[pjw] EVENT REMINDER: 20 Years Later, the Afghan War is Not Really Over Fri 10/8/21 5:00 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again Iraq Affinity Group supporters

This is a reminder that this Friday, October 8, the Friday Rally has a 
special theme around this week's 20th anniversary of the start of the 
Afghan war.

A flyer is available at:
  https://pjw.info/afghanistan20yl_flyer.pdf

The other information, included in the calendar listing below, can be 
found at
     https://www.pjw.info/afghanistan20yl.html

We hope to see a few "extra" folks out with the regulars this week!

dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

                         20 Years Later, the Afghan War
                               is Not Really Over
                       Friday, October 8, 2021 5:00 - 6 PM
               at the Weekly Friday Rally for Peace and Justice
               Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway
                  please mask up and stay distanced for safety

     On Friday, October 8, Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity group will
     mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the US war on Afghanistan
     with a specially themed Friday Rally for Peace and Justice at 5 PM.
     Titled "20 Years Later, the Afghan War is Not Really Over," the event
     will call attention to the ongoing US presence near and announced
     intentions to continue warfare in Afghanistan with an "over the
     horizon" military force. As usual the rally will last until about 5:20
     PM followed by a short march around downtown Portland. PJW asks
     participants to wear masks and stay distanced for COVID safety.

     Nothing illustrates the US' indifference to using violence to enforce
     its policies better than the drone strike that took place as they were
     clearing out of Afghanistan at the end of August. The military has
     admitted that strike killed 10 civilians, mostly children, and that
     none of them were combatants. As the Intercept put it on August 30,

       "While the withdrawal of American troops can be described as the end
       to the war in Afghanistan, the Kabul strike shows how the war may
       simply enter a new chapter, with the US striking targets with
       aircraft launched from faraway drone bases."

     Similar to the Korean War, which began in 1950 but continues because it
     ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, and the US war on Iraq,
     which has existed in various forms since 1991, the Afghan war promises
     to continue for years to come. In fact, because the Taliban and Al
     Qaeda have roots in the US efforts to oust Russia from Afghanistan,
     some say the war there has been going on since 1979.

     The Friday Rally for Peace and Justice began less than a month after
     the invasion of Afghanistan, when Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
     began to gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square every week. It has
     continued from Nov. 2001 to the present, with PJW's Iraq Affinity Group
     hosting since the COVID lockdown began in March, 2020. This rally will
     mark 1041 consecutive weeks of protesting America's unnecessary,
     illegal, and murderous foreign wars, police brutality, environmental
     destruction and other connected issues.

     The October 8 event is coordinated by Peace and Justice Works Iraq
     Affinity Group. For more information, or if your group would like to
     cosponsor or endorse this event, contact Peace and Justice Works at
     503-236-3065 or iraq at pjw.info.