Peace and Justice Works
Site Navigation
|
|
Send Aid, Not Bombs
End the US Wars in Afghanistan and Syria
Friday, October 7, 2022 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
On Friday, October 7, Peace and Justice Works (PJW) Iraq Affinity Group will
mark 21 years since the US invasion of Afghanistan and eight since the US
began bombing Syria. In July and August 2022, the US dropped bombs in each of
these countries, showing the wars are not over. The October 7 Friday Rally for
Peace and Justice will be called "Send Aid, Not Bombs: End the US Wars in
Afghanistan and Syria" and will begin at 5 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW
Yamhill and Broadway. As usual the rally will last until about 5:20 PM
followed by a short march around downtown Portland. PJW asks participants to
please wear masks and stay distanced for COVID safety.
The US used a missile laden with knives to assassinate an Al Qaeda leader
in Kabul in late July, despite having left Afghanistan at the end of
August 2021. The Biden administration has also withheld most of
Afghanistan's money that was in US banks at the time of the withdrawal,
pledging to set aside $7 billion for American 9/11 survivors, rather than
to help the people of Afghanistan who are facing starvation and economic
collapse. Thus, the US war that started in Afghanistan on August 6, 2001
continues.
In Syria, the US bombed three days in a row in late August in retaliation
for attacks on American military bases in that country. Strangely, no
mainstream news stories about this attack seem to question why the United
States has military bases in Syria, which clearly did not invite the
troops. There is no UN mandate and Congress never voted to authorize the
deployment of roughly 1000 soldiers. The US began bombing Syria in
September, 2014 and has continued for eight years with no domestic or
international repercussions.
While the world is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US
continues to commit war crimes and violate the United Nations charter.
There were also at least two days in August where US bombs were dropped on
Somalia, as well.
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, roughly two and a half years ago. This
rally will make 1093 consecutive weeks at which Portlanders have come out
to make connections among US foreign policy, national priorities, and
local governmental violence in the form of police brutality.
PJW has notified the United National Antiwar Coalition that we consider
this event to be in solidarity with their call for "No to War; Back to
the Streets" taking place October 15-23.
UNAC
call to action
UNAC
actions
The October 7 event is coordinated by Peace and Justice Works Iraq
Affinity Group. 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@pjw.info.
back to top
|
|
Flyer
Fact sheet
|