Greens Call for Return of U.S. Troops From Iraq, While Bush Officials Slash Pay, Extend Troops' Stay in Iraq.

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Contacts: 
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org 

GREENS CALL FOR RETURN OF U.S. TROOPS FROM IRAQ, WHILE BUSH OFFICIALS SLASH PAY, EXTEND TROOPS' STAY IN IRAQ

Who really supports our American soldiers?, ask Greens.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While Bush Administration officials proposed to slash pay for U.S. troops and announced that soldiers' stays in Iraq would be extended for a year, Greens reiterated the party's demand that U.S. troops occupying Iraq be returned home in time for the winter holidays.

State delegates meeting at the annual national meeting of the Green Party of the United States  endorsed a 'Home by the Holidays' resolution calling for the U.S. to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. 

"The Bush Administration isn't supporting our troops, they are wasting them and making our brave men and women miserable," said Green New Jersey Assemblyman Matt Ahearn, a former Captain in the 82nd Airborne Division. "Greens demand that our military personnel and veterans get their promised benefits and that those in Iraq be returned home quickly. That is the best support we at home can give."

In May, the Green Party of the United States signed on to the 'Uniting for Peace' petition to the U.N. calling on the Security Council to insist that the central authority for restoring peace and security in Iraq rest with the U.N.  The petition asks the Security Council to give the U.N. primary authority over humanitarian relief, Iraq's reconstruction, and the formation of a new government. 

Greens listed several policies that are injurious to U.S. military personnel, who are already suffering from 120-degree heat and daily guerrilla attacks in Iraq: 

• The Defense Department plans to rescind a promised pay increase of $75 a month in 'imminent danger pay' and $150 a month in 'family separation allowances' for 148,000 American soldiers in Iraq and 9,000 in Afghanistan. The rescission follows President Bush's $300 billion tax cut for the wealthy. 

• In mid July, the U.S. military announced that thousands of troops from the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) would be staying in Iraq indefinitely. The division's stay has already been extended  since it was the first American unit to enter Baghdad in the invasion; the Pentagon has expelled embedded reporters from the division, censored soldiers' complaints, and advised their families not to speak to the media. 

• U.S. Armed Forces used tons of depleted uranium (DU) in the invasion of Iraq, exposing 17 million Iraqis and 148,000 American soldiers to radiation poisoning. DU was also used in the war on Afghanistan, and in the first war against Iraq, where it has been linked to Gulf War Syndrome.

• In March, the House of Representatives voted in favor of a Bush plan to cut funding for  veterans' health care and benefits by nearly $25 billion over the next ten years. The House vote came just on day after Congress passed a resolution to 'Support Our Troops.'

The Green Party of the United States sharply opposed the invasion of Iraq, citing a litany of deceit from President Bush on the U.S.'s motivations for the war and violations of constitutional and international law. 

MORE INFORMATION 

The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 
202-319-7191, 866-41-GREEN

Uniting for Peace http://www.uniting-for-peace-net 

Military Families Speak Out http://www.mfso.org 

"Greens Call for Impeachment of Bush, Withdrawal of Troops by the Winter Holidays" Press release from the Green Party of the United States, July 21, 2003 
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_07_21_03.html 

"Troops in Iraq face pay cut Pentagon says tough duty bonuses are budget-buster"
By Edward Epstein, The San Francisco Chronicle, August 14, 2003
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/14/MN94780.DTL 

"Abrupt About-Face on U.S. Iraq Troops as Casualties Mount"
By Nadim Ladki, Reuters, July 15, 2003 

"Extension of Stay in Iraq Takes Toll on Morale of G.I.'s"
By Robert F. Worth, The New York Times, July 19, 2003
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0719-05.htm 

"Pentagon makes moves to contain complaints from US troops in Iraq"
By Douglas Quenqua, PR Week, August 4, 2003
http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=186846&site=3 

"Death By Slow Burn - How America Nukes Its Own Troops: What 'Support Our Troops' Really Means"
By Amy Worthington, The Idaho Observer, May 2, 2003
http://www.sierratimes.com/03/05/02/article_io.htm 

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