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@pjw.info.

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