Last weekend, the United States launched into another war in the Middle East, bombing Iran.
This is an illegal and immoral war of choice. Hundreds of civilians have already died, as have U.S. servicemembers. As Iran and its proxies retaliate, violence is spreading throughout the region. Once war begins, it is destined to spiral with innocent people and our environment often paying the price.
As FCNL General Secretary Bridget Moix said, “President Trump has again chosen war over diplomacy with Iran, with devastating consequences.”
Following the launch of the assault, Congress immediately took up War Powers Resolutions which would remove U.S. forces from hostilities.
Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) contextualized this vote: It “is a profoundly moral vote. It is a vote to direct our resources towards healing our own people - towards healthcare that saves lives, jobs that restore dignity, housing that shelters families - instead of raining destruction on other nations.”
Unfortunately, these resolutions failed in the House and Senate. FCNL’s Hassan El-Tayyab reminds us that this does not retroactively authorize the war: “This war remains unconstitutional. It is illegal under international law. It is deeply immoral and reckless. It must stop immediately.”
FCNL’s opposition to this war is part of our long history of working for peace, from Vietnam to the Iraq War to today. We aren’t going to give up in our struggle for a just and peaceful world where we all can thrive.
The War Powers votes may have failed, but we will not stay silent. Contact your members of Congress and demand that they not supply any more taxpayer dollars for this illegal war. You can also download a sign to proclaim your witness that War is not the Answer.
Elsewhere
Leadership Changes at DHS Can’t Hide Abuse of Power
Secretary Kristi Noem was fired yesterday as Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. This won’t change the shocking and harmful abuses of power that we’ve seen over the past year in immigration enforcement.
We just received confirmation from DHS that Dreamers and those with DACA protections were deported. These are people who came to our country as children and who were promised protection. Without Congressional action, they are at risk of being deported to countries they have little memory of and few if any connections to.
This past week we also saw the House pass a funding package for DHS which failed in the Senate. DHS still does not have funding while Congress is negotiating about what real reforms and guardrails should look like for immigration enforcement. We need real changes from leadership down to agents and policies to match.
Call Congress today and demand that they institute real reforms, like keeping ICE out of houses of worship! The violence of immigration enforcement may be out of the headlines, but it is still very real in our communities.
Preparing for Medicaid + SNAP Cuts
Massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are coming. Join our partners at the Circle of Protection for a webinar on how we can prepare our communities to mitigate harm to those who rely on these programs. Preparing for the Coming Medicaid and SNAP Cuts from the One Big Not So Beautiful Bill (H.R.1) will be next Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. ET – we hope you can join us!
