12-30-06, 10:27 am

Dear friend of United for Peace and Justice,


As this year comes to a close, we want to thank each of you for your contributions to the movement to end the war in Iraq and bring all of the troops home now.

And we want to remind you that there is still time to make your year-end financial donation. To be honest, we need your support and we need it now.

We look back at these past 12 months with mixed emotions. An awful situation in Iraq has become even worse. The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health concluded that approximately 600,000 Iraqis had been killed since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. As we prepare this message, the count of U.S. servicepeople killed is now 2,983. The economic cost of the war is staggering; over 350 billion dollars, that's $350,000,000,000 of our tax dollars, have already been spent on this war. That's money that could have been used to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, or to provide health care for millions of people, or for so many other needs in our communities. And now the president is thinking about sending more troops to Iraq!

At the same time the antiwar movement should draw strength from the positive work we've done. Sentiment against the war continues to grow, and in an unprecedented way, the voters of this country used the Congressional elections as a referendum on the war. A new Congress was elected with a clear mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. More active duty members of the military are speaking out and refusing to fight in Iraq, while military recruiters have run into trouble meeting their quotas.

In a few days a new year will begin, which will bring with it new opportunities and challenges. United for Peace and Justice, and the more than 1,400 member groups in this coalition, are ready! We will hit the ground running as we kick the organizing for the January 27-29 mobilization into high gear. Momentum is building for what promises to be an historic event, and in the coming weeks we will do everything possible to ensure the success of this timely and critical antiwar mobilization.

But we know our work will need to continue beyond that. In March we will commemorate the 4th anniversary -- yes, four years already! -- of this war that never should have happened. In cities and towns around the country, and around the world, people will be in the streets demanding that this be the last anniversary of the war. In the weeks and months ahead you'll be hearing more about this and our other initiatives.

We hope that you've had some time during this holiday season to relax, spend time with family and friends, and renew your energies. The UFPJ staff and national steering committee look forward to working with you in 2007 as we press hard to once and for all end this war and bring all the troops home.

Yours for peace and justice,

Leslie Cagan UFPJ National Coordinator

From United for Peace and Justice