DFA and Peace groups hold their Representative accountable on Iraq

Written by: Indy Steve on Sep 21, 2007 9:00 AM EDT

 DFA groups have a role to play in holding their Representatives accountable to their campaign promises. Northern Indiana DFA members are doing just that in conducting peace vigils and raliies in coordination with the the Days of Decision actions at www.declarationofpeace.org and all over the nation. Please support these actions in your local communities on this International Day of Peace.

Vigils at their offices - Dogging the Bluedogs

Eighteen months ago, in my campaign for Congress, I (DFA member Steve Francis aka IndySteve) called for a responsible, phased withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. I believed then, as I still do, that continued occupation of Iraq by US troops only served to inflame the civil war and would not result in political solutions in Iraq.

Events since then have only confirmed those convictions. Now, we must do more than police the civil war or keep a pressure lid on the conflicts there. We must begin the process of only funding a safe, responsible redeployment of forces out of Iraq, and bring the reserves and the National Guard forces home.

Instead of redeploying troops out of Iraq, President Bush chose to escalate the war and send more troops in the middle of the civil war, ultimately with the support of some members of Congress, including Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN-02) who, in the end, voted to fully fund the surge escalation of the war with no mandate or timeline for redeployment.

Along with the last supplemental funding, the Iraqi Government, the Bush Administration and Congress laid out 18 benchmarks to measure the progress of the surge policy. Only 3 of the 18 benchmarks have been achieved. By any measure, the surge has failed. It is time for our Representative Joe Donnelly, and Senators Bayh and Lugar, to acknowledge the failure of the surge and vote to begin the process of redeploying US forces. They are not supporting the troops by continuing to support their presence in the middle of a civil war. Supporting the troops is achieved by funding a policy of safe redeployment with a firm timetable and binding requirements on military disengagement, accompanied by renewed diplomatic efforts. Only this action, I believe, will result in success in Iraq.

The citizens of the 2nd District deserve more than rhetoric by Rep. Donnelly that he supports the troops and will ask tough questions of the President. We all support the brave, heroic efforts of US troops who have been placed in an impossible situation. Rep. Donnelly said that he would hold President Bush accountable to the benchmarks. The time has come to do that. If he does not hold Bush accountable, then it is time to elect a Representative who will.

I will join with others outside Rep. Donnelly's office at 207 W. Colfax in South Bend, Indiana to demand that he fulfill his campaign pledge and hold President Bush accountable for the failure of the surge to produce verifiable results. To Rep. Donnelly, I say what he said to his opponent last year: Stop being a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration.

See pictures of our local action at the Tribune, the District's largest newspaper.

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