Help make peace an issue in the upcoming elections

The presidential candidates debate at length over the state of the economy, health care, immigration - all important issues for helping voters make decisions about whom to support. But the big, tough questions are about the overwhelming US reliance on military power as the primary tool for US engagement in the world and the failure of the war in Iraq. These questions are slipping off the radar screens in much of the media and in public discussions during the campaign.

While the US has invested hundreds of billions of dollars to build capabilities to fight and win wars, little money or time has been invested in developing the tools necessary to prevent deadly conflict. Fully 94 percent of the total U.S budget for foreign engagement is devoted to the military - some $484 billion. This lack of funding has forced the State Department to leave 10 percent of US diplomatic positions worldwide unfilled, resulting in empty desks at US Embassies around the world. When US policymakers look for tools to respond to wars and escalating conflicts, they find a toolbox with only one implement-a military hammer.

Help make peace an issue in the upcoming primary by writing a letter to the editor of one of your local newspapers urging reporters and their readers to continue to ask the candidates questions about the war and about US military spending. If possible, refer to a specific article that your local paper has run about the election. The Friend's Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has a tool that will walk you through the process of sending a letter to the editor at http://action.fcnl.org/r/4609/43984/.

Write to your local paper

Want to get the word out on the topic that matters most to you? With a letter to your local paper, you can help bring your message not only to your neighbors, but directly to the offices of your Members of Congress, where staffers and our lawmakers themselves follow opinions from home with an especially watchful eye.

The ACLU has a tool that helps write and send letters to local papers. You are given a list of media outlets in your state, tips on how to write a letter in your own words, plus, for their topics, talking points.

http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=LTE_SOTU_2007&JServSessionIdr001=3bu4
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Got a Solution? Find the Right Ears

Feel like you have a foreign policy alternative that should be heard in the halls of government? Citizens for Global Solutions provides an easy to use tool to find the foreign policy staffer for your Member of Congress. Click here to access the Foreign Policy Staffer Locator: http://globalsolutions.org/hill/fpstaff