Thursday, September 05, 2013

Contact Congress and urge them to support President Obama's call for military action in Syria

Throughout history, numerous wars have been fought, millions of innocent have been killed, but rarely have Presidents used poisonous gases to kill their own citizens. On August 21st, the Syrian government, led by Bashar Assad joined the infamous list of leaders to gas their own people, preceded only by the notorious Saddam Hussein.

Congress will debate and vote in the coming weeks whether to support President Obama’s desire for military intervention in Syria.  If you believe this is the correct course of action, it is imperative that you reach out to all of your representatives in Congress and ask them to support President Obama.   As evidenced by the British Parliament vote and subsequent comments by members of American congress, this could be a close vote.  Politicians need to hear from their constituents.

This website, http://www.contactingthecongress.org/, provides all of the contact info for your representatives in Congress.  When calling, it is extremely important to be courteous and polite when sharing your comments regarding Syria.

A few talking points to consider when calling Congress:

1.       For the past 2 years, the Syrian government have indiscriminately raped women in their homes, often times with their families forced to stand by in horror.
2.       For the past 2 years, the Syrian government have killed over 100,000 innocent people and tortured 1000’s more.
3.       For the past 2 years, the Syrian government have used chemical weapons on its people multiple times without any repercussions from the international community.
4.       For the past 2 years, Russia has blocked all UN action against Syria, knowing full well that it has a financial and political incentive for Assad to remain in power.
5.       For the past 2 years, over 5 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes and refugee camps have been set up in 4 neighboring countries.

The Assad regime are committing crimes against humanity, and the US has a moral and strategic responsibility to respond.    During America’s recent intervention in Libya, Gaddafi was overthrown and zero American soldiers were killed.  Syria will not be another Iraq or Afghanistan and we need to work to convince the public of this fact. 

Additionally,  http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/page?page=states  and http://www.50states.com/news/#.UiXhPtJJMlo  provide a listing of all radio stations and newspapers throughout the US.  Calls to radio stations and letters to editors are another way to increase awareness about what is taking place in Syria.  With the vote for Congress nearing very shortly, grass roots activism plays a big role with Congress.