{news} GP RELEASE Greens: McKinney, not Obama, is the real anti-war candidate

Mon Jul 28 09:59:01 EDT 2008

----- Original Message -----

From: "Scott McLarty"
To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org
Subject: [usgp-dx] GP RELEASE Greens: McKinney, not Obama, is the real
anti-war candidate
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:12:52 +0000

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

For Immediate Release:
Monday, July 28, 2008

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614,
mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at gp.org

Greens warn that antiwar Americans will waste their votes if they
vote for Obama, citing his positions on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran,
and the Middle East

• Votes for Green nominees McKinney and Clemente will build a
permanent alternative to the bipartisan war agenda, say Green Party
leaders

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders said today that antiwar
voters will not get an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by
voting for presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama on Election Day.

Green leaders urged Americans who oppose the wars started by the
Bush Administration with bipartisan support in Congress to vote
instead for Green nominee Cynthia McKinney, running mate Rosa
Clemente, and Green congressional candidates.

"Millions of voters plan to vote for Barack Obama in the hope that
he'll bring peace to Iraq and other nations in the region," said
Omar N. López, Green candidate for the US House in Illinois (4th
District) (http://www.omarlopez2008.org). "But his positions are
really 'McCain-Lite' -- he'll continue many of the same belligerent
foreign policies as the Bush-Cheney Administration that John McCain
would. Mr. Obama supports a larger military in terms of both
spending and personnel. We want to stop the US from being the
world's bully, and instead fund a peace dividend to deal with the
economic, energy, and global warming crises."

"We appeal to voters to take a look at the Green Party's 'Peace
Slate' of candidates, with Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente on
the Green presidential ticket. A vote for a candidate who doesn't
represent your own ideals is a vote wasted," said Mr. López.

Green Party leaders compared the Green antiwar agenda to Barack
Obama's positions:

IRAQ

• Despite the popular impression that Sen. Obama intends to end the
Iraq War, he plans only to reduce troops over a 16-month period.
He would maintain an 'under the radar' occupation to protect US
interests, which is code for the US and British corporate demand
for control over Iraqi oil. (No-bid contracts have already been
anounced for ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and Total.) Sen.
Obama promises to shift troops around the region, placing US forces
in countries surrounding Iraq.

• The Green Party and Green candidates support an immediate and
full withdrawal of US troops and military contractors from Iraq,
and control over Iraqi oil resources returned to the Iraqi people.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=37
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=18

AFGHANISTAN

• Sen. Obama intends to expand the disastrous US war on
Afghanistan, which has already left the country in ruins and
continues to destabilize the region.

• Greens support full US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and an
internationally cooperative investigation and prosecution of those
behind the 9/11 attacks.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=37
http://gp.org/press/pr_2006_09_11.shtml

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

• Sen. Obama has repeatedly promised unqualified and uncritical
support for Israel, despite the Israeli government's illegal
occupation of Palestinian lands and massive abuses of human rights,
including Israel's recent violation of a pledge to the US not to
construct new homes in a West Bank settlement
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/24/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast).

• Greens have called for the withholding of all US assistance,
especially billions of dollars in military aid, until Israel
reverses its current policies and adheres to international law,
human rights protections, and UN directives, including withdrawal
from occupied lands and recognition of the Palestinian right of
return.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=61

IRAN

• Despite promises of diplomacy, Sen. Obama has signed on to the
Bush Administration's threat of a US or US-backed Israeli assault
on Iran, even though intelligence confirms that the Iranian
government is not using its nuclear power to build weapons.

• Greens have warned that an attack on Iran would bring untold
consequences, including a greater regional or global conflict, and
that the threat itself is an incentive for Iran and other nations
to seek a nuclear arsenal. Greens call for an end to such threats,
for diplomacy and friendship with Iran, and for an aggressive
effort towards regional and global nuclear disarmament, noting the
menace posed by Israel's and Pakistan's possession of nuclear
weapons.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=67
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_10_08.shtml

The Green Party has also urged impeachment and criminal
investigation of the Bush-Cheney Administration's numerous abuses
of power in launching the Iraq invasion as well as other actions.
Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership have rejected all
attempts to hold the latter accountable for its crimes.

As US Representative from Georgia in 2006, Cynthia McKinney was the
first member of Congress to introduce motions for impeachment.

"Many Obama supporters don't realize that the differences between
Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain on foreign policy are actually quite
narrow and based on the same assumptions. Both believe that the US
has a right to occupy other countries, place political demands on
their leaders, and take control of their resources. But other
voices are getting frozen out of the debate, including the Green
nominees for the White House and Congress, whose campaigns are
building America's permanent peace party alternative," said Carol
Brouillet, Green candidate for Congress in California's District 14
and founder of the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance
(http://www.communitycurrency.org).

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 'Power to the People' Campaign for
the White House http://www.runcynthiarun.org

2008 Green National Convention, July 10-13 in Chicago, Illinois
http://www.greenparty2008.org

~ END ~

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******************************************
Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282
 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT.
BLOG- http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com 

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