THE AFGHAN LESSON FOR US
Jump to today’s scripts:
BACKGROUND
“You have all the clocks, but we have all the time,”
The roots of the Afghanistan defeat have already devolved into arguments over cause and blame.
But one cause is coming into focus -- discarding our essential values. The consequence of doing that is a vision of the future if the GOP wins its war on democracy. The values:
Reason: Facts were ignored and replaced with the pipedream that America could transform tribal fiefdoms into a democracy.
Truth: Officials hid the facts that the US was losing the war for more than a decade.
Courage: Generals and presidents lacked the courage to accept certain defeat.
Cost: >240,000 people dead.
It was the same with Iraq. The democracy pipedream. Lies about weapons of mass destruction. The lack of will to admit defeat and stop our military operations.
Cost: ~500,000 people dead.
It’s the same with Covid. Republicans ignored the science and peddled pipedreams. They lied to gain political advantage. And they lacked the courage to speak the truth.
Cost: >621,000 people dead.
The Republicans are using this same strategy in their war on democracy and are perilously close to destroying government by and for the people.
Cost: Beyond measure.
We can’t let this happen.
1. Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators:
SEN. MERKLEY:
Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- I support the proposal now in the Senate to limit the President’s use of force.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
SEN. WYDEN: Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- I support the proposal now in the Senate to limit the President’s use of force.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
Script for Republican Senators:
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code]. I support the proposal now in the Senate to limit the President’s use of force.
2. Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- Thank you for your vote repealing the Iraq War Powers Resolution.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- I’m astounded that you voted against repealing the Iraq War Powers Resolution. With hindsight, it’s obvious this was a complete disaster. I don’t understand how you could view it differently.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- Thank you for your vote repealing the Iraq War Powers Resolution.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- Thank you for your vote repealing the Iraq War Powers Resolution.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. (Make these bullets your own talking points when you call)
- I support President Biden’s decision even while I feel great regret about the chaos of the withdrawal.
- Thank you for your vote repealing the Iraq War Powers Resolution.
- I encourage you to keep talking about the GOP’s war on democracy and the need to pass voting and election protection legislation.
3. Take Action
To preserve our freedom to vote, Congress must hear from constituents across the country. Please email/text this action to 5 friends in other states – especially those in red states and in Delaware (where its two senators have rejected filibuster reform)– and ask them to call today.
Sources:
We All Lost Afghanistan | Foreign Affairs
From Hubris to Humiliation - The Washington Post
How America Failed in Afghanistan | The New Yorker
Documents reveal U.S. officials knew the war had become unwinnable - Washington Post
The Afghanistan Papers | by Craig Whitlock | Simon & Schuster
Why the Afghan Military Collapsed So Quickly - The New York Times
What America Didn’t Understand About Its Longest War - POLITICO
Taliban surge exposes failure of U.S. efforts to build Afghan army | Reuters
Senators Introduce Bill to Reassert Congress’s War-Making Powers - The New York Times
