July 11, 2007 -- United for Peace and Justice, the nation's largest, grassroots antiwar coalition, calls on Congress to act decisively to bring all U.S. troops and military contractors safely home from Iraq, beginning now and ending by the end of the year. The Senate will have the opportunity to force the president to change his failed policy in Iraq when it takes up the $648 billion Defense Authorization Bill today. The Authorization bill includes $145 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The Senate must insist that any more money be used only for the safe, orderly and immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq. In addition, the Senate should require that all U.S. military bases built in Iraq during the last four years be turned over to the Iraqis," said Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator of UFPJ.  She noted, "We are spending $10 billion a month on this war -- that money should be spent to address critical needs here at home, to take care of our returning troops and to help Iraq rebuild."

News reports indicate that the Bush administration will try to build congressional support for a longterm U.S. military presence in Iraq by allowing for some troop draw-down in the next six to eight months. "This is a dangerous trap we urge Congress not to fall into. Our continued military presence in Iraq serves only to destabilize the country and the region, and must be ended," according to Judith LeBlanc, Co-Chair of UFPJ.

Congress should resist the efforts by some to fall back on the Iraq Study Group Recommendations (now more than 6 months old). The ISG recommends a "reduced" mission in Iraq that the Pentagon has said would require 120,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for the longterm. "Voters won't accept that, and neither will the Iraqi people," said UFPJ Legislative Coordinator Sue Udry. "The Democratic leadership has to show the people of this country that they truly want to end this war, and that they have the ability to get things done. They failed us in the spring when they passed the $100 billion war funding measure with no troop withdrawal timeline. They had better not fail us again."

The UFPJ Legislative Action Network, over 2,000 members strong and active in almost every congressional district in the country, has been lobbying, vigiling and sitting-in at congressional offices to demand that Congress stop funding the war. Members of the network are losing patience. "We will not be satisfied with half measures, leaving tens of thousands of troops behind in Iraq. The time has come to bring home all our troops and military contractors," said Anne Miller, New Hampshire Peace Action and UFPJ Legislative Action Network member.