Win Without War

Campaigns

• Tell Congress: Stop Bannon's national security takeover

  Steve Bannon is a dangerous right-wing extremist, and Donald Trump just gave him a seat at the most powerful table in the world. The National Security Council is a group of the president's most senior military, diplomatic, and intelligence advisors, or at least it's supposed to be. Under a directive issued on Saturday by Donald Trump, Steve Bannon—the "alt-right," white-nationalist chief strategist to the president—has been appointed to the inner circle of the NSC, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence have been relegated to attend NSC meetings on an "as needed" basis. This unprecedented move politicizes our national security far beyond what George W. Bush and Karl Rove did, and it opens the door to even more disastrous efforts like the Iraq War and the Patriot Act—or much worse. Thankfully, Congress has the power to stop this. Congress created the National Security Council and as recently as last year passed legislation regulating it. Right now, members of Congress are drafting legislation to keep Steve Bannon off the National Security Council and protect the independence of our national security from Donald Trump's political meddling. This isn't just about sending a message. Bannon is reportedly the driving force behind the extreme, un-American executive orders Trump has issued in his first week in office. In fact, according to CNN, Bannon personally spearheaded Trump's order banning all immigrants and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., and slamming America's door to all refugees indefinitely. Congress must immediately undo this politicization of America's national security. Bannon represents the worst of the Trump administration's hardliners. He has made a career out of facilitating the rise of white nationalism, argued that being perceived as evil is a source of political power, has been praised by the KKK and neo-Nazis, and more. All signs suggest that Bannon believes deeply in the so-called clash of civilizations and that the United States needs to be made into a hub for a new kind of right-wing populism centering on white identity politics. We cannot let this vision be the beating heart of our nation's national security policy. We know that this is terrifying. But the amazing mobilization of our movement over the past 10 days shows that we have the power to stop this. Millions of us have taken to the streets: from the unprecedented Women's March to the actions across the country at airports that helped reunite families torn apart by Trump's Muslim ban. Now it's time to keep the architect of Donald Trump's hateful and dangerous agenda away from America's national security. Take two minutes to make sure your members of Congress hear loudly and clearly that they must act.

  442,490 of 500,000 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
• Tell DC Mayor Bowser and DC Council: Stop Trump's War Parade

  Trump just ordered plans to send tanks, troops, and guns down the streets of Washington, D.C. This is the kind of parade that dictators around the world use to try and intimidate their enemies and, more importantly, their own citizens. This is not democracy, and this is not American. Urge Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to act immediately and shut down Trump’s war parade. This is not democracy. Urge Washington, D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council to act immediately and shut down Trump's war parade by refusing to issue permits, allocate resources, or otherwise cooperate with such an outrageous idea.

  318,275 of 400,000 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Tell Congress: Pass HR 629 →

  The reality is that the days after 9/11 were fraught and emotional — some communities came together and others were viciously scapegoated, even though they were hurting too. There was a spike in hate crimes against Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Sikh people, and too much of that unchecked racist rhetoric ultimately helped launch endless wars and lay the foundation for the Muslim ban. Twenty years later, it’s time that we address that truth. Reps. Jayapal, Omar, Tlaib, and Chu just introduced a new bill to recognize the harm that these communities have suffered since 9/11. With your help we can get it the support it needs. As activists who oppose war and seek to build a better future, it’s our responsibility to push those in power to understand the lessons of the past so that we can redefine what security looks like in the future — for all of us.

  14 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
• Tell President Obama and Congress: Keep America Out Of Iraq!

  Fallujah. Mosul. Baghdad. Hearing these names again sends a chill down my spine. As a Marine who served in Iraq, I know well the bloody costs paid by Americans and by Iraqis in these and so many other cities over the past decade. I have friends who to this day remain on the front lines of a sectarian conflict that is tearing their homeland apart. And I am saddened to see the renewed and growing violence once again gripping Iraq. But I also know that the solution to the chaos in Iraq is not another American military intervention. The president was right to end the Iraq War in 2011, and it would be a tremendous mistake to restart it now. The United States and Iraq have already paid dearly for George W. Bush’s disastrous decision to launch the Iraq War. With Iraq once again descending into violence, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past. No military intervention, whether a massive invasion like the one in 2003 or the limited airstrikes some are calling for today, will solve the deep and complex challenges Iraq is facing. Iraq’s problems can only be solved by Iraqis, not American bombs. Launching another military intervention in Iraq would only throw more fuel on a fire that is raging. Even worse, it would once again risk American lives in a fight that is not ours and that we cannot win. Over the past few days, the news has been filled with stories of a swift insurgent advance through northern Iraq. Sunni militants, under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have taken over city after city in northern Iraq. These militants, fresh from the fight in neighboring Syria, have made dramatic progress, capturing American-made weapons and supplies left behind by the fleeing Iraqi security forces. Their advance is fueled in no small part by the repressive sectarian policies of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The situation may get worse before it gets better, but one thing is clear: American bombs are not the solution. Even more chilling than watching the violence in Iraq is listening to the pundits here at home. The very same men and women who lied to the American public and sent thousands of my fellow men and women in uniform to their deaths are now leading the charge for another military intervention. Many of these men should be in jail; none of them should be listened to. If my friends in Iraq are to ever find peace, if their children and their grandchildren have any chance of growing up without the butchery of beheading knives and the carnage of car bombs, peace will come through negotiation and settlement, as it briefly did post-2007, and not through an American strategy of choosing sides, choosing winners and losers, and indulging in the self-satisfactory, self-indulgent, guilt-erasing, yet illusory, medication of bombing.

