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FCNL - Letter-Writing Project June 2002 President Bush plans to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty on June 13 of this year. He announced his decision in December, and there is a six-month waiting period before the U.S. involvement in the treaty is over. We hoped that during this waiting period the President would reverse his proposal to withdraw from the treaty. Now it is evident that he will not change this decision. Please send letters to your Senators this month asking them to speak out on the Senate floor in opposition to this withdrawal. This is an important action constituents can take now to ensure that future treaties will not be eliminated by this Administration. This month's letter writing project includes a short background piece on the ABM Treaty, as well as sample letters to the Senate and to the news media. President Bush stated in December that ".... the ABM treaty hinders our government's ability to develop ways to protect our people from future terrorist or rogue state missile attacks." And that "Today, as the events of September the 11th made all too clear, the greatest threats to both our countries come not from each other, or other big powers in the world, but from terrorists who strike without warning, or rogue states who seek weapons of mass destruction." However, he is not addressing the fact that many of our allies will be alienated when the U.S.'s withdrawal from the ABM Treaty becomes finalized. The U.S. withdrawal from the ABM treaty will not work to our advantage. Building more nuclear arms is very expensive, and they are ineffective. New nuclear weapons are likely to provoke a nuclear arms race with Russia and China. Finally, we understand that Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) will file a lawsuit the week of June 3 to prevent President Bush from withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty without a vote of Congress. As always, thank you for your involvement in the work of FCNL. It is critical to our mission that the work we do in the Washington office is amplified with work from our constituents across the country. Sincerely, Kathy Guthrie Field Program Secretary ************ Background Information President Bush announced on December 13 his intent to withdraw the U.S. from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The required six-month notice ends on June 13, 2002. Please contact your senators. Ask them to speak out on the floor of the Senate in opposition to withdrawing from the ABM Treaty. While the President will not change his decision, sharp criticism of this policy now could prevent future treaties from being eliminated. The ABM Treaty has been the cornerstone of arms control efforts since its inception in 1972. Withdrawing from the treaty to continue development of a missile shield system will hinder progress on nuclear reductions. A crash program to build a $200 billion or more missile shield is not a substitute for effective diplomacy, arms control, disarmament and international cooperation. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) will file a lawsuit the week of June 3 to prevent President Bush from withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty without a vote of Congress. FCNL has posted extensive background information about the proposed missile shield system on our web site at http://www.fcnl.org/issues/nuc/nmdindx.htm.********** Sample Letter to Senators Dear Senator: Please speak out on the Senate floor in opposition to the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty. The ABM treaty has been the cornerstone of arms control efforts since its inception in 1972. Withdrawing from the treaty to continue development of a missile shield system could hinder progress on nuclear reductions. A crash program to build a $200 billion or more missile shield is not a substitute for effective diplomacy, arms control, disarmament, and international cooperation. ********* Sample Letter to the Media To the Editor: It is a danger to the people of the United States and the world that President Bush is planning to withdraw the U.S. from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty on June 13. The ABM Treaty has been the cornerstone of arms control efforts since its inception in 1972. Our withdrawal will hinder progress on nuclear arms reductions. A crash program to buld a $200 billion or more missile shield is not a substitute for effective diplomacy, arms control, disarmament, and international cooperation. It is crucial that the people of the United States speak out so that this administration will not eradicate more treaties in the future. ------------------ CONTACTING LEGISLATORS Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 Sen. ________ U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Rep. ________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Information on your members is available on FCNL's web site: http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=congdir CONTACTING THE ADMINISTRATION White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111 FAX: 202-456-2461 E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov WEB PAGE: http://www.whitehouse.govPresident George W. Bush The White House Washington, DC 20500 ----------------------------------------------------------------- For further information, please contact FCNL. Mail: 245 Second Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 Email: fcnl@fcnl.org Phone: (202) 547-6000 Toll Free: (800) 630-1330 Fax: (202) 547-6019 Web: http://www.fcnl.orgYour contributions sustain our Quaker witness in Washington. We welcome your gifts to FCNL, or, if you need a tax deduction, to the FCNL Education Fund. You can use your credit card to donate money securely to FCNL through a special page on FCNL's web site http://www.fcnl.org/suprt/indx.htmFCNL also accepts credit card donations over the phone. For more information about donating, please contact the Development Team directly at development@fcnl.org. Thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This message is distributed regularly via the fcnl-news mailing list. To subscribe to this list, please visit FCNL's web site at http://www.fcnl.org/listserv/quaker_issues.php.Alternatively, you can send an e-mail message to majordomo@his.com. Leave the subject line blank. 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