Just Foreign Policy

Campaigns

• .@SenatorBaldwin: Oppose Cluster Bomb Transfers to Saudi Arabia

  On June 16, the House narrowly failed, 204-216, [1] to ban the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia, which has used them in civilian areas in Yemen in violation of U.S. law. [2] The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch supported Rep. Conyers' amendment. The Senate has not yet considered the measure. We know where the overwhelming majority of House Democrats stand. On June 16, 164 House Democrats voted to ban the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. Only 16 Democrats voted no. Every Wisconsin House Democrat - Mark Pocan, Ron Kind, and Gwen Moore - voted for the amendment. [3] Urge Senator Baldwin to stand with these Wisconsin Democrats and publicly oppose the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia by signing our petition. References: 1. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2016/roll327.xml 2. http://www.noclusterbombs.org/news/2016/05/28/transfers-ksa/ 3. https://projects.propublica.org/represent/votes/114/house/2/327

  5,289 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Put Pentagon Bloat on the Table to Pay for Domestic Infrastructure

  The Washington Post claims that Hillary Clinton won't be able to fulfill her promise to increase domestic infrastructure spending, because House Republicans will insist on cuts elsewhere to pay for it. [1] But that would only be the end of the story if we assumed - as the Washington Post apparently does - that the bloated Pentagon budget is sacrosanct. Not every House Republican votes in lock-step with the Pentagon. Forty House Republicans - many of them members of the House Liberty Caucus - voted with the overwhelming majority of House Democrats to stop the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. [2] Urge Democrats and Republicans in Washington to put cuts to the bloated Pentagon budget on the table to pay for domestic infrastructure spending by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2016/08/11/daily-202-hillary-clinton-s-agenda-would-flounder-in-congress-here-are-seven-reasons-why/57abd94bcd249a2fe363ba11/ 2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-heeding-close-house_b_10516480.html

  7,946 of 8,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Force House Vote on Saudi War in Yemen to Stop Cholera & Famine

  On June 15, the UN Security Council unanimously called for a cease-fire in the conflict between the Saudi-UAE coalition and the Houthi-Saleh forces in Yemen. "The U.N. Security Council urged the warring parties in Yemen on Thursday to immediately agree on a cease-fire and keep all ports open for humanitarian aid to confront the threat of famine and the rapid spread of cholera," AP reported. [1] On June 13, the U.S. Senate narrowly failed to block an arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Senators opposed to the deal stressed the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen rather than escalate it. [2] "The Saudi-led war in Yemen has created a humanitarian disaster," Senator Bernie Sanders said. "Millions are at the risk of starvation...chaos in Yemen has also been strategically disastrous for the United States, providing fertile ground for the extremist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS...it is long past time that we begin to take a very hard look at our relationship with Saudi Arabia...it is important that we begin to discuss...the decades long effort by Saudi Arabia to export an ultra-reactionary form of Islam throughout the world." [3] "The human rights and humanitarian concerns have been well documented and are important,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said. “Of equal concern to me is that the Saudi government continues to aid and abet terrorism via its relationship with Wahhabism and the funding of schools that spread extremist propaganda throughout the world." [4] But the Trump Administration plans to escalate U.S. participation in the Saudi bombing of Yemen, with U.S. military advisers in the Saudi air operations control center in Riyadh. [5] U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen has never been authorized by Congress. [6] House Members can challenge U.S. participation in the war with amendments on the National Defense Authorization Act and the Department of Defense Appropriation. In addition, a single House Member can invoke Congressional war powers force to a debate and vote on withdrawing U.S. participation from the Saudi war in Yemen - which the UN Security Council has unanimously said should stop immediately to save Yemen from cholera and famine. The last time the House voted on any aspect of U.S. participation in the Saudi war was June 2016, when the House narrowly failed to prohibit the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. [7] Urge your Representative to force a House vote to withdraw U.S. backing from the Saudi war and blockade in Yemen by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/un-urges-yemen-cease-fire-and-open-ports-to-confront-cholera/2017/06/15/ec92b4b8-5219-11e7-b74e-0d2785d3083d_story.html 2. https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/saudi-yemen-war-famine?r_by=1135580 3. Senator Bernie Sanders, "We Must Reevaluate Our Relationship With Saudi Arabia," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqbebpDHCnE 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chuck-schumer-trump-saudi-arabia_us_593ec911e4b02402687bae98 5. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-arms-training-yemen.html 6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/05/02/alarm-grows-in-washington-as-saudi-coalition-attack-on-yemen-port-appears-imminent/; https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/05/19/trump-may-be-helping-to-create-a-famine-in-yemen-congress-could-stop-him/ 7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-heeding-close-house_b_10516480.html

  165,691 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Oppose @AIPAC Bills Attacking Iran Deal & Palestinian Human Rights

  Lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] are pressing Members of Congress to co-sponsor bills that attack the Iran nuclear agreement by imposing new sanctions on Iran [S.722 & H.R.1698] [1] and attack Palestinian self-determination by promoting Israeli settlements in the West Bank [S.720 & H.R.1697]. [2] S.722 would designate part of Iran's military as a terrorist organization, which would obstruct contact between the U.S. and Iranian militaries. U.S. military leaders have opposed this move on the grounds that it would undermine the U.S. fight against ISIS in Iraq. [3] S.720 & H.R.1697 would erase the distinction in U.S. law between Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank and make it illegal for U.S. companies to boycott or otherwise discriminate against Israeli settlements in the West Bank based on calls by the United Nations or the European Union. [4] Urge your Senators and Representative to oppose these bills by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/722; https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Countering%20Iran%27s%20Destabilizing%20Activities%20Act%20of%202017.pdf https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1698; https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/HR-1698.pdf; https://www.niacaction.org/new-senate-sanctions-legislation-risks-killing-the-jcpoa/; https://www.fcnl.org/updates/new-iran-sanctions-risk-putting-u-s-on-war-path-with-iran-709 2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720; https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1697; https://peacenow.org/WP/wp-content/uploads/pending-BDS-Conflation-bills-in-Congress.pdf 3. https://www.fcnl.org/updates/new-iran-sanctions-risk-putting-u-s-on-war-path-with-iran-709 4. https://peacenow.org/WP/wp-content/uploads/pending-BDS-Conflation-bills-in-Congress.pdf

  7,852 of 8,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Burlington City Council: Vote No on Basing the F-35

  The proposal to base F-35 jet fighters at Burlington International Airport will have a devastating impact on the surrounding communities and the people who live in them, as is documented in the Air Force's own Environmental Impact Statement. Being the airport's owner and landlord, the City of Burlington has a legal and moral responsibility to prevent this harm. On Monday, October 28th, the Burlington City Council will vote on a binding resolution to bar the basing of the F-35 at BIA. This is our best chance to stop the basing and protect our communities. Please sign the petition urging city councilors to support the resolution. And if you live in Burlington, please contact your ward representative today! http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CityCouncil/City-Councilors/ More info, including on Monday's Burlington City Council meeting: http://www.stopthef35.com/calltoaction/

  15,637 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Thomas Grace
• To Protect #IranDeal, Keep @JohnKerry as Secretary of State

  Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran's nuclear program has been sharply curtailed and has been made much more transparent and accountable to the international community. [1] Thanks to the diplomacy of John Kerry, 10 U.S. sailors who accidentally strayed into Iranian waters were released from Iranian custody within 24 hours. [2] Thanks to the diplomacy of John Kerry, five Americans previously imprisoned by Iran have been released. [3] These achievements were made possible in part by the relationships that Kerry built with Iranian officials over years of negotiations and diplomacy. In a year, the United States will have a new President. Some politicians want to tear up the nuclear agreement with Iran; some politicians want the nuclear agreement to be the end of diplomacy with Iran, and want to escalate confrontation with Iran on other fronts, thereby attacking the Iran deal indirectly; some politicians want to keep going with the diplomatic opening to Iran and see what else can be achieved. When President Obama was first inaugurated, he kept Robert Gates as Defense Secretary to help ensure continuity in our Iraq and Afghanistan policies. The next President should keep John Kerry as Secretary of State to ensure continuity in our Iran policies. Pressing politicians to declare on whether John Kerry should stay as Secretary of State will clarify where they stand on diplomacy with Iran. Urge Washington politicians to declare that they support keeping John Kerry as Secretary of State to protect the #IranDeal by signing our petition. 1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal 2. http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/265730-kerry-thanks-iran-for-care-of-us-sailors 3. http://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/iran-releases-five-u-s-prisoners-603948099590

  6,555 of 7,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• .@nytimes: Fact-check Jake Sullivan on Normal Relations with Iran