  77,324 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Matthew Hoh
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  The 4th Amendment is not for sale!

  The U.S. military, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Secret Service were *ALL* recently caught buying location tracking data from shady “data mining” tech companies. They’re using a flimsy legal loophole to bypass the Fourth Amendment and spy on all of us. This is unacceptable. Fourth Amendment protections exist to protect us all. U.S. government agencies should not be able to side-step these requirements just because data collection makes it easy. Sign now and demand Congress close these loopholes and protect our privacy by passing the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act.

  53 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Stop war with Iran

  The Trump administration is leading the United States into an unnecessary and illegal war with Iran. Since day one of his presidency, Donald Trump has pushed our country towards a war with Iran. He filled his cabinet with warmongers like Mike Pompeo; pulled out of the historic and successful Iran nuclear deal; embarked on a “maximum pressure” campaign that sent thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East; and imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran. The assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian military leader, is just the latest unilateral action by this administration that has brought us to the brink of war. There is no greater urgency than right now, and we need you to get loud. Add your name and tell Congress to act immediately to stop a catastrophic war with Iran.

  10,481 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Congress: Ban Assault Weapons!

  As we continue to grapple with a pandemic, we must not forget our ongoing gun violence epidemic — and we must treat it like the national security priority it is. With so many factors fueling it, we know it’s not going to be solved overnight. BUT Congress could act NOW to mitigate the extent of mass shooting injuries and deaths. One place to start is by finally passing a federal ban on all assault weapons. With your help, we can make sure Congress hears us loud and clear when we say weapons of war do not belong in our streets. Together, we can push Congress to do their job — that means representing AND and protecting us with legislation that will ban assault weapons from our streets.

  95 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Cut the Pentagon Budget!

  Despite being elected to move away from Trump policies of the past, despite a clear reckoning on our priorities in the wake of COVID, and despite the fact that budgets are moral documents, President Biden is likely to propose a $740 BILLION budget that would keep Pentagon spending at Trump-era levels. Disappointed doesn’t begin to cut it. We’re furious. A growing chorus in Congress is too. But while Congress, not the White House, is ultimately in control of the purse strings, progressive champions can’t stop this budget on their own. That’s why we need to turn the pressure up even higher, and remind everyone in Congress and the White House: We want our priorities put back in order and that means cutting the Pentagon budget.

  51 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Congress: Billions for bullets should go toward helping people instead

  As the humanitarian crisis grows and the U.S. military prepares to leave on August 31 saving as many Afghan lives as possible must be the U.S. government’s top priority. But here’s something you may not know: there are ample funds available to ease suffering on the ground and support Afghans to rebuild their lives — like inside next year’s astronomical Pentagon budget, where more than $3 BILLION is currently earmarked for the now-collapsed Afghan National Security Forces. Congress is deciding where those funds will go as we speak. And the possibility that this money could instead be spent on a few more F-35s or bombs is all too real — and should be immediately, completely rejected. That’s why we need to get loud NOW Add your name to call on Congress to immediately use any money that was previously going to be spent supporting Afghan security forces to help save Afghan lives.

  64 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles
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  Sign Now: Congress must implement oversight of Pegasus

  Pegasus, a spyware created by Israeli company NSO, surveilled over *50,000* individuals — including private citizens — through their phones: tracking their messages, monitoring their locations, and even remotely activating their microphones to listen in on their conversations. This kind of mass surveillance is a threat to each and every one of us. That’s why we’re calling on Congress to protect our privacy and implement oversight of Pegasus spyware. Will you add your name to join us in calling for an end to unchecked surveillance?

  39 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Stephen Miles