[act-ma] 12/02 5-7 pm - Demonstrate to Stop Obama's War!

Tue Dec 1 14:00:31 PST 2009

[image: Say No to Escalation] <http://justicewithpeace.org/stop-escalation>News
reports make it clear that President Obama has ordered another 30,000 troops
to Afghanistan in an attempt to defeat the Taliban insurgency.

Exactly what we feared has indeed happened: a Democratic president, elected
on a wave of antiwar sentiment, has betrayed his supporters.  He has bought
into the logic of the generals and the military-industrial complex, who say
that they can bring security if they are only given more troops, more
resources, and more billions.

As he has escalated from 43,000 troops to over 100,000, Afghanistan is now
Obama's war.

This war is wrong.  it causes unacceptable casualties, is unaffordable, it
is unwinnable, it is making conditions worse for the Afghan people it claims
to help, it feeds corruption and the drug trade, and it does not make
Americans safer.

<http://justicewithpeace.org/stop-escalation>With pain, anger and sorrow, we
must respond publicly to this outrageous decision.  United for Justice with
Peace and Stop the Wars Coalition will demonstrate Wednesday evening at
Boston Common <http://justicewithpeace.org/stop-escalation>.   Gather at the
 *Brewer Fountain on Tremont St., near Park Street Station, Wednesday, May
2, from 5-7 p.m.* for a moving picket line.   Bring banners, signs,
costumes, musical instruments, and pots and pans.

Speakers will include Nate Goldshlag of Veterans for Peace; Sarah Fuhro of
Military Families Speak Out; and Afghan-American woman student Maryam
Shansab.  Singer-songwriter Simón Rios, just back from his appearance at the
School of the Americas Protest at Ft. Benning, GA, will perform anti-war
songs.
Community peace groups have also scheduled local protests this week:

   - Dorchester:  Tues 4:30-6pm, Fields
Corner<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/785>.

   - Worcester: Weds 4:30, Lincoln Square<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/788>
   .
   - Gloucester: Weds 4:30-6:30, Gloucester
Rotary<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/792>,
   exit 11 on 128N
   - Falmouth: Weds 5-6, Town Hall <http://justicewithpeace.org/node/804>
   - Cambridge: Weds 5:30-6:30, Central
Square<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/786>.

   - Andover: Weds 7-8pm, Main St, Old Town
Hall<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/787>
   .
   - Newton: Thurs 5pm, Newton Center <http://justicewithpeace.org/node/783>.

   - Arlington: Saturday 10:30am, Broadway
Plaza<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/782>
   - Newburyport: Sunday 12 noon-1pm, Market
Square<http://justicewithpeace.org/node/794>

We oppose the Afghanistan war because:

   - 298 U.S. soldiers lost their lives so far in 2009.   Tens of thousands
   of returning troops are damaged by physical injury, PTSD, psychological
   damage, suicides, and domestic violence.   There is a backlog of up to 1
   year for veterans waiting for VA care.
   - The war is unaffordable.   The White House says we are paying $1million
   a year for each soldier sent to Afghanistan.   At that price, the war will
   soon cost $100 billion a year.  Yet Congress is not willing to pay that kind
   of money for health care, jobs, housing, or environmental protection.
   - The war is making conditions worse for the Afghan people.  UNICEF
   reported last week that eight years after the start of U.S. military
   occupation, Afghanistan is the world's worst place to be born.
    Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world -- 257
   deaths per 1,000 live births - and 70 percent of the population lacks access
   to clean water.   Afghanistan ranked 181st out of 182 countries in the UN's
   human development index for 2009.   The presence of U.S. troops breeds
   resistance, conflict, and instability.
   - The war is not helping Afghan women, whose conditions are as bad as
   ever.  The government turns a blind eye to rape and violence against women.
     Civilian casualties, who are primarily women and children, are rising each
   year as the violence increases, including from drones and air strikes.
   - War funding is feeding corruption, private armies, and the drug trade.
    The more money the U.S. and NATO pour into Afghanistan, the greater the
   rake-offs and corruption among U.S. contractors and the U.S.-supported
   Afghan government.   President Karzai's re-election was confirmed even
   though his supporters had stuffed boxes with more than one million fake
   ballots.  Five ministers in Karzai's cabinet have been given immunity from
   prosecution for corruption.
   - The war is unwinnable.  As U.S. troop levels have grown from 15,000 in
   2004 to 68,000 now and 100,000 next year, more and more Afghans have joined
   the Taliban and resistance groups to defend against foreign invaders.   Yet
    *The Nation* reported last week that the U.S. military cannot even
   protect the trucks which bring gasoline and other supplies to outlying U.S.
   bases, and that contractors are paying protection of $800 to $1500 per truck
   to the Taliban.

We can and will stop this war.  We will pressure Congress to defund the
military.   We will reach out to our neighbors and communities.   We will
involve new sectors in the campaign for peace and against militarism.   We
will show how the war issue is linked to climate change, jobs, healthcare,
housing, the military budget, and other wars and occupations.

Join us Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5-7 p.m.<http://justicewithpeace.org/stop-escalation>
 at Park Street Station as we say loud and clear: Mr. President, STOP THE
AFGHANISTAN WAR!

-- 
Cosponsors:

United for Justice with Peace
www.justicewithpeace.org
617-491-4UJP
ujpcoalition at gmail.com

Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition
www.stopthewars.org
info at stopthewars.org
617-230-9382
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