAL DIMENSIONS consequences of war.

• To consider war without considering the suffering of the Iraqi people is unacceptable.
• U.S. military action as a means of dealing with proliferation problems sets a very dangerous precedent for other nations in the world.
• If the objective of war is to oust Saddam Hussein, American respect for the integrity of other nations will be doubted by many allies and world leaders.
• War against Iraq could easily destabilize the entire Middle East and provoke a larger confrontation that threatens the security of all nations in the region. Many Middle Eastern nations have already warned us of this unintended consequence of war against Iraq.
• The energies and riches of the U.S. should be dedicated to a global war against poverty and to counter the root causes of terrorism. The billions that an Iraq war would cost can ensure more long-term security for the U.S. if it were spent on a "Marshall Plan" for the Middle East.

EMPHASIZE THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION and plight of the Iraqi people currently and as a likely consequence of war.

Due to economic sanctions and Saddam Hussein's policies, a May 29, 2002 UNICEF report finds:

One in eight Iraqi children die before their fifth birthday.

One in three Iraqi children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

One-third of all children do not attend school.

• Ask what post-war Iraq would look like and how the U.S. intends to address the humanitarian situation after a war is conducted with many civilian casualties and destruction of societal infrastructure.
• Do not engage in debates on the complexities of the sanctions issues.

CAUTION that anti-American sentiment, which brings a threat of terrorism against U.S. citizens, would be heightened by war against Iraq.

• The Congress and Administration must work harder to calm, not provoke, the anti-American hatred that feeds terrorism.
• War against Iraq will have the likely result of increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and thereby make American citizens even more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

EMPHASIZE THE UNITED NATIONS as the internationally-accepted authority and only practical means for controlling and eliminating Iraq's weapons.

• The President's commitment to work with the U.N. Security Council is welcome. But insisting that the U.N. precisely implement U.S. policy is not what international cooperation is about. Urge the Administration and Congress not to undercut UN processes by go-it-alone rhetoric or actions.
• Do not in any way defend Saddam Hussein or deny the threat posed by Iraq's weapons.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN PEACEMAKING should be the highest Middle East priority for the U.S. government.

• A war against Iraq would set back, if not destroy, Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
• The cooperation of European allies, Arab states and others for Israel-Arab peace must be maintained, and Congress should support international efforts toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.

URGE A "NO' VOTE on congressional authorization of military force while emphasizing that whatever Congress does, it remains incumbent on the U.S. to work through the U.N. and not to act unilaterally.

• While it is appropriate to express your opposition to war and congressional authorization, recognize and treat with respect those Members who feel pressured to vote in favor of authorization due to public opinion and the upcoming election.