Eight Years of War - How Many More?
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| U.S. Predator drone aircraft |
March and Rally to Oppose the U.S. War in Afghanistan
October 2009, Boston
Organizing meeting: Wed, July 29, 7pm at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Chinatown. Conference phone number: 218-844-8230, code 657297#. Contact Cole Harrison or Shelagh Foreman for information.
When Pres. Obama was elected on a platform of “hope” and “change”, many expected his presidency would bring peace to the Middle East and Central Asia.
They did not expect a permanent occupation of Iraq, or the escalation of the war in Afghanistan by sending 21,000 more troops. They did not expect the U.S. to increase drone strikes into Pakistan which have already killed 365 people in 2009 as of July 18, or to strong-arm the Pakistani military into an operation which has left over two million internal refugees. They did not expect military spending to continue to increase, with over $100 billion appropriated for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in June 2009 and more due in September. Nor did they expect continued U. S. support for the blockade of Gaza.
With the support of Congress, the Administration is carrying out a protracted counter-insurgency war in which human development aid and negotiations serve only as window dressing on a war policy whose real aim is to dominate Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Central Asia region.
The escalating assault on Afghanistan and Pakistan points to an imperative for action, a united response from the peace and justice community. We must explain that the so called “good war” in Afghanistan/Pakistan is yet another empire building project, the same as in Iraq. The majority of the U.S. people oppose the Afghanistan war and can be won to the understanding that our best interests lie in the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces.
“We don’t want their so-called liberation and democracy…. Freedom, democracy and justice cannot be enforced at gunpoint by a foreign country; they are the values that can be achieved only by our people….” – Zoya, foreign committee of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), July 2008
Our task is to provide public education on these wars and provide opportunities for people to express their opposition. At the same time, we need to connect the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to the overall war policies of the U.S. government, and demand that the trillions being spent on the Pentagon and military interventions be used to fund human needs.
Please endorse the action and join us at our planning meeting as we prepare a mass October protest in Boston. All are invited.
Next meeting: Wed, July 29, 7pm at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Chinatown.
Conference number: (218) 844-8230 Code: 657297#
Read back issues of the Afghanistan War News Digest
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Upcoming Events:
| Occupy the T | Mon Feb 13 | 3:00pm | Copley Square | Boston |  |
| Senators Kerry & Brown: Don't Break Our Hearts! | Tue Feb 14 | 11:45am | Downstairs from Sen. John Kerry's office | Boston |  |
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| Remember Fukushima: Walk for a New Spring | Fri Mar 2 | 9:00am | Seabrook, NH to Plymouth, MA to Vernon, VT | Seabrook, NH to Plymouth, MA to Vernon, VT | |
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| Challenging the Pivot: The U.S., China, & Alternatives to Asia-Pacific Militarization | Tue Mar 13 | 7:30pm | Episcopal Divinity School | Cambridge | |
| Massachusetts Jobs with Justice 20th Anniversary Dinner | Thu Mar 15 | 6:00pm | Suffolk Downs | East Boston |
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