March Against the Wars on the 9th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq

Sunday, March 18
March in Chicago's leading South Asian neighborhood
Assemble 3 PM: Devon Avenue & Hoyne Street

But the facts tell a different story:

++ U.S. and Israel are threatening war on Iran, recycling many of the lies used to justify the war on Iraq. With Iraq, George W. Bush claimed the country had "weapons of mass destruction." With Iran, Obama supports crippling sanctions, the same precursor to war that Bush used against Iraq. He hypocritically threatens war against Iran for its alleged nuclear arms program – while supporting nuclear-armed Israel with billions of dollars in arms each year.

++ Annual drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan have tripled since Obama became president, killing thousands of innocent people, and have expanded to Yemen and Somalia. At the end of January, Obama said his drone strikes target only "people who are on a list of active terrorists" – as if you can identify who is a "terrorist" from 20,000 feet. Last year was the fifth year in a row of increased deaths by U.S. drone strikes.

++ The U.S. keeps silent about human rights abuses against minorities in countries that it is allied with, while hypocritically lecturing about human rights abuses by governments it opposes. In U.S.-allied Pakistan, over 4000 Balouchis have been "disappeared" by the security forces and hundreds killed through torture, with their bodies being thrown into the street. In U.S.-allied Kuwait, immigrants – the overwhelming majority of the population – have virtually no rights. In U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia, women have few rights and gays are subject to execution, yet millions of U.S. arms flow there each year.

As the Wikileaks revelations of U.S. diplomatic cables showed, the U.S. government, regardless of which party controls it, supports the 1% and opposes the democratic aspirations and self-determination of the 99% in all nations.

++ The U.S.-sponsored Iraq war continues – subcontracted to private military contractors and an unpopular puppet regime instructed by the world's largest embassy and its huge "diplomatic" corps.

++ Obama announced that his "surge" of troops into Afghanistan would end this September, but that would still leave 70,000 U.S. troops there, along with other NATO troops and the forces of a regime which stole the last election and is widely viewed as among the most corrupt on the planet. Last year was the deadliest year yet for civilians in Afghanistan, up 8% from the year before.

++ Obama continues to sell arms to Gulf dictatorships such as Bahrain (recently invaded by the U.S.-armed Saudi Arabian dictatorship), which stands accused by its own human rights commission of gunning down non-violent protesters and torturing prisoners to death.

++ The U.S. continues to support the military dictatorship in Egypt while hypocritically calling for regime-change in Syria and ignoring reports of systemic torture and pogroms by its new client regime in Libya.

++ Obama continues to arm Israel at a rate higher than any other country in the world, even though it is responsible for systematic human rights abuses including theft of Palestinian land, widespread imprisonment without charge or trial, torture, and refusal to allow refugees to return to their homeland.

At a time when social services from mental health services to libraries to public transit are being slashed, the U.S. spends as much on war as the rest of the world combined. Demand an end to this insanity. Support our march for peace on the 9th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

To endorse this action, email ccawr@aol.com More information is also available at khsa5@aol.com

Cosponsored by: Pakistan Federation of America, Pakhtun Jirga, Pakistan United Parade Committee, Midwest Anti-War Mobilization, Coalition Against the NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda, Chicago World Can't Wait, The Urbane Radical, Chicago Area Peace Action, Chicago Area CodePink and the Gay Liberation Network.