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Dear Peace Activists and Friends,
Recently, the U.S. media has been buzzing with stories about the troop pullout from Iraq. And with headlines like “NBC/MSNBC All-Stars Exclusively Report on last U.S. Combat Troops Leaving Iraq”1 and “Last U.S. Brigade Combat Team Leaves Iraq,”2 it would seem as though the war will be over before we know it, and the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq will be home with their families in time to see their children head back to school. These headlines, and many other stories on this particular issue, seem to be neglecting simple facts.
While it is true that many combat troops are being pulled out of Iraq, the fact is that a large amount of troops will remain in Iraq in order to provide stability, train Iraqi citizens to be police, and to help rebuild and protect the country’s infrastructure. There will also be civilian contingents from the State Department and other areas sent to Iraq to perform these functions and to make up for the soldiers being sent away.3 Many of the troops and funds being pulled out of Iraq are simply being funneled directly into Afghanistan. There are requests for $1.3 billion in additional funding for fiscal year 2011 to construct military facilities in Afghanistan even though the U.S. has already allocated around $5.3 billion for these purposes.4
The reason for these projects becomes clear when one realizes that to protect Western interests abroad, like the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, it is necessary for troops to remain. In order for the construction of the pipeline to continue on schedule, there must be some form of protection for it and those who are working on it, since there is opposition to the pipeline within the country.5
With these facts in mind, the headlines celebrating of the end of America’s involvement in the war seem a bit premature, but their message is one that most major TV networks seem to be agreeing with. Most television news coverage is aimed at heralding the end of the war rather than examining what the pullout of combat troops from Iraq really means.
Demand accurate and adequate media coverage of what is happening. Sign FAIR's petition telling NBC to have a real debate on the war.
In Peace,
Ryan Mattimore
Peace Action New York State
info@panys.org
References:
1
www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbc-all-stars-exclusively-report-on-last-us-combat-troops-leaving-iraq/
2
http://ireport.cnn.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=483156
3
http://zcommunications.org/us-combat-ends-in-iraq-but-will-iraq-invite-us-to-stay-by-tom-hayden
4
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082201670.html?hpid=topnews
5
http://moraloutrage.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/talking-points-on-the-trans-afghanistan-pipeline/
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Wednesdays, September 15 and 22; October 13; November 10. 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
HEMPSTEAD, L.I. Axinn Library, Leo A. Guthart Theater, Hofstra University. INTERNATIONAL SCENE LECTURE SERIES: A CITIZENS GUIDE TO U.S. FOREIGN AND ECONOMIC POLICIES Presented by Hofstra’s Departments of Economics, History and Sociology in cooperation with The Center for Civic Engagement, Long Island Teachers for Human Rights, and The Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives. Wednesday, September 15 Beyond Austerity; Recovery for Whom? Max Fraad Wolff, Professor of Economics, The New School for Social Research Wednesday, September 22 America’s Militarized Economy Michael Zweig, Professor of Economics, Stony Brook University Wednesday, October 13 America’s Tragic Descent into Empire Tom Engelhardt, Editor Tom Dispatch; Author, The American Way of War Wednesday, November 10 The Hebrew Republic Kai Bird, Contributing Editor of The Nation Tuesday, September 21 UNITED NATIONS and around the world. U.N. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE. The International Day of Peace was established by a U.N. resolution in 1981, and in 2002, September 21 was declared the permanent official worldwide date for "commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples .... as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace." The day has grown to include millions of people in all parts of the world, and each year events are organized to commemorate and celebrate this day. Events range in scale from private gatherings to public concerts and forums where hundreds of thousands of people participate. Start or join an event at the IDP web site and stay tuned for future listings here. Thursday, September 30, 7:00 p.m. EAST VILLAGE. Great Hall of Cooper Union, Cooper Square, THE 2010 NUCLEAR-FREE FUTURE AWARDS Awards to five international visionaries of a nuclear-free world:
Resistance: The African Uranium Alliance
This year's awards ceremony will be accompanied by a swarm of events (music, seminars),
scheduled to happen between September 27 and October 2. For more information
see www.nuclear-free.com/eng/release/htm@2010.
