Concrete Actions to Support Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Getting out of Afghanistan was the right thing to do. We never should have been there in the first place. We hope that all Americans in the country, and all Afghans who supported the U.S. over the years whose lives may be in danger, will be brought to safety by the August 31 deadline previously agreed to, or that diplomatic channels to resolve the situation will be used. We can not allow this to be an excuse to re-introduce military force or to use economic sanctions.
As the situation evolves, we call on our government to:
- Expand the evacuation efforts to all Afghans who are endangered
- Expand the Special Immigrant Visa program so that refugees can enter the U.S. immediately
- Offer Temporary Protected Status to all Afghans currently in the U.S.
- Contribute to multilateral humanitarian aid for Afghanistan.
- Lift sanctions. Don’t use economic warfare, which only hurts civilians.
- Bring all our troops home.
- Recognize and provide services for all our deployed troops, including the National Guard, when they get home.
- End endless wars! Repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force)
- Cut the Pentagon/War budget.
Please call our Senators and Congressional Representatives with the above demands.
Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Inform yourself!
Check out this list of articles assembled by the Historians for Peace and Democracy, written by historians or by historically oriented writers, which approach the topic from an anti-militarist perspective. We need to counter the outpouring of articles critical of the President’s decision to withdraw the final increment of U.S, troops from Afghanistan and concerned about the ostensible loss of “American credibility.”
Cost of Afghanistan War (money spent and lives lost), 2001–2021, Cost of War Project, Watson Institute, Brown University
BFP Statement 4/19/2021: Is Afghanistan War Really Over?
