With Iraqis celebrating the first benchmark on the way to withdrawal June 30, United For Peace and Justice is encouraged by these events, but continues to call for a rapid and total end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq.

Because the road is much too long for withdrawal under the SOFA timetable, UFPJ urges you to call the White House and the Congress to let them know that continued occupation cannot solve the problems facing Iraq -- and in fact, the presence of U.S. troops exacerbates the problem.

Call Congress at 202-225-3121 and the White House at 202-456-1111. You can also email the White House here.

Recently, Congress approved the FY 2010 Defense Authorization bill and voted on amendments to it. This gave $130 billion to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of the over $75 billion voted on last week.

The sole bright spot is the McGovern amendment. While the amendment failed, it did see a good showing with 138 House Representatives voting in favor of an 'exit plan' from Afghanistan. We've got momentum to build on.

That's why we need you to continue making calls! To reach the Washington switchboard, please call this number: 202-224-3121.

Over three weeks ago, Iranians held a presidential election. What followed remains unclear, but one thing is for certain: the Iranian government engaged in the suppression of the rights of Iranians to protest their government.

You can read UFPJ's full statement on the situation here. What we need now, though, is a White House that is clear in both its promise to engage Iran in direct talks and its principle of non-interference in Iran's internal affairs. To do this, UFPJ urges you take the following actions:

1] Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and let the Obama administration know that you want them to stick to direct talks with Iran

2] Sign-on to Just Foreign Policy's petition, urging the Obama administration to keep to the principle of non-interference in Iran's internal affairs.

Weeks ago, UFPJ had its National Media Day of Action in Afghanistan!

We received lots of buzz -- being one of AlterNet's 'hottest campaigns', an op-ed piece posted on Common Dreams by a UFPJ Afghanistan Working Group member, tons of blog posts, videos, and much more. And we need you to keep up this effort!

So we urge you to continue writing your letters (if you haven't already), calling in to talk radio, utilizing social networking sites, and sending emails to friends and family -- anything and all you can do help spread the word and get our message out there in full!

Let’s make Tax Day the day we recommit ourselves to ending the excessive spending on war and call on the Obama administration to reduce the military budget by 25%. This goal, a major part of UFPJ’s Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible campaign, has resonance with people from different backgrounds – working families, business owners, senior citizens, etc. Even the Tea Party conservatives are calling for a reduction in military spending!

To influence our elected leaders on this issue, we must build our grassroots power. UFPJ is starting up a petition drive to do just that. The petition drive will target the Obama administration and Congress calling on them to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, cut military spending, and re-invest those funds in human needs, green jobs, and clean energy.

You can find two versions of the petition:
•    The online version
•    A version you can print and download