USAction Supports Afghan Exit But Opposes Troop Escalation: Too Great a Risk, Too High a Cost

/PRNewswire/ -- USAction today praised President Obama's goal of a concrete end to the war in Afghanistan, coupled with political and military benchmarks for success, but expressed profound concern over plans to commit at least 30,000 new troops to the war effort.

"We support the fact that President Obama has a set exit strategy because the previous administration did not," said USAction Program Director Alan Charney. "We are concerned that adding 30,000 troops to the Afghan war zone will make the goal of exiting Afghanistan within three years difficult to achieve. We firmly and resolutely oppose expansion of the war in Afghanistan."

Charney questioned the cost of expanding the war in Afghanistan - a cost that is expressed through the lives of Americans and Afghanis lost and the sacrifice and suffering borne by the families of those killed and maimed. "To paraphrase John Kerry: How do you ask a family to be the last to lose a loved one in Afghanistan?" Charney said. "The risk of escalation is too great. The cost is too high."

And he added that Congress and President Obama must weigh America's priorities in a time of deep recession and an unemployment rate of more than ten percent. "Investing in America's future means creating jobs, strengthening our safety net to address poverty, hunger and home foreclosure and paying for quality, affordable health care. We just cannot afford to expand the war in Afghanistan."

Matt Holland, director of USAction's online department, TrueMajority, said more than 30,000 USAction/TrueMajority members have signed a petition opposing the increase in fighting. "TrueMajority members were among the first to oppose the war in Iraq," he said. "We were among the first to oppose George W. Bush's escalation in December 2007. And we've been among the first to oppose this mistake in Afghanistan. Our members were right the first time and right the second time. Must there be a third time?"

USAction helped lead the Americans Against Escalation in Iraq coalition and many of its 28 state affiliates and partners organized on-the-ground events against the troop buildup. USAction and its online department TrueMajority also have been helping lead the effort to curtail funding for the F-22 fighter jet as well as other unnecessary and obsolete Pentagon programs.

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Non-Obama Youth Vote 2010 Wild Card: Bob Weiner & Zoe Pagonis Des Moines Register Op-Ed Asks, 'With Obama Off Ticket, Will Youth Vote Deliver In 2010?

/PRNewswire/ -- "The 2008 elections proved that teens and twenties can make a difference," say former Democratic National Youth Voter Registration Director, Robert Weiner and Policy Analyst Zoe Pagonis. "But whether this is a one-time phenomenon is an open question; the reality is that the non-Obama factor in the 2010 off-year elections is a wild card."

In an op-ed column in today's Des Moines Register, "Non-Obama Factor a Wild Card in 2010," Weiner, the Democratic Party's first youth voter registration director in 1971-72 after the 26th Amendment, and Pagonis contend, "In the 2008 election, many Democrats rode on Barack Obama's coattails to win the youth vote. A record 23 million young Americans swarmed polls, constituting the second highest percentage (52%) of eligible 17-29 year olds voting."

They add, "2010, like every other off-year election, will inevitably draw a smaller turnout, enabling youth to have an even bigger proportional impact. The 3% increase in the number of youths voting during the 2006 off-year compared to 2002 was significant in the Democrats' gain of 31 seats."

"Obama built his base around 17-29 year olds, meeting with high school student government leaders, speaking at colleges and choosing a hip-hop event sponsored by Usher over one by AARP."

"His personality and youthful habits (playing basketball) charmed young Americans Yet what won him the most was concentrating on issues important to young people. A poll conducted by the Center for Information on Civic Learning found that among young Obama voters, the top issues were the Iraq war, economy and health care."

Weiner and Pagonis say, "Thirty-nine election seats for Governor will be open in 2010 in addition to the 435 House seats and 36 Senate seats. Candidates can win the youth vote by concentrating on areas of interest to young people and by modeling their issues as well as campaign strategies after Obama."

Weiner and Pagonis conclude, "Pretending "I'm Obama," will only take a politician so far; it is going to have to be more, "I'm like Barack," and mean it."

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