Our representative, Congress-woman Rosa DeLauro has signed on to the Congressional Progressive Caucus,Position on U.S. Policy in Iraq, a resolution which calls for the withdrawal of US troops and military contractors within six months. Her decision was largely influenced by the collaborative efforts of Students for Ending the War in Iraq (SEWI) with the Wesleyan and Middletown communities. Over the course of the fall semester, SEWI led a letter-writing campaign, organized two demonstrations outside of DeLauro’s New Haven office, and met with the congresswoman in person. These actions were taken to urge DeLauro to co-sponsor a bill to implement immediate withdrawal.
In the past, DeLauro has spoken out against the war, but failed to take concrete legislative action. Some might argue that it’s impossible to attribute her recent decision to our actions. However, one cannot ignore the fact that DeLauro is the only congressperson in Connecticut to sign this resolution and the only congressperson in Connecticut to have been subject to such a comprehensive student-run campaign.
Although we view the signature on this resolution as a great success, there is still more work to be done. Unfortunately, resolutions are non-binding. Therefore, we will be starting a new letter-writing campaign urging Congresswoman DeLauro to sign H.R. 508. The contents of this bill are similar to that of the progressive Caucus resolution, except that H.R. 508 can be passed into law. We would like thank the Wesleyan and Middletown communities for their past support, and hope that they will continue to support this upcoming campaign. Our efforts have yielded impressive results, and will continue to do so.
We invite you to come to a talk by Jonathan Hutto at Trinity Church on Main St., Sunday, 2 p.m. A retired Navy Officer, Hutto will discuss immediate withdrawal and the Appeal for Redress.
SEWI meets at the University Organizing Center on Church Street at 5 p.m., and newcomers are always welcome.
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