Corvallis Community Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama,
We, the undersigned citizens of Corvallis, Oregon and surrounding areas, congratulate you on your recent election to the presidency of the United States of America. Your words have instilled passion and desire in our hearts and minds. We believed you when you said that it is up to the American people to change the course of this nation. It is in this spirit of activism towards change, for the benefit of not only Americans but of all the worlds people, that we offer the following suggestions:

- Substantially reduce military spending, using Rep. Barney Franks proposal for a 25\% reduction. It is counter-productive and dangerous for the US to have a military budget that is more than the rest of the world combined. The money saved can be used for our own domestic needs.

- End unconstitutional, thus illegal, wiretapping and spying on Americans. Issue a complete report on the Bush administrations prior illegal surveillance activities.

- Begin investigation of crimes committed by the GW Bush administration. If crimes have been committed, including war crimes, those responsible must be brought to justice.

- Redirect bailout funds away from financiers and giant corporations, who are responsible for the economic collapse, and towards the real victims of the recession, the American working class and poor.

- Reverse the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

- Implement universal health care by means of a single-payer, publicly funded system, thereby reducing the overall cost of health care, and insuring that everyone has access.

- Establish a Department of Peace so that violence prevention and peace building programs and policy are among the top priorities of your administration.

- Address our failing economy with massive reconstruction of neglected infrastructure and programs for the unemployed.

- Reverse the Bush administrations attack on environmental regulation. Our natural environment is our life support system. We need to plan and implement sustainable practices that will support both current and future generations.

- Ratify and abide by the Kyoto Protocol.

- End logging of Americas endangered old growth forests, which are valuable ecosystems that teach us about long term sustainability as well as nourish our spirits.

- Begin establishing safe, economically and environmentally sustainable energy systems that dramatically reduce our dependence on oil. Take nuclear power off the table because there are no safe, affordable solutions to the inherent dangers.

We urge you to make a clean break with the Bush Administration's foreign policy:

- End the so-called war on terror. Instead, focus on the causes and dynamics of terror. Seek peaceful solutions rather than military ones, which have only debased Americas reputation in the world and has not made the world a safer place.

- Restore Americas compliance with the Geneva Conventions and international law.

- Carry out a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within the first year of your term, as the majority of the Iraqi people have demanded and the majority of Americans support.

- Close down Guantanamo Bay prison facilities and provide justice to inmates according to the dictates of international law.

- Reaffirm and act upon US policy against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Break the illegal blockade of Gaza Abandon the Bush administrations policies and instead, seek new guidance to promote peaceful solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

- Establish diplomatic relations with Iran, affirming that the United States has no dispute with a peaceful Iranian nuclear program that is transparent and complies with international agreements.

- Establish diplomacy in Afghanistan rather than rely on military solutions, which result in the deaths of large numbers of innocent people, pushing peace yet further from reach. Historically, most military attempts to control Afghanistan have met with failure. We believe that respectful negotiations, including all factions and neighboring countries, is a surer way to peace.

- End the embargo against Cuba. Begin constructive dialogue with Cubas government, and lift restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba.

- Repair broken relationships with Bolivia and Venezuela by negotiating the return of ambassadors. Reverse the Bush administrations decision to suspend Bolivias preferential access to US markets that resulted in extreme hardship for Bolivian workers. Honor and support the democratically elected governments in both countries.
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We know you have addressed many of these issues in your campaign and in other public statements and we are greatly encouraged by your remarks. Implementation of these items will once again restore America's greatness in the nations of the world.

Note: This community letter originated at Corvallis Alternatives to War, a group of active local citizens who believe in and work towards peaceful solutions to societys most difficult problems. The group originated as a response to our governments bombing of Afghanistan - and later Iraq - in what we believe was misguided retaliation for the attacks on 9-11-01. Alternatives to War members soon formed the daily Peace Vigil, ongoing since 2001 thats over 2,600 consecutive days. The daily vigil in front of the Benton County Courthouse is a daily reminder of the tragic failure of violent military solutions to systemic problems in our world. The vigil will end when all troops are home. Alternatives to War seeks to promote peace and justice through educational programs and events, such as the Second Saturdays Benefit Concert Series, the Counter Recruitment programs in our local public schools, educational programs relating to political issues in Israel and Palestine, and many others.