[pjw] EVENT REMINDER: Send Aid, Not Bombs: End the US Wars in Afghanistan and Syria, Fri 10/7 5 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again Iraq AG supporters
Below is a slightly updated calendar listing for the Friday Rally two 
weeks from now, which will focus on the US wars in Afghanistan and Syria.

The new addition has to do with the United National Antiwar Coalition 
(UNAC) which, after we set plans for 10/7, called for people to go "back 
to the streets' between Oct. 13-25. Close enough! We submitted our event 
for inclusion in their calendar (which has events starting as early as 
October 1, so I think we'll eventually be on there).

ANYWAY, hope you can join us on the 7th, please share this with other 
folks and remember if your group wants to be listed as a cosponsor, 
there's no cost to that for this event.

dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

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                              Send Aid, Not Bombs
                   End the US Wars in Afghanistan and Syria
                      Friday, October 7, 2022 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 7, Peace and Justice Works (PJW) Iraq Affinity Group
    will mark 21 years since the US invasion of Afghanistan and eight since
    the US began bombing Syria. In July and August 2022, the US dropped
    bombs in each of these countries, showing the wars are not over. The
    October 7 Friday Rally for Peace and Justice will be called "Send Aid,
    Not Bombs: End the US Wars in Afghanistan and Syria" and will begin at
    5 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway. As usual
    the rally will last until about 5:20 PM followed by a short march
    around downtown Portland. PJW asks participants to please wear masks
    and stay distanced for COVID safety.

    The US used a missile laden with knives to assassinate an Al Qaeda
    leader in Kabul in late July, despite having left Afghanistan at the
    end of August 2021. The Biden administration has also withheld most of
    Afghanistan's money that was in US banks at the time of the withdrawal,
    pledging to set aside $7 billion for American 9/11 survivors, rather
    than to help the people of Afghanistan who are facing starvation and
    economic collapse. Thus, the US war that started in Afghanistan on
    August 6, 2001 continues.

    In Syria, the US bombed three days in a row in late August in
    retaliation for attacks on American military bases in that country.
    Strangely, no mainstream news stories about this attack seem to
    question why the United States has military bases in Syria, which
    clearly did not invite the troops. There is no UN mandate and Congress
    never voted to authorize the deployment of roughly 1000 soldiers. The
    US began bombing Syria in September, 2014 and has continued for eight
    years with no domestic or international repercussions.

    While the world is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US
    continues to commit war crimes and violate the United Nations charter.
    There were also at least two days in August where US bombs were dropped
    on Somalia, as well.

    The Friday Rally for Peace and Justice began on a weekly basis shortly
    after the invasion of Afghanistan. Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
    began to gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 5 PM every Friday and
    hosted until March, 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit. PJW's Iraq
    Affinity Group has hosted since that time, roughly two and a half years
    ago. This rally will make 1093 consecutive weeks at which Portlanders
    have come out to make connections among US foreign policy, national
    priorities, and local governmental violence in the form of police
    brutality.

    PJW has notified the United National Antiwar Coalition that we consider
    this event to be in solidarity with their call for "No to War; Back to
    the Streets" taking place October 15-23.

    UNAC call to action
    https://unac.notowar.net/back-to-the-streets-say-no-to-u-s-wars-october-15-23/
    UNAC actions
    https://unac.notowar.net/back-to-the-streets-october-15-23/

    The October 7 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.