MFSO Launching a New Campaign — The Change WE Need

With sentiments like the one above from President-elect Obama’s homestate of Illinois, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) has launched a new campaign for 2009 to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME.

The election of Barack Obama brought many of us a glimmer of hope that we might finally see an end to the war in Iraq. But we also know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us. President-Elect Obama did speak out against the war before it started. But he has also called for U.S. combat troops to remain in Iraq well into 2010, and for tens of thousands of troops to remain in Iraq indefinitely. So Military Families Speak Out is launching a new [2009] campaign to push for an immediate and real end to the war in Iraq. Our theme: "The Change WE Need: Bring them Home NOW!"

The campaign is designed to respectfully but firmly press President-Elect Obama to swiftly and safely bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq . While the country has become complacent about the war and politicians plan a long-drawn out withdrawal, this campaign will push for a swifter end to the death and destruction. We seek to revive Sen, John Kerry’s question, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" This campaign asks this question anew of the incoming Congress and President-elect Obama by incorporating Obama’s description of the war: How do you ask someone to be the last person to die for a “dumb war”?

The campaign will begin with letters to the editor, op-eds, and video messages from military families, veterans, and Iraqis explaining the human cost of continuing the war in Iraq . We will also publicly request a meeting with the President-Elect to discuss Iraq . Military families, Veterans, and Iraqis will be encouraged to meet locally with their Representatives and Senators to continue to press them to end the war NOW. We are also designing some actions that military families and veterans can do on a local level to bring media attention to the need for a swift end to the war.

From Friday February 6 through Monday, February 9, we will bring our message to Washington. We are working with our allies [in the PRO-PEACE movement] to plan a series of events and actions that will include:

•A Friday teach-in on Iraq and the need for the immediate and complete withdrawal of U.S. troops. We hope to have the teach-in broadcast on C-Span.

•A Saturday march from Arlington National Cemetery to the White House. Military families, veterans, and Iraqis will lay flowers symbolizing U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians. Letters collected from veterans, military families, and Iraqis will be brought by these individuals to President-elect Obama, and laid along with the flowers.

•A Sunday legislative briefing, followed by time for an MFSO meet and greet.

•A Monday lobbying day on Capitol Hill

We plan to follow up these actions with a bird-dogging campaign during the winter and spring Congressional recesses.

How can you get involved?

•Write an open letter or record a video message to President-Elect Obama explaining why an immediate end to the war in Iraq is the change your family needs. Send it to [email protected]. We will provide talking points to assist you.

•If you are willing to talk with the press, fill out the questionnaire below and send it to [email protected].

•MFSO members watch your e-mail for information about postcards to the President-Elect that you can get your friends and neighbors to sign.

•If you are going to Washington for the inauguration, let us know so we can put you in touch with other members who would be there — and possibly with reporters interested in military families’ perspectives on the innauguration. E-mail [email protected].

•Consider organizing a party for MFSO members to watch the inauguration together on television, either live or recorded. E-mail [email protected]

•Come to Washington in February! We hope to be able to raise money to help with travel expenses for some members, and are glad to help you out with ideas for fundraising in your own community.

•Make a donation to support this campaign and all the work of MFSO — go to http://www.mfso.org/article.php?list=type&type=3

(Neither VT nor Staff Writers endorse or solicite donations to any cause the above link is provided solely for those readers interested in donating after finding out more about MFSO. I caution anyone from donating to any group or organization that has not posted what its fund raising to admin overhead ratio is. I would also add an area on what readers and members of MFSO can do that is * Recruit a member to MFSO even if they are reluctant to go public. -Major Hanafin)

This has been a long, hard struggle — and there is still so much to be done. But together we can bring all of our troops home from Iraq and get them the care they need when they get here!

In Peace and Solidarity,

Adele Kubein, Jeff Merrick, Lisa Leitz, Annie McCabe, Beverley Wiskow, Larry Syverson, Jack Amoreux, Maggie Pondolfino, Rossana Cambron, Karen Meredith
Nancy Lessin, and Charley Richardson

Board of Directors,
Military Families Speak Out

________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE

Name:
City:
State:
E-mail:
Home phone:
Cell phone:
Relative in the military:
Branch:

Is your loved one:

In Iraq ?
In Afghanistan?
Scheduled to deploy to Iraq?
Scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan?
Subject to but not scheduled for deployment?
Still in the military but not subject to deployment?
Now out of the military?

Are you:

Planning to attend the inauguration?
Planning to take part in the February events in Washington?
Willing to be quoted by name in the press?
Willing to grant interviews on the condition that your full name is not used?
MFSO occasionally gets interview requests from media serving particular communities. Would you be willing to be interviewed for media serving any of the following communities?

___ African-American ___ Latino ___ Native American ___ Asian American
Other: _______________________________________________________________

Are you comfortable giving interviews in any language other than English?
Is there anything else you would like for us to know about you or about your loved one?

Major Hanafin’s commentary:

As a member of Military Families Speak Out , Ohio Chapter, who no longer has a child to place on our nation’s alter. I’m more passionate than most to not put another family through that experience, especially if they have but an only child to give to our nation (regardless if our nation deserves such sacrifice or not). I could now just relax and forget that one percent of our nation is at war, and join the other 99% of American voters in allowing the War on Terror to be somebody elses problem (even if a believed our nation is committed to any War on Terror).

The reality is that we only have a minority of politicians and a minority of volunteers and their families with interests, or interest, in Iraq or Afghanistan (even fewer in Afghanistan). I’ve lobbied MFSO to focus also on Afghanistan and our national organization remains divided or confused because the vast majority of our members love ones are in Iraq, plus we do not have a warm and fuzzy about promises made to get out of Iraq, especially given pronouncements to keep a residual force in Iraq for ?????

My personal feelings aside, our military family has nothing more to give or lose in Iraq or anywhere else thus really could have no interests in Afghanistan or Iraq, and I could enjoy my retirement-retirement. But, we just can’t do that and patriotism has nothing to do with it.

Patriotism (genuine or for show) does not prevent us from leaving other military families or potential military familie behind. Case in point MFSO is not ready to focus on Afghanistan because the bulk of our membership has vested interest in Iraq. That means leaving behind any family or potential family who questions our national commitment, interests, or objectives in Afghanistan. To take no stand on Afghanistan is a positoin that my military family cannot go along with, but then again WE have nothing to lose.

Robert L. Hanafin, Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
Staff Writer, VT