Dear John,

While Americans lack ventilators, the State Department is prioritizing $2 billion in weapons sales  to a wanna-be dictator. The State Department recently approved $2 billion in weapons sales to the Philippines, a country where countless organizations have documented horrendous human rights abuses related to US weapons sales. Ilhan Omar has issued a strong letter against this weapons sale, will you join her in calling on Congress to reject $2 billion in weapons sales to the Philippines?

President Duterte has ordered the military and police to “shoot to kill” COVID-19 quarantine policies while the Boeing Apache helicopters like the ones in this proposed sale have been used to fire indiscriminately on farmers in the countryside.  Raise your voice with those like Representative Ilhan Omar who have called for this deal to be canceled so that our public funds can be used for public health, not more death.

This weapons sale will not make the US or the Philippines safe - it will only be used to attack human rights activists.  Now is the time for activist solidarity. Congress has until May 29th to vote down this deal, so we need to send a strong message: NO weapons sales to wanna-be dictators! 

Congress should be prioritizing healthcare, not warfare.  Join Ilhan Omar and raise your voice with thousands of Americans and Filipinos and tell Congress to vote “No” on another $2 billion to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Bell Helicopter.  

Towards a weapons free future,

Carley, Cody, Jodie, Kelsey, Paki, Rewan, Nancy, and Yousef
CODEPINK Divest from the War Machine Campaign  

P.S.- Congress is considering extending the draft to women. We say Hell No! Join us on May 26 at 5PM PT/8PM ET for our upcoming webinar on the histories, strategies, and current movement to resist the draft.