Mount Toby Monthly Meeting
Religious Society of Friends
194 Long Plain Road
Leverett, Massachusetts

November 30, 2005

To the Editor:

President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have agreed that the United States doesn't plan to keep permanent military bases in Iraq. Most of the people in the United States think the President should have a public or private timetable for withdrawing American troops from Iraq, and in Iraq political parties opposed to the ongoing U.S. military presence won the overwhelming majority of votes in the January 2005 election.

Still, there is a perception that the U.S. intends to permanently occupy Iraq, and this aids insurgent groups in recruiting supporters and fuels violent activity. Many insurgent groups have expressed a willingness to engage in political dialogue if the U.S. clearly states its intention to withdraw from Iraq. Such a clear statement doesn?t imply the setting of a particular deadline or exit strategy.

The Mount Toby Quaker Meeting in Leverett calls on Congress to adopt a resolution saying: "It is the policy of the United States to withdraw all U.S. military troops and bases from Iraq." This resolution, which has also been endorsed by the Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting of Quakers in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, would make our intentions clear.

We hold in our prayers the people of Iraq, the troops and humanitarian workers in Iraq, the leaders of Iraq and the United States, and all others affected by this war.

Nancy Slator,
Clerk, Mount Toby Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) in Leverett, Mass.