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News reports confirm that yet another tragic milestone in the U.S. war in Iraq has passed: the 4000th U.S. military death. A coalition of Twin Cities-area peace and anti-war organizations will hold a vigil/protest on:
Monday, March 24 4:30 pm U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's offices 2550 University Ave. W. (Hwy 280 & University Ave.) St. Paul
The vigil is being organized under the call of: "Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar End the War in Iraq – Bring the Troops Home Now Fund Human Needs, Not War & Occupation!"
"The event will call attention to the 4000th U.S. military death, but also the unknown hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people who have died as result of the U.S. war in Iraq," a statement issued by organizers says. The statement continues, "How many U.S. soldiers and Iraqis must lose their lives before our government finally admits that the war is wrong and it is time to bring the troops home?
At the event we will mourn the loss of U.S. and Iraqi lives and rededicate ourselves to working for an end to the war." Estimates of Iraqi casualties vary widely, but last year's Johns Hopkins-MIT study published in The Lancet put the figure at more than 600,000 Iraqis killed. Some current estimates say one million Iraqis have been killed in the five years since the invasion, with an additional 4.5 million Iraqis displaced from their homes. In addition, more than 28,000 U.S. servicepersons have been seriously injured in Iraq.
The statement goes on to say, "The war has produced a horrendous human cost of dead and injured, but a huge financial cost as well. Each dollar that is spent on the war is a dollar that is not spent on human needs such as housing, healthcare and the environment."
Twin Cities organizations sponsoring the Monday event are: Twin Cities Peace Campaign-Focus on Iraq, Women Against Military Madness, Anti-War Committee, Iraq Peace Action Coalition, Year 5 Committee to End the War and others. For information on the Twin Cities events, call Twin Cities Peace Campaign 612 522-1861 or Women Against Military Madness 612 827-5364.
Many events are being planned across the U.S. to mark the 4000th U.S. military death in Iraq. The national call for vigils to mark the 4000th U.S. military death in Iraq is being coordinated by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker peace and social justice organization. For more information on the national call visit the AFSC website at www.afsc.org/4000
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