Ask your Rep. to Co-Sponsor the DeFazio & Jones "Iran War Powers" Resolutions Representative DeFazio (D) and Representative Jones (R) have introduced resolutions re-affirming that President Bush cannot attack Iran without Congressional authorization. Ask your Representative to support them. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/involved/warpowers.html
Summary: U.S./Top News 1) Representative Lynn Woolsey introduced a legislative proposal to end the occupation of Iraq. In an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, she outlined the main provisions, including the withdrawal of all U.S. troops within six months, prohibition of permanent U.S. bases in Iraq, funding for reconstruction in Iraq and full funding for veterans' benefits.
2) A bipartisan group of senators announced a formal resolution of opposition yesterday to President Bush's buildup of troops in Iraq, the Washington Post reports. The resolution urges the administration to "engage nations in the Middle East to develop a regional, internationally-sponsored peace and reconciliation process."
3) A strong majority of Americans opposes President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq, and about half of the country wants Congress to block the deployment, the Los Angeles Times reports. Despite the widespread opposition to the troop escalation, Americans divide more closely on whether lawmakers should try to stop it.
4) Sen. John Kerry called for an investigation into security weaknesses in the Defense Department's surplus sales that have let buyers for Iran and China acquire aircraft parts and other valuable military gear, AP reports.
5) Senator Clinton called President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq "a losing strategy" and proposed placing new limits on the White House's conduct of the war, the New York Times reports. Her comments amounted to her latest effort to bolster her credentials as a critic of the war at the outset of the presidential race. Her political offensive on Iraq came a day after Senator Obama announced he had formed an exploratory committee for a presidential bid and three days after John Edwards took a swipe at Clinton for not doing more to oppose the war in Iraq. Hours after Clinton's announcement, Obama said he, too, would support a cap on troop levels.
6) The Christian Science Monitor has a quiz testing your knowledge of whether key Muslim leaders are Sunni or Shiite. Just Foreign Policy is confident that readers of the Just Foreign Policy News will do fine.
Iran 7) Iran's president appears to be under pressure from the highest authorities in Iran to end his involvement in the country's nuclear program, the New York Times reports.
8) Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003 corresponding closely to what the US is demanding today, but the offer was rejected, the BBC reports. Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, told the BBC the State Department was keen on the plan, but was over-ruled by the Vice-President's office.
Iraq 9) U.S. commanders have signaled that they will shy away from an assault on the Baghdad stronghold of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia - even though President Bush insists that driving armed groups from the capital is key to his plan for success, AP reports.
Pakistan 10) A captive Taliban spokesman told Afghan agents the militia's chief, Mohammad Omar, lives in Pakistan and is protected by Pakistan's intelligence service, AP reports. Pakistan called the claim "totally baseless."
Bolivia 11) Bolivia's central government said it will not recognize a parallel administration set up by protesters in Cochabamba, BBC reports.
Contents: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/blog/ - Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org