December 2006 Postcard

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DEAR SENATOR:

Despite the fact that elections are over and the “lame duck” session is upon us, there are many things you could do between now and January. You could help end the insurgency in Iraq by promising to withdraw our troops and not leave permanent U.S. military bases behind. You could refuse to authorize the use of force against Iran and insist on a diplomatic solution to that crisis. You could object to Israeli military planes flying mock raids over Lebanon, teasing U.N., Hezbollah and Lebanese troops and terrorizing Lebanese civilians. You could help Lebanon rebuild. You could call for peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Is this too much to ask?

Then how about just one thing? Please guarantee that my tax dollars do not pay for any of the weaponry Israel is using against its unfortunate neighbors. I do not want to be responsible for even one bunker buster, cluster bomb, white phosporus shell or uranium-based weapon. Please speak out against Israel’s use of these weapons. They are killing innocent civilians and destroying America’s standing in world opinion.

FROM:

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Fatima Abu Abbas sits amid the rubble of her home in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, Aug. 15, 2006 (AFP Photo/Joseph Barrak).

Not only did Israel’s summer attacks on Lebanon drive nearly a million people from their homes, but in the last 72 hours of fighting Israel showered southern Lebanon with tens of thousands of cluster bombs. Today Lebanese civilians still are being killed by unexploded ordnance. Israel also used high-powered American “bunker-buster” bombs in Lebanon and, by its own admission, phosphorous bombs as well, which are restricted under the Geneva Conventions. Recent tests indicate that Israel also may have used uranium-based munitions. Have Israel and its U.S. weapons suppliers used Lebanon as some kind of terrible testing ground? Are my tax dollars paying for this horror?