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peace action
Coalition Urges Senators to Stop 'Illegal, Ineffective' US Airstrikes in Yemen
"Instead of bombing Yemen," one group said, "the U.S. should be securing a cease-fire in Gaza and restoring humanitarian aid for people across the Middle East."
Jul 11, 2024
An anti-war coalition of over 50 groups this week wrote to four U.S. senators who have raised alarm about American airstrikes in Yemen and the Red Sea to call for legislation that would stop "illegal, ineffective, and deadly unauthorized" bombings.
The coalition on Wednesday wrote to Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Todd Young, (R-Ind.), who in January sent a joint letter to President Joe Biden stressing that "there is no current congressional authorization for offensive U.S. military action against the Houthis" and demanding answers about recent strikes against the group.
"We are grateful for your long-standing efforts in support of both ending U.S. participation in the war in Yemen, as well as your defense of Congress' war powers, including your joint letter," the coalition wrote to the senators. "We write today to urge you to take necessary actions to defend the role of Congress in authorizing war and military action, as the framers of our Constitution intended, and to introduce a Yemen War Powers Resolution to this end."
The coalition includes Action Corps, CodePink, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Demand Progress, Democratic Socialists of America International Committee, Just Foreign Policy, National Iranian American Council, Peace Action, RootsAction.org, Veterans for Peace, and dozens of other groups across the ideological spectrum.
"Unfortunately, about six months after the strikes began, there is scant evidence that the strikes have been either strategically smart or successful, as you correctly predicted when you wrote that the unauthorized strikes 'will not deter the Houthi attacks,'" the coalition continued, citing the January letter.
As the groups detailed:
Far from being deterred, the Houthis have actually expanded the range of their attacks, with an attack in late April targeting an Israeli-linked ship sailing 375 miles off the coast of Yemen. More recently, Houthi attacks have shown a 'significant increase in effectiveness,' according to security firm Ambrey, including through the use of drone boats and double-tap strikes. Houthi military officials have announced plans for further escalation of their attacks if no cease-fire is reached in Gaza. All of this was foreseen by experts, who widely predicted that the U.S. strikes would only strengthen the Houthis' narrative, contributing to greater popularity both at home and across the Muslim world, and helping them enlist tens of thousands of new fighters.
"To our knowledge, the administration has not even made a good-faith attempt to engage with the valid constitutional concerns and substantive policy critiques you have raised alongside dozens of House members, experts, and advocates," the coalition noted. "This leads us to believe that the administration has effectively conceded that it does not have valid legal and constitutional authority to engage in these strikes."
"The strikes have nonetheless continued unabated for months, with hundreds of missiles launched in Yemen, including an attack on May 30th that killed at least 16 people and injured about 42 people," the groups added. "This threatens to deny the American people critical congressional debate and oversight regarding this dangerous and strategically dubious military action, and could be cited by the executive branch to attempt to justify similar or even more expansive unauthorized military actions in other contexts in the future."
The coalition is calling on the bipartisan group of senators to "to move swiftly to rein in these unauthorized and unconstitutional strikes by introducing a War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. participation from hostilities in Yemen, until or unless Congress authorizes such action."
Multiple coalition members echoed the letter's demands on social media Thursday. Peace Action declared that "Congress needs to flex its constitutional duty to rein in unauthorized U.S. missile strikes."
Action Corps emphasized that Biden—who is seeking reelection in November against former Republican President Donald Trump—"has no authority to continue dropping bombs on Yemen."
"With each illegal bombing, peace is delayed, and more children are starved to death. It's time for bipartisan action to ensure only Congress can declare war, regardless of which party is in office," the group added. "Instead of bombing Yemen, the U.S. should be securing a cease-fire in Gaza and restoring humanitarian aid for people across the Middle East."
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An Urgent Call to Congress: Cease-Fire Now and Avoid a Wider War
In a grassroots effort, about 450 individuals from 50 organizations are participating in lobby visits with over 100 congressional offices, at an opportune time as policies on the conflict are in flux.
Apr 12, 2024
Since the horrific attack by Hamas last October 7 and the astonishingly destructive Israeli response in Gaza, concerned individuals and organizations worldwide have mobilized to demand an end to the carnage, a potential genocide which is still accelerating rapidly.
In this regard, Peace Action, a 67-year-old grassroots peace, disarmament, and social justice organization that promotes diplomacy over militarism, was hardly unique in issuing calls for restraint. Its grassroots network of local groups around the country sprang into action, organizing protests and vigils, public meetings, educational webinars, coalition gatherings, and lobby meetings with congressional offices demanding a cease-fire, halting U.S. weapons transfers to Israel, surging humanitarian relief to Gaza, and averting a wider regional war.
Around the end of the year, Peace Action’s national staff saw a need for coordinating grassroots advocacy and launched an effort to get state level coalitions to advocate a cease-fire, diplomacy, and an end to blank check support for Israel. To our surprise, we got a quick response from local organizers in 18 states, who built ad hoc coalitions to lobby their U.S. senators.
“I knew that Congress needed to hear as many of these voices as possible, so when the opportunity arose to help organize a nationwide grassroots effort to lobby Congress, I signed up right away.”
“There are many national and local organizations who have advocated peace between Israel and Palestine for decades, including us,” said Peace Action’s Executive Director Jon Rainwater. “Local coalitions were built or strengthened after October 7, but there seemed to be a gap in national coordination of grassroots advocacy toward Congress, one of the toughest aspects of this work. We were pleased to see we could contribute to bringing groups and individuals together to address this need.”
