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     FCAN Foundation Civic Engagement Project    
    Civic Engagement - What does it mean?

Civic Engagement means getting involved in the community, the nation, and the world. We believe nothing makes democracy work better than the community working together to solve problems. Voting, registering people to vote, going to meetings, running for office - all ways to get involved.

Nothing less than our quality of life and our future is at stake. When you go to a planning meeting for your community, you help make critical decisions - whether or where to locate a mall? Roads or mass transit? Better schools or vouchers? We need to take part in these decisions and the history making decisions being made in our names.

    
                     
  FCAN has Joined
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq		          

President Bushs plan to escalate the war in Iraq, by putting more than twenty thousand additional U.S. troops in harms way in the midst of a civil war, represents no fundamental shift in strategy and is simply Stay to Course on steroids.  The Presidents decision is at odds with the views of his Generals, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and with the American people who in November expressed their strong opposition to the current failed policy a policy which the President is simply proposing to expand. 
         
    Nothing the President has proposed is new as escalations of troop levels have been tried before at least twice since June and failed.  Also, a host of previous economic and diplomatic incentives for the Iraqis and the Iraqi government to end the civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites have been unsuccessful and promises made by the Iraqi Prime Minister to quell the violence with an even hand have repeatedly been broken or ignored.  The President is proposing to put more American lives in harms way and to put more American prestige, credibility, resources and materiel on the line to beef up a policy and approach to the sectarian violence in Iraq which has already failed.   Rep. Vern Buchannon's constituents listen to a Aidan Delgago, a US soldier recently returned from Iraq at an FCAN sponsored forum.    
           
    With the Presidents failure to protect the American people and our troops from further losses, the responsibility falls to Congress and the American people to stand up to the Bush-McCain Iraq Escalation Doctrine.  Congress must protect our troops and continue to exercise its Constitutional authority to hold the President accountable for a change of course that turns Iraq over to the Iraqi people and allows for our troops to come home.  The American people are proud of the bravery and courage our troops have shown in the face of tremendous challenges on the ground and a failed policy at home.  However, Americans and Congressional leaders have made it clear that enough is enough escalating the war in Iraq is the wrong policy and instead it is time for the responsible redeployment of troops from Iraq.    
    Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is a national campaign comprised of a variety groups from across the political spectrum that are committed to opposing the Bush-McCain plan to escalate the war in Iraq and to work for the responsible redeployment of American forces.  Americans Against Escalation in Iraq includes Veterans, students, some of the nations leading anti-war voices, and progressive organizations which traditionally confine their activity to domestic issues.  Many of the organizations coming together to lead Americans Against Escalation in Iraq include those which successfully mounted a national campaign in 2005 to defeat President Bushs effort to privatize Social Security.  Using that same campaign model, these organizations are joining with more traditional anti-war forces, Veterans and students to mount this campaign because the stakes are so high and because the future of a generation of Americans is on the line.
   

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which includes the Service Employees International Union, MoveOn.org Political Action, VoteVets.org, Center for American Progress Action Fund, USAction, Win Without War, Campaign for Americas Future, True Majority, Progressive States Network, Working Assets, Campus Progress and the United States Student Association, has banded together to launch a multi million dollar effort in twenty to twenty five states to apply pressure through paid advertising and a firestorm of grassroots mobilization opposing President Bush on his plan for escalating the war and on Members of Congress who must stand up to the President and insist on a policy which responsibly brings our troops home.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is employing all the facets of a traditional national campaign to oppose the escalation of the war including paid advertising, massive grassroots mobilization and direct contact with Members of Congress.  Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is holding thousands of events across the country in states and Congressional Districts targeting key members of the House and Senate and is employing the use of emails, text messaging, phone calls and the Internet to channel the opposition of Americans to the Presidents plan towards a policy to bring our troops our home.

After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, and over $300 billion dollars diverted from unmet needs of Americans here at home, we believe America and our troops have sacrificed enough.  It is time to bring the war to a close.  Rather than escalating the crisis in Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the responsible redeployment of our troops out of Iraq.
   

The War in Iraq?   
A bipartisan commission recently concluded that there was no substantive evidence connecting the attack on September 11th to Iraq or Saddam Hussein. There were no ?weapons of mass destruction.? Nearly two thousand US soldiers have been killed and thousands  injured. The war is costing roughly $1 billion a week.  

Economy and Jobs?
 Tax cuts are devastating state economies and our most needed services?education, healthcare, emergency services?are being sacrificed. What about quality public education system, affordable healthcare and well-funded emergency services?

Health Care for All?
Two in five American children lacked health insurance at some point over the past two years.  At the same time, Medicare beneficiaries were told they were getting prescription drug relief, when in fact drug companies were conspiring to increase drug prices so their new ?discounts? amounted to almost nothing.  Worse, the new Medicare law does not guarantee low-cost healthcare or prescription drugs, but it does give billions of taxpayer dollars back to giant drug companies.