[pjw] REMINDER: March/Rally: The Quagmire 14 Years in Iraq Fri 3/17, 5 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hey folks!
We have one more endorser (WILPF) and a few updates to our announcement 
for tomorrow's march & rally marking 14 years since the invasion of Iraq 
(including news about troops being sent to Kuwait for use in Iraq and 
Syria).

If you can't make it down, please consider making a donation via check 
by mail or our online site
<http://www.pjw.info/pjwdonate.html> to support this and other Iraq 
Affinity Group events.
dan h
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release         March 16, 2017

                  "The Quagmire Continues: 14 Years in Iraq"
              Rally/march marking 14 years since the US invasion
                           *Friday, March 17, 2017*
                                    5:00 PM
              Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway

Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group is co-sponsoring the
Friday, March 17 Portland Peaceful Response Coalition Friday Rally with
the theme "The Quagmire Continues: 14 Years in Iraq." The rally begins
at 5 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Morrison, with a
march around downtown beginning at about 5:20 PM. The US invaded Iraq
on March 19, 2003. Even though most of the troops were withdrawn in
2011, they never left completely. With the US' war against the Islamic
State starting in August 2014, there are now over 5000 troops in Iraq
as "advisors," drone and conventional aircraft bombings, and, with the
world's largest embassy, an unending occupation.

Although March 2017 marks 14 years since the Iraq War began, one also
can look at Jan. 1991-- the start of "Gulf War Part 1"-- as the start
of what has now been over 25 years of US hostilities in Iraq.
Meanwhile, though sanctions were put in place against the late Saddam
Hussein's regime in 1990 to force Iraq to repay Kuwait for their
invasion of that country, Iraq still has to make payments despite its
dire financial and political situation. Making matters worse, Donald
Trump told NBC on January 25: "We should've kept the oil when we got
out"-- as if the US had the right to take Iraq's oil. Since then, Secretary of 
Defense Jim Mattis had to tell the Iraqis we're "not in Iraq to seize anybody's 
oil" (Reuters, February 20).

With a recent announcement that 2500 American soldiers will be sent to Kuwait 
so they can be forward deployed to Iraq and Syria (Army Times, March 9), it is 
more urgent than ever to call for the troops to come home.

For more information contact Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group at 
503-236-3065 or iraq at pjw.info. Other cosponsors include Oregon Physicians for 
Social Responsibility, Veterans for Peace Chapter 72 and Occupy Portland Elder 
Caucus. Endorsers include Jewish Voice for Peace-Portland, Women's 
International League for Peace and Freedom-Portland and others. PPRC's 
weekly rally notice can be found at /pprc-news.info/node/3>. A flyer for this 
event can be found along with other information at 
<http://www.pjw.info/iraq14yl.html>.

Direct link to flyer:
<http://www.pjw.info/iraq14yl_flyer.pdf>

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