September Mobilization

Three Days of Actions
for Peace & Justice in D.C.

Saturday, September 24
Massive March, Rally & Anti-war Fair
Gather 11 AM at the Washington Monument

[8-22-05]

END THE WAR ON IRAQ

BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

More than two years after the illegal and immoral U.S. invasion of Iraq, the nightmare continues. More than 1600 U.S. soldiers have died, at least another 15,000 have been wounded; even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi deaths number in the tens of thousands. Iraq, a once sovereign nation, now lies in ruins under the military and corporate occupation of the United States; U.S. promises to rebuild have not been kept and Iraqis still lack food, water, electricity, and other basic needs.

A majority of Americans believe that this war never should have happened, but our elected representatives in Washington continue to rubber-stamp the Bush Administration's disastrous Iraq policies. They have given military recruiters nearly unrestricted access to our schools -- and the Pentagon nearly unrestricted access to our tax dollars. At a time when our vital social programs are eroding or completely decimated, an overwhelming majority in Congress recently approved Bush's request for an additional $82 billion in war funding, and there's already talk of another $50 billion appropriation this fall.

It's time to hold all pro-war politicians accountable for the deaths, the destruction, the lies, and the toll on our communities! Join United for Peace and Justice in Washington, D.C. for three massive days of action against the war: a major march, rally, and festival on Saturday, September 24; an interfaith religious service and day of grassroots trainings on Sunday, September 25; and a large-scale grassroots lobbying day and mass nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience on Monday, September 26.

From every corner of this country, people will travel to Washington to bring our demands directly to the policymakers responsible for this unjust war. These three days of actions will send a clear message to the White House and Congress: The Iraq war must end. It's time to bring all the troops home, leaving no U.S. military bases behind, and to stop the corporate theft of Iraq's resources. Instead of draining our national treasury for endless war, we demand that our tax dollars be used to repair the damage done to Iraq and to fund services in our communities. We call for an immediate end to our government's assault on immigrants, the unethical pressures on our young people to join the military, and the undermining of democracy through relentless attacks on everyone's basic rights.

Our mobilization will coincide with the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, whose economic policies place corporate profits ahead of basic human needs worldwide. We will speak out against the corporate theft of Iraq's resources and the decimation of the Iraqi economy through privatization and "free trade."

Join our weekend of action to stop this war, and help prevent any new wars!

Go to http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=91

And ...
Within the three days of actions in D.C. there will be a special series of events dedicated to ...

Stop Torture!

Alice Winters, Presbyterian mission co-worker in Colombia and Witherspoon member, has shared with us information on a special event within the Call for Justice Weekend:

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) will hold special actions focusing on US uses of torture, and why it should stop. These will include on Saturday, workshops and panel discussions on the history, legal considerations, and security consequences of U.S. involvement in torture, appropriate reform measures, and interfaith presentations on the moral and spiritual issues raised by the use of torture. Sunday there will be a formal mock trial of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and former CIA Director George Tenet for violations of international and U.S. laws prohibiting torture. Monday will open with an interfaith presentation, followed by visits to Congress and other government offices.

For more information, go to http://www.uusc.org/programs/STOP/index.html