{news} GP RELEASE Greens: Dems exploiting antiwar sentiment for political gain

[Justine McCabe]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, March 22, 2007

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805,
starlene at gp.org


Greens condemn Democratic resolution for U.S. troop
withdrawal by 2008, calling it a phony antiwar posture
to give Democrats an advantage in 2008

. If Democrats (including MoveOn) really oppose the
war, they should demand a cutoff of war funding and
the immediate return of all U.S. troops, say Greens.


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders strongly
criticized a proposed Democratic resolution in the
U.S. calling for withdrawal by September 2008, and
demanded that Congress take action to end the U.S.
occupation of Iraq with legislation that would effect
an immediate withdrawal.

The Green Party of the United States has opposed the
U.S. war on Iraq since late 2002, when President Bush
announced plans for an invasion, and has called for
impeachment of President Bush and Vice President
Cheney for a list of high crimes and misdemeanors,
including lying to the American people to justify
going to war.

. Cres Vellucci, member of Veterans For Peace, Vietnam
War veteran (military information specialist), and
press secretary of the Green Party of California: "The
Democrats' resolution is piece of phony and
meaningless antiwar posturing.  By proposing a plan
that effectively delays the withdrawal of U.S. troops
until September 2008, Democrats are trying to set
themselves up as the 'antiwar party' in the 2008
election, since it's obvious that President Bush
intends to keep U.S. forces in Iraq throughout 2008
and long after.  If Democratic Party leaders really
believe the Iraq War is a disaster -- as do the Green
Party and most Americans -- they should support
legislation compelling a rapid withdrawal of U.S.
forces and reducing war funding to the amount it takes
to bring our troops home safe and sound."

. Anthony Gronowicz, Ph.D., 2005 Green Party Candidate
for Mayor of New York City: "MoveOn.org has limited
its support to the bill for delayed withdrawal, and
has refused to publicize alternative legislation.  As
the war enters its fifth year, Democratic leaders and
their supporters in MoveOn are willing to keep
American military personnel in Iraq another 18 months.
 That means another 18 months of Iraqi civilians, U.S.
troops, and U.S. contractors, facing death and injury,
so that Democrats can gain a political advantage in
the 2008 election."

. Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Green Party's National
Women's Caucus: "The fact that Democrats are about to
approve another $120 billion for President Bush's war
shows that they're as ready to indulge the Bush
Administration's imperial designs as they were in
October 2002, when many of them voted to surrender
Congress's constitutional war power to the White
House.  The result has been mass death and mayhem,
destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and civil
society, a brutal civil war, empowerment of repressive
theocratic movements in Iraq, and rage against the
U.S. around the world, especially in Muslim nations. 
Even worse, if President Bush acts on his threats to
attack Iran or Israel launches an assault on Iran with
U.S. support, we'll see a regional war for years to
come that's likely to turn into a global
confrontation, possibly nuclear, as Saudi Arabia and
other nations are drawn into a wider Sunni-Shiite
conflict and powerful countries like Russia and China
choose sides.  Congress must act as quickly as
possible to head off the Bush-Cheney agenda.  The
first step is to end the occupation of Iraq." 

. Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the
United States, Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York and
a member of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee
(GPAX): "Democratic leaders in Congress are using
passage of the 'hydrocarbon law' in Iraq as a
benchmark for withdrawal of U.S. troops.  The new law
would privatize and allow foreign control over Iraqi
oil resources, and would subject Iraq to World Bank
and IMF structural adjustment policies that impoverish
people while enriching corporations.  In other words,
Democrats are happy to prolong the war for the very
reasons that President Bush launched it in the first
place -- profits for U.S. oil companies, as well as
U.S. political and corporate dominance in the region
and the strategic interests of Israel."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml

"Beyond Quagmire: A panel of experts convened by
Rolling Stone agree that the war in Iraq is lost. The
only question now is: How bad will the coming
explosion be?"
By Tim Dickinson, with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Richard
Clarke, Gen. Tony McPeak (retired), et al., Rolling
Stone, March 8, 2007
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13710030/leaving_iraq_the_grim_truth

"Dems Aren't Urgent Enough About Withdrawal"
By John Nichols, The Nation, March 9, 2007
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=173172

"Iraq: Why Won't MoveOn Move Forward?"
By Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, Center for Media
and Democracy, March 18, 2007
http://www.prwatch.org/node/5865


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