The effort has since broadened into the Cease-Fire Now Grassroots Network, currently holding virtual and in-person Advocacy Days to give voice to the general public support in the U.S. for a cease-fire. About 450 individuals from 50 organizations and 40 states are participating in lobby visits with over 100 congressional offices, at an opportune time as congressional and executive branch policies on the conflict are in flux. In the next few weeks, Congress may take votes on whether to fund military aid to Israel and/or to halt, condition, or restrict U.S. weapons transfers, and hopefully to restore funding to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, to help avert famine in Gaza.
Participating groups include the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace, the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, Arab American Civic Council, and Progressive Democrats of America. In addition to the lobby visits this month, the American Friends Service Committee is organizing local Tax Day actions with the call No Tax Dollars for War Crimes.
Among the many organizations in the nascent grassroots network, Doctors Against Genocide stands out as a new, unique actor, as the group only formed last fall.
One of the first lobby meetings in the ongoing Advocacy Days was with the office of U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), a progressive targeted for defeat by conservatives and the “pro-Israel” group AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). Peace Action is also part of the recently launched Reject AIPAC coalition to expose and oppose its malign influence on U.S. politics, particularly in this year’s elections.
As expected, the meeting went well, as Rep. Lee is a strong advocate of a cease-fire and humanitarian assistance to Gaza, but advocates were somewhat surprised to hear of flak she has gotten in her district for her pro-peace positions, and discussed ways to bring constituencies together to help overcome divisiveness.
David Gibson, staff coordinator for Peace, Justice, Sustainability Now, who organized the meeting with Pennsylvania activists, observed, “Meeting with policymakers like Rep. Summer Lee who are actively engaged in community dialogue is essential to a well functioning democracy. We need congresspeople like her in office regardless of your political outlook. When you hear that democracy is on the ballot, it's not a joke.”
Myriam Sabbaghi, National Organizing Director for the National Iranian American Council, described her organization’s participation, “As an organization representing Iranian Americans, we know that so long as this conflict goes on there is a major risk of spillover to regional war that could entangle the U.S., Iran, and Israel in a brutal conflict. Already, the U.S. has bombed groups backed by Iran in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, and Israel’s bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus has once again dramatically escalated tensions. Some of our members lived through war and many have friends and family who would be impacted if a full-blown war breaks out. We all have a duty to stand up and demand a cease-fire now, and we are proud to join with so many great organizations especially during our Cease-Fire Advocacy Days in echoing this call.”
Sara Avery, a volunteer organizer with the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s Colorado Advocacy Team, aptly voiced her motivation for participating in the Advocacy Days thusly: “Maybe more than any recent conflict, everyone I know is beside themselves about the horror in Gaza and the imminent danger of a wider war. I knew that Congress needed to hear as many of these voices as possible, so when the opportunity arose to help organize a nationwide grassroots effort to lobby Congress, I signed up right away. In this horrible time, being part of this grassroots network is what keeps me moving forward toward peaceful and just solutions.”
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20 Groups Demand Passage of Bowman Amendment to Disclose Cost of US Military Footprint
"This amendment is crucial as taxpayers and other citizens remain concerned—and inadequately informed—about the cost to U.S. taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military activities abroad."
Aug 28, 2023
U.S. lawmakers remain on August recess but 20 advocacy groups on Monday wrote to top Democrats and Republicans on key congressional panels to demand passage of "commonsense, noncontroversial" legislation to provide the public with greater transparency on U.S. military spending.
When members of Congress return to Capitol Hill next month, they will continue reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024—a process that involves intense disagreements over right-wing policies that Republicans want to stuff into the $886 billion package.
The advocacy organizations—including Amnesty International USA, Demand Progress Action, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Just Foreign Policy, Peace Action, RootsAction.com, Veterans for Peace, and Win Without War—came together to support an amendment to the NDAA proposed by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
Writing to Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the groups explained how Bowman's proposal has its roots in the 2015 Cost of War Act led by former Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.).
Last year, the late congressman's successor, Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), "carried forward this legacy by introducing new Cost of War legislation expanding the scope of John Lewis' work to include the cost to U.S. taxpayers for any overseas contingency operations," the letter notes, arguing that its inclusion in a previous NDAA "demonstrates the broad-based support for accountability and transparency around U.S. defense spending."
For the FY23 NDAA, Bowman introduced "the latest update to John Lewis' Cost of War legislation," an amendment that "requires reporting on a wider range of costs to fully encompass the U.S. military footprint abroad that is not covered by the former two pieces of legislation," the letter details. "This includes the price of training and assisting partner forces, maintaining overseas bases, paying contractors who provide goods and services in support of operations, and all overseas military operations."
Bowman's measure passed the House but was ultimately left out of the final NDAA. The groups behind the letter to panel leaders now hope it will remain included in the next one, writing that "this amendment is crucial as taxpayers and other citizens remain concerned—and inadequately informed—about the cost to U.S. taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military activities abroad, including those that fall short of active military missions such as wars or contingency operations."
"Many Americans want great public scrutiny and debate about the balance our nation strikes between spending on our military presence abroad and spending on other domestic priorities," the groups stressed. "This includes spending on healthcare, education, and infrastructure, as well as concerns about the rate of taxation or national debt required to sustain the U.S. overseas presence."
"These debates will only become more relevant as our military budget approaches the $1 trillion mark," the organizations added, "and it is important that the American people have the necessary transparency and data about these costs to engage in our nation's democratic decision-making process around such questions."
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