Education: Oleg Bodrov Solutions: Bruno Barrillot Lifetime Achievement: Martin Sheen Special Recognition: Henry Red Cloud October, 7, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. EAST VILLAGE. Colors Restaurant, 417 Lafayette Street THE THIRD ANNUAL WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR. PEACEMAKER AWARDS Award Presenter: The Honorable Mayor Matthew T. Ryan Honorary 2010 Recipient: Father John Dear Light Hors D’Oeuvres • Wine/Beer/Soda • Cash Bar Silent Auction will take place throughout the evening. Tickets: $75 before October 1st; $100 after October 1st. RSVP kitty@panys.org. Wednesday, September 1, 7:00 p.m. ROCHESTER. Downtown Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St. WHAT DRIVES MEXICANS TO RISK DEATH CROSSING THE BORDER? (And How the Exodus Has Led to the Feminization of Rural Mexico) Rochester Committee on Latin America’s September meeting. Come and hear Joseph Sorrentino, writer and producer of photo-documentaries of coffee farmers in southern Mexico. After writing about Mexican farm workers in western New York, in 2003 he traveled to Mexico to see conditions that were driving them into the US. He has returned there several times, collaborating with the campesino justice movement and documenting the lives of campesinos in six Mexican states. Joseph’s photographs have been exhibited extensively in the Rochester area and he has had two exhibits in Mexico. His photos will accompany his talk. DPC is wheelchair-accessible and looped for the hearing-impaired. Parking available in the City Hall parking lot across the street. Tuesday, September 14 BUFFALO. Betty's Restaurant, 370 Virginia Street. DINE OUT FOR UGANDA. A fundraising dinner by Global African Village. GAV will receive 10% of the proceeds from all dine-in meals eaten at Betty's that day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). We will also be holding a raffle for a beautiful framed photograph of an African elephant, which will be on display. More info: http://www.globalafricanvillage.org/. 
Saturday, September 25, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. WASSAIC. World Peace Sanctuary, 6 Benton Road. Directions (pdf) A CALL TO PEACE This annual event is held in the Sacred Grove under the canopy of century-old black walnut trees, surrounded by nature and other Sanctuary amenities. An invitation to friends and community members who feel a call to generate the positive and focused intentions of our Message and Prayer: "May Peace Prevail On Earth." A multitude of cultural blend! People from the surrounding areas and members from other countries attend year after year to experience this amazing event. More info: worldpeace.org/actp.html. Members of Peace Action New York are particularly invited. Please RSVP to info@worldpeace.org. Saturday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. BUFFALO. Room 100, Allen Hall, South Campus University at Buffalo SEPTEMBER MEETING, WESTERN NEW YORK PEACE CENTER The WNY Peace Center's Board of Directors has called the September meeting. All members are strongly encouraged to attend. Sunday, October 17, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. SYRACUSE. Pensabene's Casa Grande, 135 State Fair Blvd. 22nd ANNUAL PEACE AWARDS DINNER 
Speaker: JOHANTHAN SCHELL, Senior Fellow at The Nation Institute, Peace and Disarmament
Correspondent for The Nation magazine, Visiting Lecturer at Yale College, and author of 13 books,
including The Fate of the Earth
(1982), which received the Los Angeles Times book prize and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the
National Book Award, and the National Critics Award; The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and
the Will of the People (2003), which The NY Times called "the most impressive argument ever made that
there exists a viable and desirable alternative to a continued reliance on war". and The Seventh Decade:
The New Shape of the Nuclear Danger (2007), a "careful assembly of the available evidence [that] will
scare the pants off most readers." Peace Action of Central New York • 315-478-7442 • peaceactioncny.org Many local peace groups hold regular events, vigils, "Honk for Peace" actions, etc. See our list: www.panys.org/ongoing.htm Wednesday, August 25 - Sunday, August 29 PORTLAND, MAINE. By the Bay Holiday Inn, 88 Spring Street VETERANS FOR PEACE CONVENTION Join us for VFP's 25th Anniversary Convention! August 25-29, 2010 at the By the Bay Holiday Inn in Portland, ME. Lifting the Fog of War VFP 1985-2010 25 Years of Working for Peace DATE TBD FORT ERIE, CANADA (Just Over the Peace Bridge) MEET CANADIAN WAR RESISTERS The Buffalo Veterans For Peace and the War Resister Support Campaign are sponsoring an opportunity to meet with the War Resisters and the families who went to Canada. The details are being worked out, but it is essential that people have their passports (or enhanced licenses) so you can cross the border. Please stay tuned to more information! 
All SummerNEW MEXICO and other locations. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOMB's DISARMAMENT SUMMER. Think Outside the Bomb, the largest youth-led anti-nuclear network in the US, is organizing Disarmament Summer near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in partnership with the Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance, TEWA Women United, the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, Products of Atzlan youth group, and the Southwest Indigenous Uranium Forum. For further information please check out www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org, call (408) 676-TOTB (8682), or email Rebecca Riley, totbchicago@gmail.com or Lisa Putkey, lisaputkey@gmail.com. Going out of state? Check UFPJ's national Events Calendar: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php . |