[pjw] EVENT REMINDER: US Bombs and Troops Still in Syria, Nine Years Later... Fri 9/29/23 5:00 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hi again Iraq Affinity Group supporters
I meant to send this reminder out yesterday which includes an updated 
version of our event announcement for Sept. 29-- we now have an 
endorsement from Resist US-Led War Movement. Their name is now listed on 
the event web page

https://pjw.info/afghanistan22yl.html

and the flyer

  https://pjw.info/afghan22yl_flyer.pdf

We have decided to make the focus of the October 6 Friday rally be mostly 
on the war in Ukraine in solidarity with national actions; you can see the 
listing here on the United National Antiwar Coalition site (though they 
somehow spelled my name wrong even though I filled out the form?):

  https://unac.notowar.net/end-the-war-in-ukraine-actions-listed/#portland

Please share out this info!
dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

-------------

Peace and Justice Works
     Iraq Affinity Group
     PO Box 42456
     Portland, OR   97242
     (503) 236-3065  (Office)
     iraq at pjw.info
     http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html


                       U.S. Bombs and Troops Still in Syria,
                                Nine Years Later...
                 After 22 Years, USA Mostly Gone from Afghanistan
                      Friday, September 29, 2023 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

      This special Friday Rally for Peace and Justice marks two painful
      anniversaries. On September 23, 2014, the US began bombing Syria
      ostensibly to fight the Islamic State (ISIS). This date was very close
      to the anniversary of when the US invaded Afghanistan following 9/11,
      on October 7, 2001. The event is titled "U.S. Bombs and Troops Still in
      Syria, Nine Years Later... After 22 Years, USA Mostly Gone from
      Afghanistan" and begins at 5 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square at the
      corner of SW Yamhill and Broadway.

      While there are no US troops in Afghanistan any more, America keeps an
      "over-the-horizon" presence, claiming the right to interfere militarily
      at its discretion. In Syria, roughly 1000 US troops are stationed in at
      least 24 military sites,*-1 in a country that did not invite American
      presence. The US exercised its self-proclaimed right to bomb
      Afghanistan in July, 2021, when a drone used a missile armed with
      knives to kill an alleged Al Qaeda leader in Kabul. America also
      continues to hold about $7 billion of Afghan assets in its banks and
      refuses to turn it over, despite widespread hunger and poverty racking
      the nation's people.*-2

      By continuing its presence in Syria without Congressional or UN
      Authorization, the US is engaged in illegal warfare, frequently coming
      into near-conflict situations with Russian aircraft who patrol Syria's
      skies at the government's request. Syria has objected to the US
      presence but the United Nations takes no action against the 800-pound
      gorilla that also launched a war in Iraq based on fraudulent evidence,
      and continues to conduct airstrikes in Somalia and Yemen. In addition,
      response to the massive earthquake that hit Syria early in 2023 was
      delayed due to US sanctions.*-3

      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.

      The event is coordinated by Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity
      Group. It is endorsed by  Resist US-Led War Movement. 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.

    *1-https://www.newarab.com/news/global-anti-coalition-building-new-base-northern-syria

    *2-https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/afghanistan-two-years-taliban-takeover-humanitarian-crises-economy-womens-rights/

    *3-https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-earthquake-rescue-system-blocked-syria-iran-us-sanctions