June 17, 2008
On May 27, the Coloradoan published a letter to the editor by Don Flick. Flick asked people to contact Sen. Ken Salazar's local office to request answers to questions posed by Strength Through Peace concerning Salazar's votes to fund the occupation of Iraq. More than 30 people met with Salazar's regional director March 19, the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, to ask these questions.
After a two-month delay, we finally received an answer. Unfortunately, Salazar did not address any of the four specific questions we asked him. Instead, he sent us a canned response identical to one he sent to another constituent expressing different concerns last March. This lack of willingness to engage with a significant bloc of constituents on this issue is disrespectful, to say the least.
Salazar has long been talking out of both sides of his mouth concerning Iraq. Despite saying that there should be no more blank checks, he has consistently voted to fund the occupation with no strings attached. A number of Salazar's statements on this issue are quoted in our letter, which can be viewed at www.strengththrough peace.org. Salazar's "response" can be viewed on our Web site, as well.
Six people who signed the Strength Through Peace letter met with Salazar's regional director again June 9 to request real answers to our questions. We encourage others to call Salazar's Fort Collins office at 224-2200 to ask that he adopt a more courageous position on ending Bush's war.
Kevin Cross,
convener, Strength Through Peace,
Fort Collins