Close Torture School, SOA

Subject: Call Congress TODAY:
Debate Iraq Policy, Close Torture School

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545

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http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
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Please forward widely!

United for Peace and Justice urges you to call your Congressional
Representative TODAY about two pressing items:

1) As we explained in a message on Monday, momentum is growing to force a full, open debate in the House of Representatives about U.S. policy toward Iraq through a measure called a "discharge petition." Click here for background:

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3287.

We only need 96 more members of Congress to sign this petition. We hope you will join today's National Call-In day to urge your representative to sign on if he/she has not already done so.

2) Sometime in the next two days, Congress will vote on an amendment to close the notorious School of the Americas/ WHINSEC. The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia, and funded by our tax dollars.

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Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard TODAY at 202-224-3121 or toll-free at 888-355-3588.

Ask to speak with your Representative's foreign affairs legislative assistant and urge your Representative to:

* Sign on to the "discharge" petition calling for an open Congressional debate on Iraq, if he/she hasn't already done so

http://www.openiraqdebate.com/inner/roll-call.html;

* Cast a YES vote on the amendment to close the School of the Americas/WHINSEC.

You can also send an email and free fax about the School of the Americas by clicking here.

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Over the last 60 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 soldiers from many Latin American nations in torture, psychological warfare and war against civilian populations. This school has graduated the worst human rights abusers in Latin American history, and many of the shocking tactics used at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay were pioneered at the SOA to be used on civilians and those working for justice in Latin America.

Any day now, Rep. McGovern (MA) will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC and stand up against the legacy of torture as a part of U.S. foreign policy.

UFPJ member group SOA Watch has been working for years to close the School of the Americas and says this moment is critical. They expect a close vote and need as many people as possible flooding the offices of the House of Representatives with calls,
e-mails and faxes in support of a YES vote on the amendment everyday through June 8th.

For background on the issue and a suggested message, visit SOA Watch's website:

http://www.soaw.org/legislative.

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Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today -- http://www.unitedforpeace.org/donate

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545

To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email