  The New York Times reported that Jake Sullivan, a Clinton campaign senior policy adviser, has attacked Bernie Sanders for supporting efforts to establish normal diplomatic relations with Iran. "'Normal relations with Iran right now?' Mr. Sullivan says. 'President Obama doesn’t support the idea. Secretary Clinton doesn’t support that idea. And it’s not at all clear why it is that Senator Sanders is suggesting it.'" [1] The New York Times merely has to compare Sullivan's statements with the debate transcript to show how misleading Jake Sullivan's attack was. Sanders was responding to a question which cited President Obama saying that the U.S. should re-establish normal diplomatic relations with Iran; and while Sanders agreed with President Obama that the U.S. should work towards normal diplomatic relations with Iran, he did not say that the U.S. should do so "right now." Here is the debate transcript, according to the Washington Post: [2] MITCHELL: Senator Sanders … The president said today, "it's a good day. It's a good day for diplomacy. It's a time now to restore diplomatic relations for the first time since 1979 and actually re-opened a U.S. Embassy in Tehran." SANDERS: I think what we've got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran. Understanding that Iran's behavior in so many ways is something that we disagree with; their support [of] terrorism, the anti-American rhetoric that we're hearing from of their leadership is something that is not acceptable. On the other hand, the fact that we've managed to reach an agreement, something that I've very strongly supported that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and we did that without going to war. And that I believe we're seeing a fall in our relationships with Iran is a very positive step. So if your question is, do I want to see that relationship become more positive in the future? Yes. Can I tell that we should open an embassy in Tehran tomorrow? No, I don't think we should. But I think the goal has go to be as we've done with Cuba, to move in warm relations with a very powerful and important country in this world. "Normal diplomatic relations" and "opening an embassy" are the same thing. That's what "normal diplomatic relations" means. It doesn't mean you're best buddies. It means you have embassies and ambassadors. It's like saying hi to your neighbor when you pass them in the street. You're not necessarily best buddies; you have normal relations. You're on regular speaking terms. That's what we have with Cuba now: embassies and ambassadors. Urge the New York Times to correct the record on normal diplomatic relations with Iran by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/21/hillary-clinton-knocks-bernie-sanders-on-foreign-policy-experience/ 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/17/the-4th-democratic-debate-transcript-annotated-who-said-what-and-what-it-meant/

  5,137 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Respect UN, Drop US Espionage Case Against Julian Assange

  The UN working group on arbitrary detention has found that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained in London for more than five years and should be released immediately. [1] Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said: “In light of this decision, it’s clear that any criminal charges against Mr. Assange in connection with WikiLeaks’ publishing operations would be unprecedented and unconstitutional. Indeed, even the prolonged criminal investigation of WikiLeaks itself has had a profound chilling effect. The Justice Department should end that investigation and make clear that no publisher will ever be prosecuted for the act of journalism.” [2] Urge the U.S. government to end all criminal investigations and threats of prosecution against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks by signing our petition. Initial signers: Oliver Stone, director Robert Naiman, Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action Jon Rainwater, Executive Director, Peace Action West Jodie Evans, Co-founder, CODEPINK Beverly Bell, Founder, Other Worlds Jeff Cohen, Co-founder, RootsAction.org Ann Wertheimer, Chair, American Voices Abroad Kevin Zeese, Co-director, Popular Resistance Karen Barton, Coordinator, Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition Alice Slater, New York Director, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Hedy Epstein, Holocaust Survivor C. G. Estabrook, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois T.M. Scruggs, Anthromusicologist A. Belden Fields, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Illinois References: 1. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17012&LangID=E 2. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/05/julian-assange-un-panel-uk-sweden-deprivation-of-liberty

  10,093 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Senate: Support "Fast Track" for Supreme Court Confirmation

  Last June, the Senate approved "Fast Track" procedures for consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] agreement, by a vote of 60 to 38. [1] 47 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted yes. [2] Under the legislation, once President Obama submits the TPP agreement to Congress, Congress must consider it under expedited (“Fast Track”) procedures, by which the bill can come to the floor without action by the leadership, and can receive a guaranteed up-or-down vote. [3] Now, some of the same Republican Senators who voted for Fast Track for Big Pharma's TPP deal that "will make life-saving treatments unaffordable for those who need them most" [4] are saying there's no hurry to consider confirmation of President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court. If it's left up to these Republican Senators, the "timetable" for confirming President Obama's Supreme Court nominee could be "never." Urge the Senate to support "Fast Track" procedures for confirming President Obama's Supreme Court nomination, similar to the "Fast Track" procedures the Senate approved for considering the TPP, by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/business/trade-pact-senate-vote-obama.html 2. http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/114/senate/1/219 3. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43491.pdf 4. http://msfaccess.org/about-us/media-room/press-releases/there%E2%80%99s-still-time-stop-tpp-cutting-critical-lifeline-affordable-

  7,160 of 8,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman
• Congress: Probe Assassination of Berta Caceres in Honduras

  Honduras has lost one of its most courageous indigenous leaders, Berta Caceres. Caceres was the General Coordinator of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism and leadership. She was assassinated on March 2. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said: “… this horrific crime demonstrates that no one, not even an internationally known social activist, is safe in Honduras if they speak out against corruption or abuse of authority… The immediate question is what President Hernandez and his government -- which has too often ignored or passively condoned attacks against Honduran social activists -- will do to support an independent investigation, prosecution, and punishment of those responsible for this despicable crime. And beyond that, what steps will the government take to protect the many other Hondurans who have been deemed in need of protection, and to stand up for the rights of people like Berta who risk their lives in peacefully defending the environment and their livelihoods. The answers to those questions will weigh heavily on the Congress’s support for future assistance for that government.” [1] Urge Congress to demand an independent investigation by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/reaction-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-ranking-member-senate-appropriations-subcommittee-on-the-state-department-and-foreign-operations-on-the-assassination-of-berta-caceres-in-honduras

  9,560 of 10,000 Signatures

  Created by Robert Naiman