Syracuse, NY-- Syracuse peace activists today thanked U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, and the person who leaked more than 90,000 classified documents for their stands on the war in Afghanistan. Maffei, D-DeWitt, Tuesday joined 113 other members of the house to vote against a $33.5 billion bill to fund a troop surge in Afghanistan. The bill passed with 308 votes....
Syracuse, NY-- Syracuse peace activists today thanked U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, and the person who leaked more than 90,000 classified documents for their stands on the war in Afghanistan.
Maffei, D-DeWitt, Tuesday joined 113 other members of the house to vote against a $33.5 billion bill to fund a troop surge in Afghanistan. The bill passed with 308 votes.
The six members of the Syracuse Peace Council and Peace Action of Central New York who held protest signs as they stood on the corner of Clinton and West Washington streets in front of the Federal Building in Syracuse this afternoon called Maffei’s actions “courageous.”
Maffei’s vote came days after WikiLeaks, a not for profit website, posted 90,000 classified documents about the war in Afghanistan.
The peace activists hope that such a large leak from within the military will encourage others in the system to leak classified information, said Jessica Maxwell, an organizer with the Peace Council. Such information could galvanize the American public, who could force an end to the war, she said.
The WikiLeaks post does not contain any new information, Maxwell said. Instead, it allows the public to read unfiltered information about the war, including the number of civilians killed and how the soldiers there view the situation, Maxwell said.
Until now the American public has received a “sanitized” version of the war, she said.
“We have no reason for why we are in Afghanistan,” said Jerry Lotierzo, co-chairman of Peace Action of Central New York.
The best way to help the soldiers there is to “let them come home and let’s concentrate on what we’re doing wrong in this country and fix it,” he said.
