Questionnaire for Tea Party

Dear Tea Party members,

In an effort to better understand the sentiments of your group and see where we, in the peace movement, might find common ground, we would appreciate it if you would answer a few questions. Thank you for your time.

o The Cold War has been over for 20 years, yet we maintain 800-plus bases around the world and have troops stationed in 148 countries at a cost of over $100 billion/year. Should we begin to dismantle this global web of bases?

o Every taxpayer has already spent, on average, $7,367 for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (http://www.costofwar.com). Now Obama plans to send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, with a price tag of one million dollars per soldier per year. Do you think Congress should stop funding the wars and bring out troops home?

o Israel, a wealthy country, gets $3 billion a year from Uncle Sam with no strings attached and no accountability. The second largest recipient is the autocratic government of Egypt. Should Congress cut the foreign aid budget by cutting funds to Israel and Egypt?

O Private security contractors in war zones make way higher salaries than US soldiers and with little accountability, undermining our reputation overseas. Should we phase out private security contractors in war zones and return those jobs to the U.S. military?

o Experts on the left and the right say we could cut our military budget by 25%, including closing foreign bases, winding down the wars, and ending obsolete weapons systems, without jeopardizing our security. Do you agree?

o If we could make significant cuts to the military budget, how should those funds be reallocated? To pay down the debt? Increase security at home? Rebuild our infrastructure? Stimulate the economy through tax breaks?

o Do you think people on the left and right of the political spectrum can work together to trim the bloated Pentagon budget?

If you are willing to be a part of a continued dialogue on this issue, please give us your name, email and/or phone. Thank you.

Name and contact info:



CODEPINK, www.codepink.org, info@codepinkalert.org, 415-235-6517