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Hearings on New START, a treaty between the United States and Russia, are currently underway, and it is critical that Senators hear from their constituents, expressing strong support for its ratification. New START could come up for ratification before the Senate's August recess.   The new treaty limits the U.S. and Russia to no more than 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles. The treaty has broad-based support from diplomats and high-ranking officials from past and current administrations. Officials who have given nonpartisan support of this treaty include former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, and James Baker, as well as current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.    Even the United States' current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has supported the treaty stating that "The New START Treaty has the unanimous support of America's military leadership." The treaty is a critical, if modest, step towards the goal of nuclear disarmament. Unfortunately, the timing of the vote has made it an easy target for political opportunism. With the vote possibly coming up right before the elections, many on the Right may try to deny President Obama the ratification of New START for their own political gain.  I would urge you to contact your Senators this week and ask them to do all that they can to support the New START treaty. Please take action to move us one step closer to a nuclear-free world. Sincerely, Kevin M. Martin Executive Director Peace Action     P.S. Please forward this to your friends and ask them to contact their Senators as well.

Tell your representatives to - vote "NO!" to block the $33 billion appropriation that will escalate the war AND support and cosponsor the McGovern/Jones/Feingold timetable bill. Support our demand to reject any funding to escalate the war in Afghanistan and to set a timetable to bring the troops home. Acting together, we can put the strongest pressure on Congress. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) have already introduced legislation to "require the President to develop a flexible timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan." H.R. 5015: Redeployment of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan, and its companion bill in the Senate, S. 3197, are critical steps for the U.S. withdrawal effort.  H.R. 5015 already has 82 cosponsors. TOLL FREE: 1-866-261-4755 SAMPLE SCRIPT "Hello, my name is __________. I'm a constituent  I'm calling from __________ (city or town). Could I speak to your staff person who handles Afghanistan?  (If not, leave a message urging the Senator or Member of Congress to vote against all future war funding and to support and co-sponsor the timetable bill [H.R. 5015] introduced by Representatives McGovern and Jones.) I'm very concerned about our present strategy in Afghanistan and I want  Representative _________ to vote "no" on all future funding requests for the war in Afghanistan, including the proposed $33 billion supplemental appropriation to fund escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan.  We shouldn't escalate.  We should get out!  I want those funds used to meet human needs, restore vital public services, support social programs, repair our failing infrastructure, address the fiscal crisis in our states and cities, and create good jobs to put our country back to work. I also want Congress Member _________ to support Congressmen McGovern and Jones' resolution H.R. 5015. This bill would set a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Can you please get back to me when you've found out what the Representative plans to do in support of this bill?" Margaret Melkonian Director LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives 38 Old Country Road Garden City, NY 11530 516-741-4360 longislandpeace@gmail.com www.longislandpeace.org Celebrating 25 Years of Peacemaking on Long Island, 1985-2010

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