[pjw] EVENT: "The US Lied About How Many Troops Are in Iraq-- Time to Get Them All Out!" Fri 3/21/25 5 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again
As promised, here are the details on our special event to be held marking 
22 years (!!!!!) since the US invasion of Iraq, coming up in just under 
six weeks at the Friday rally.

Feel free to share out!!!

And as noted before if your group wants to co-sponsor (send $10-25 to help 
offset costs) or endorse (just put your name on it-- required if you are 
a political party...) let us know.

This info is also posted at
  https://www.pjw.info/iraq22yl.html

and the direct link to the flyer is
  https://www.pjw.info/iraq22yl_flyer.pdf

Thanks
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- call or text)
   iraq at pjw.info
   http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html


                The US Lied About How Many Troops Are in Iraq--
                           Time to Get Them All Out!
       ***22 Years After the Invasion*** Friday, March 21, 2025 5:00 PM
                   Weekly Friday Rally for Peace and Justice
                                Please mask up
                         and stay distanced for safety
                          Pioneer Courthouse Square,
                            SW Yamhill and Broadway


    On Friday, March 21, just a day after the 22nd anniversary of the US
    invasion of Iraq, there will be a special Friday Rally for Peace and
    Justice to mark the date. The event, titled "The US Lied About How Many
    Troops Are in Iraq-- Time to Get Them All Out! ***22 Years After the
    Invasion***" will begin at 5 PM including a rally and a march. Hosted
    by the Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, the event takes
    place at the same location every week-- SW Yamhill and Broadway.

    The US has more than 2500 troops in Iraq, which they admitted after the
    Assad regime fell in Syria, but they won't say how many are really
    there.*-1 The initial invasion in 2003 was based on lies about Weapons
    of Mass Destruction. In 2024 it was revealed that then-President George
    W Bush thought invading this sovereign nation was a "mission from
    God."*-2 Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis perished in the Shock and Awe,
    subsequent US attacks, and the "civil war."

    If there was any question that the US intended to stay so long, just
    look to the US embassy in Baghdad, the biggest in the world.

    The Iraqi government has brought in people from Gaza and Lebanon for
    medical aid due to attacks by Israel.*-3 There will be no peace in the
    Middle East until the Israel/Palestine conflict is resolved and that
    occupation is ended.

    In 2002, Congress' vote to authorize the Iraq war was driven in part by
    9/11 even though Iraq had nothing to do with those attacks. The
    Authorization is still on the books.

    After the US assassinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on Iraqi soil
    in 2020, the Iraqi Parliament voted for all US troops to leave. That
    has not happened. However, an arrest warrant remains in effect for
    President Trump, who ordered the killing.*-4

    The Friday Rally for Peace and Justice has been held weekly since
    November, 2001. For the first 18.5 years it was coordinated by Portland
    Peaceful Response Coalition, and since March, 2020 by Peace and Justice
    Works Iraq Affinity Group. Due to the ongoing dangers posed by various
    respiratory diseases, we ask that participants mask up and stay
    distanced. This event is endorsed by War Resisters League-Portland.

    For more info or to cosponsor or endorse this event, contact Peace and
    Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group at 503-236-3065 or iraq at pjw.info.
      __________________________________________________________________

    *1- The exact number of troops is not being released for "security and
    diplomatic considerations." The US lied about the number of troops in
    Syria too, claiming there were 900 when there were really 2000.
    https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/12/23/pentagon-quietly-increases-us-troop-level-in-syria-iraq

    *2-
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/george-w-bush-iraq-fallujah-god-tony-blair-b2671846.html

    *3-
    https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-wounded-transferred-iraq-medical-treatment
    https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Iraq-s-Health-Ministry-pledges-care-for-Lebanese-displaced-due-to-Israeli-military-operations

    *4-
    https://www.newarab.com/news/iraqi-officials-seek-stronger-us-ties-amid-trump-arrest-warrant