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

[Peace and Justice Works]

Iraq Affinity Group supporters

At our meeting on the 14th, we agreed to make the October 8 Friday Rally a 
specially themed event to mark 20 years since the Afghan war began. I 
finally got the flyer and announcement ready today-- 2 weeks in advance. 
Here's the link to the flyer:

https://www.pjw.info/911_20yl_flyer.pdf

The other info can be found at
    https://www.pjw.info/afghanistan20yl.html

Sharp-eyed readers will note that we've added "https" to our website which 
should improve the ability for some people to visit if your browser 
doesn't like non-secure pages. However it will be a long process to make 
all pages https compliant....


Anyway, please share this out. I'll have the flyer at the Friday rally 
this evening!
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.