[E-rundbrief] Info 1493 - Iraq-war - 25 years anniversary

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 1493 - American Friends Service Committee (USA): 
25th anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Bad Ischl, 16.1.2016

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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25th anniversary of the war in Iraq

Take Action: Send a letter to the editor to mark the 25th anniversary 
of the war in Iraq.

Tomorrow marks 25 years since the beginning of the Iraq war on Jan. 
17, 1991. We're reaching out to invite you to write a letter to the 
editor of your local newspaper to highlight this painful anniversary.

In just over a month, thousands of civilians, including families 
hiding in bomb shelters, had been killed as well as tens of thousands 
of Iraqi troops, including those withdrawing from Kuwait. It was a 
massive bombing campaign. Tremendous damage had been inflicted on 
homes, businesses, and infrastructure. All while Iraq was dealing with 
harsh, painful economic sanctions. A U.N. report concluded that the 
impact of the war had reduced Iraq to a “pre-industrial age.”

The Gulf War sunk the hopes of many of us who thought that the end of 
the Cold War, signaled by the fall of the Berlin Wall, would lead to a 
new era where real peace could be possible. But once the Iraq war 
started, those who opposed the war were also committed to offering 
assistance to the victims, bringing a swift end to the fighting, and 
looking over the horizon to address root causes that could lead to 
future conflict.

Yet a quarter-century later, the war continues. The U.S. is still 
bombing Iraq, and a devastating war in Syria further destabilizes the 
region. As the U.S. continued its intervention and fueled violence by 
transferring billions of dollars in weapons to the region, millions of 
people who were harmed and displaced by the fighting were left without 
support and help.

This seemingly endless cycle of war has been sold to the American 
public by demonizing the other and exaggerating threats to stoke fear. 
We’ve been led to believe that the only rational response to 
irrational and dangerous opponents is the use of overwhelming military 
force.

And what was once unacceptable is becoming acceptable. Secret prisons, 
tortured detainees, assassinations, targeted killing with drones, 
hundreds of millions wasted on weapons systems, and disinvestment in 
diplomacy and communities here at home.

In March 2003, the American Friends Service Committee joined with 
Quakers worldwide to say the choice of war “will have enormous and 
tragic consequences–many as yet unimagined–for the Iraqi people, for 
our nation, and for the world. It is a choice we believe was 
unnecessary, immoral, and unwise.”

This position was tragically as true in 1991 as it was in 2003, and as 
it is in 2016.

Today, we ask that you join us in reminding our elected officials, our 
community members, and ourselves about the real human cost of war.

Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to mark the 25th 
anniversary of the war in Iraq.

It’s time to truly end the Iraq war and begin the healing sorely 
needed not only in the U.S. but also the region and the world.

In peace,

Mary Zerkel and Peter Lems


American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
http://afsc.org

Addition by Matthias Reichl, 16.1.2016:

The use of shells and bombs with DU (depleted Uranium) contaminated 
with the radioactive dust not only the whole region, but even regions 
in Europe and other continents for a long time, causing genetical 
damages, cancer and other diseases.


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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, A-4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
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Ausgezeichnet mit dem (österr.) "Journalismus-Preis von unten 2010"

Honoured by the (Austrian) "Journalism-Award from below 2010"