[pjw] REPORT BACK: 21 years of war on Iraq: Friday rally #210 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again IAG supporters

Falling almost exactly four years to the day we first hosted the Friday 
Rally for Peace and Justice, last night's special event highlighting 21 
years since the US invasion of Iraq had nine people in attendance. I 
introduced the brand-new "mini-tower of peace," a roughly four-foot high 
banner rising above the little red wagon of peace, bringing its top to 8 
feet; the banner read simply "US OUT OF IRAQ." I'm told that a LOT of 
people noticed it, though I was kind of distracted making sure my 
mechanical design was sound and that the wagon didn't turn into a sailboat 
or topple over (it did neither, and stayed stable and vertical 
throughout).

It was a little rainy but nearly 60 degrees out. We did hear a few shouts 
from cars-- one seemed to agree about Iraq, one said something about 
making things better in the US first-- and one pedestrian said "salaam" 
(peace) to us. We had a smattering of honking horns, but overall 
downtown seemed subdued. One of the 40 or so people who took fact sheets 
said they would come back to next week's rally.

Speaking of the fact sheet, though I'm about to go over some of the key 
points in summarizing the rally talk, you can download your own copy here:

  https://pjw.info/iraq21ylfacts.pdf

Though I did get to summarizing some of the week's news, here's a quick 
review of what I relayed about "Remembering the Relentless Bombing of Iraq 
Since 2003":

--For context, the US has actually been bombing Iraq in some way since 
1991, after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 when the US essentially gave them 
the green light to do so.

---In 2002, the US falsely claimed Iraq was building Weapons of Mass 
Destruction, congress voted to authorize use of military force, and 
Secretary of State Colin Powell, one of the architects of the '91 "Gulf 
War" lied to the UN about the WMDs.

---On March 19, 2003 the US invaded Iraq with what they called a "Shock 
and Awe" bombing campaign, killing tens of thousands of Iraqis (on top of 
the hundreds of thousands who died in the "Gulf War" and due to 
sanctions), and destroying their already damaged infrastructure.

---After years of internal battles, which everyone except the US 
strategists could have predicted, Barack Obama pulled most American troops 
out in 2011, but not all of them. This made it easier for him to send more 
troops in three years later in 2014 to battle the Islamic State.

---That fighting went on until 2017, when President Trump pretty much 
leveled the city of Mosul to stop ISIS. Though it's true they haven't been 
heard of much since then (jury's still out on whether they actually had 
anything to do with the attack on a Russian concert hall), the price was 
too high.

---In 2002, Trump ordered the assassination of a top Iranian general in 
Iraq, prompting the Parliament to request the US to leave. President Biden 
allowed the 2500 troops who were there to remain, calling them military 
advisors. After the war in Gaza broke out and attacks on US bases 
intensified, along with US retaliation, talks began to actually get the US 
out of Iraq. These became more important as the US dropped bombs on Iraq 
(and Syria) when three National Guard members were killed in Jordan.

---It's been reported that those talks continued this week, though 
there's concern about Iraqis having access to weapons and training if the 
US just leaves. THEY HAVE BEEN THERE LONG ENOUGH, OK???

  https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2024/03/19/talks-on-us-troops-wit hdrawal-mark-21st-anniversary-of-iraq-invasion/

Turning to other news:

--Another UN ceasefire resolution failed for Gaza, this time it was 
because the US wrote a deliberately misleading version that wasn't really 
about an IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL ceasefire, so Russia and China 
vetoed it.

  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/un-security-council-cease-fire-resolution-us-rcna144556

---Oxfam and Human Rights Watch called for an end of arms sales to Israel 
due to human rights violations. Let's watch and see whether the US pays 
attention.

  https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/19/israeli-forces-conduct-gaza

--The timeline isn't 100% clear to me about whether the US warned Ukraine 
to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure before or after Russia 
bombed Ukraine's electrical grid this week, but it's unsurprising after 
NATO gave the green light for Ukraine to attack outside its borders.

  https://www.ft.com/content/98f15b60-bc4d-4d3c-9e57-cbdde122ac0c
  https://archive.is/wv1Y3

--And as we often hear people ask what wars are you opposing, the US 
bombed a major seaport in Yemen this week.

  http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2024-03/19/content_117069519.htm

--Let me know if this sounds familiar: A country told the US they need to 
take their troops out and they aren't leaving. Nope, not Iraq, this time 
it's Niger.

  https://apnews.com/article/niger-forces-withdrawal-pentagon-terrorism-b26f4703fc514d818fa3f5e9957a9fe3

In local news, this week Portland Copwatch released data showing that out 
of over 230 law enforcement deadly force incidents leading to death in 
Oregon since 2010, 74 were not on the state database as required by 
statute. Mildly good news: at least five more incidents were added in the 
two days after PCW's report went out. Copwatch also found 56 errors in the 
existing data, including mis-spelling people's names, a real slap in the 
face to families who lost loved ones to state sponsored violence.

   https://pjw.info/copwatch/state_shootings_errors_AG_letter_final.pdf

Along the march route, I talked about Israel proclaiming that 2000 acres 
in the West Bank is now their property, so they will build settlements 
there. Antony Blnken said this would be inconsistent with international 
law. Will the US take legal (or other) action to stop it? Hmm.

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-appropriates-1976-acres-of-land-in-jordan-valley-declaring-it-state-land/

At the time we were marching, the House had OK'd the rest of the budget 
for 2023-2024 after various stopgap bills. Of course the military budget 
of $886 Billion was intact. They got the needed 2/3 majority by having 
most Democrats (including all from Oregon) vote in favor. Unfortunately 
this also locks in no money for UNRWA until 2025 and of course 
de-prioritizes human needs over war.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/22/moral-failure-us-house-approves-bill-that-would-ban-unrwa-funding

Quick update: The deadline to avoid a government shutdown was 9 PM our 
time last night, and the Senate voted just after that time to approve the 
bill with the UNWRA prohibition intact.

Unfortunately my joke about the mini-tower of peace acting to block out 
whatever radio waves make the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign conk out 
every week did not become a reality, it went out again across the street 
from the Apple Store. But at least all the folks in that capitalist zoo 
could see the banner!

Remember that if you join us we're still urging people to mask up and stay 
distanced. It's not mandatory but just a courtesy. The final rally that 
was officially cosponsored by Portland Peaceful Response Coalition was the 
Iraq 17 years later event on March 20, 2020. It's been a long and 
tumultuous four years but we're still making a difference out there.

peace
--dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group