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Iraq Affinity Group
and other areas including SW Asia, North Africa, and the "Middle East."
Sign up for the Iraq Affinity Group email list by going to:
http://agora.rdrop.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq-list
Current and Upcoming Events
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 (two related events!)
IRAQ 10 YEARS LATER 2003-2013
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Saturday, February 16, 2013 (evening) IRAQ 10 YEARS LATER 2003-2013
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Wednesday, January 16, 2013
27700 SW Parkway Av. (near the I-5 freeway off exit 286)
IRAQ 10 YEARS LATER 2003-2013
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Related event: IRAQ 10 YEARS LATER 2003-2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
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Portland Says: Bring Our War $$ Home! campaign Launched as part of the Campaign to Bring the Troops home in August, 2011 January, 2012-->: Now that City Council has passed a Resolution, several community groups are calling for the Multnomah County Commission to pass a similar resolution.. More info Back to top |
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PJW STATEMENT: Bin Laden assassination is not something to celebrate
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Read about the
Campaign
to Keep Oregon's
National Guard Home
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Info on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Action
More info Images of our three 20-foot banners |
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See an image of the
Message to the
Iraqi People |
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January-May, 2007: The Oregon House and Senate each passed resolutions regarding Iraq. |
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Sanctions lifted,
Please note below the revised information about our group, which has reassessed
its mission in the aftermath of the war on Iraq and the lifting of
sanctions. We have also added a contacts and
references
page for quick resource info.
Read our fact sheet: "US
Out of
Iraq! Demand Balanced Media Coverage" (April 12, 2003) |
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Iraq Affinity Group MISSION STATEMENTThe Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group is committed to educating the public about the effects of U.S. policy on the people of Iraq, and other areas including SW Asia, North Africa, and the "Middle East."**
WHO WE AREWe are a secular grassroots group connected to the local peace and justice organization Peace and Justice Works. We are men and women, young and old, of various ethnic heritages and religious and spiritual beliefs.We organize to improve the lives of the Iraqi people and ensure that Iraq's sovereignty is regained and respected. We will continue to oppose the expansion of the "War on Terrorism," especially as the U.S. threatens Iraq's neighbors with military action. We believe the United States' pre-emptive war on Iraq and subsequent occupation are illegal and immoral. Following over twelve years of the most stringent economic embargo in world history which killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, we find the image of Americans as "liberators" a shocking rewrite of history. The regime of Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictatorship, which caused fear and repression in Iraq. However, U.S. policy--both in installing and supporting Hussein and in deliberately preventing the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure for 12 years--is just as much responsible for the suffering there. WHAT WE DOEDUCATEThe Iraq Affinity Group organizes public visibility actions, teach-ins, forums, letter-writing and phoning efforts to raise awareness of the situation in Iraq. We encourage people to share information with their friends, families, neighbors and co-workers.Reliable information about the U.S.' role in Iraq is difficult to find in the mainstream media. As such, the American public must get its information from elsewhere about Iraqi military and civilian casualties, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who died due to U.S./U.N. sanctions (1990-2003), and the probable ramifications of the U.S., U.K, World Bank and International Monetary Fund having complete control of Iraq's oil wealth. The terms of UN Security Council resolution 1483 clearly identify the U.S. as an occupying power, yet call for an end to the occupation only once "an internationally recognised, representative government is established by the People of Iraq" By this Resolution, the U.N. retroactively approved of a war that it had opposed, and has given the U.S. an open-ended invitation to rule Iraq as a military satellite state.
NETWORKMany other groups in Portland and around the country are opposed to U.S. policy in Iraq. We keep in touch with them, sharing information and creating a local and national response and activity network. See our contacts and references page for more information.RESEARCHWe get our information from various sources including U.N. documents, small articles in the Oregonian, the internet, eyewitness reports, and various journals in the library. There are numerous websites with great up-to-date information on the situation in Iraq.
PUBLISHWe publish fact sheets a few times each year. We have written or participated in the creation of several articles in the Oregon Peaceworker and the Portland Alliance.
HISTORYA major organizing effort of PJW since its inception in 1992, the Iraq Affinity Group's main focus has been to hold public activities regarding U.S. policy in Iraq. While our work was mostly ad hoc the first few years, the IAG has been meeting regularly since November, 1995, one or two times a month (please call for next meeting date!). We were among the 150 plus groups who helped organize massive peace rallies against the bombing of Iraq in early 2003.From 1992 to the present, our Forums, rallies and demonstrations have brought the plight of the Iraqis to the attention of the public. From 1993 to 2003 on January 16th, we held a public event commemorating the beginning of the first "Gulf War," making connections to other U.S. policies and reminding the community that the war continued in the form of sanctions and no-fly zone bombings. Participants include PJW members, Portland area Iraqi-Americans, members of other area peace and social justice groups, and other interested parties. If you are interested in getting involved, please write or call: |
On This Page
Current and upcoming events
Other information
Recent fact sheets
Iraq Affinity Group Mission
Contact