[Peace] THURSDAY - Picket Against US Aggression

[Brooke Anderson]

Picket Against U.S. Aggression in Middle East
Thursday, April 18th, 12 noon
UI Alma Mater, Green and Wright St., Champaign


Why should you still be fighting against the U.S. position in Iraq?

Here are just a few reasons:

**In Iraq, the initial contracts for reconstruction are going to
designated US companies without any competition from other US firms, let
alone anyone internationally.**

The two year contract to fight oil fires - reportedly worth up to $7bn -
has gone to a unit of Halliburton which Dick Cheney, US vice president,
ran for five years until 2000.  This is bad economics because single bids
will not necessarily provide the best companies and if they did the excess
profits likely to be made are bound to be the subject of future
Congressional inquiries.  It is bad politics because it upsets not only
indigenous Iraqi companies which would have been at the core of Marshall's
thinking - but international competitors as well.  It is politically
myopic because US companies are strong enough to win most of the contracts
in open tendering rather than as hand-outs from a Bush administration with
which they have had embarrassingly close ties.

Reconstruction must be an international effort to be credible.

Adapted from: Rebuilding Iraq: A plan for debt, aid and reconstruction
-Leader
  Wednesday April 16, 2003
  The Guardian

*** The US shot and killed civilian protestors in Mosul, at first denying
these accusations and later admitting them.  Even though many say the war
is over, Iraqi civilians will still suffer under US occupation.***

*** Just two days after tax day, we need to remember that approximately
half of our hard earned tax dollars go to military expenditures.  The cost
of rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq which we just destroyed will add
billions to the already-high cost of war.  This money can be better spent
on promoting peace and domestic concerns such as education and
healthcare.***

*** We need to support the troops even after the military aggression ends
and after "pro-American" citizens forget about their troops!  As the
troops begin coming home, we need to realize that many service men and
women face adverse health effects from the first gulf-war and their needs
are not being meeted by the country for which they gambled with their
lives.  Veterans benefits and healthcare leaves much to be desired, and
the current troops in the Middle East will face similar battles to
veterans of other wars.***

*** We need to prevent any more pre-emptive wars of aggression in the
Middle East.***

The Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC) is holding the third
in a series of anti-war pickets tomorrow, Thursday, April 18th, at 12
noon.  Join people from the campus and community to not only denounce
continued fighting in Iraq, but also the mounting civilian casualties,
Bush's unfair continued occupation of Iraq, and the media's continued
refusal to fairly cover both sides of the war in Iraq.

For more information, please contact the PRC at prc at prairienet.org or
call(217) 352-8721.

The PRC is a program of the Illinois Disciples Foundation.
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Brooke Anderson
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main St., Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone = (217) 352-6533, x 17
Fax = (217) 352-9745
Email = brooke at shout.net
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