March & Rally on 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq

March & Rally on 8th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq
12 Noon, Saturday, March 19, Michigan Avenue & Congress Parkway
our own 'Freedom' Square! Short rally followed by a march on Michigan Avenue

• Funding for Jobs, Healthcare & Education, not for War and Occupation
• Iraq, Palestine, Egypt: US Out of the Middle East
• End FBI raids, political repression and corporate welfare at home

Why we march:

March 19th marks 8 years of US war and occupation in Iraq, where despite President Obama's claim that combat operations have 'ended', more than 50,000 troops remain, backed by tens of thousands of mercenary private contractors. 4,436 American soldiers and over 1 million Iraqis have died, with millions more maimed and displaced. This war has lasted longer than WW II and cost more than $1 Trillion – more than $200 Billion this year alone.

The US occupation of Afghanistan has extended into Pakistan, where last year alone the US military dropped more drone bombs than in the last decade combined. The US government continues to back and bankroll Israel's war against Palestinians and the siege of Gaza. While the US government claims to support 'democracy and freedom', it continues to back repressive regimes and right-wing movements across the Middle East, Latin American and beyond. The toppling of US backed Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has inspired millions the world over, exposing the great gulf between US rhetoric and reality.

Here at home, antiwar activists and whistleblower projects like Wikileaks are targeted for jail or worse. Muslims and immigrants are scapegoated. Undocumented immigrants face deportation and discrimination. Millions are unemployed and uninsured while the government is slashing funds for basic needs like heat and food for poor children. Funding for public education, environmental protection and job safety is being gutted. Workers rights are under attack, while the government continues to pour billions into the coffers of the banksters and corporate predators that created the current economic catastrophe. Our tax dollars are bankrolling a corporate welfare system that funds CEO salaries and war and occupation abroad at the expense of basic human needs right here at home.

We reject war and bloodshed. We demand jobs, healthcare, education, justice and equality -- and the real democracy that puts people before profits and human needs before corporate greed.

Join us on March 19 to demand an end to the US occupation of Iraq. March in solidarity with the great struggles raging from the Mideast to the Midwest and across the world for liberation and self-determination.

12 Noon, Saturday, March 19
Michigan Avenue & Congress Parkway
Short rally followed by a march on Michigan Avenue

Visit the Facebook event page and help spread the word!

Current endorsers are:
8th Day Center for Justice • Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice • American Muslims for Palestine • ANSWER Chicago • Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign • Chicago Area CodePINK • Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism • Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights (CCDBR) • Chicago Jobs With Justice • Chicago Vietnam Veterans Against the War • Chicago World Can't Wait • Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine • Committee Against Political Repression • El Techno Colibri, NFP • Families United For Justice In America (FUJA) • Fellowship of Reconciliation Chicago Chapter • Freedom Road Socialist Organization • Gay Liberation Network • Industrial Workers of the World–Chicago Branch • International Socialist Organization • International Solidarity Movement–Chicago • Jewish Voice for Peace–Chicago • Join the Impact Chicago (JTIC) • Justice for Shifa Supporting Committee • Justice Mission • La Voz de los de Abajo • Labor Beat/Labor Express • Moratorium and Deportation Project • Near West Citizens for Peace and Justice • News and Letters Committees • North Shore Coalition for Peace, Justice and the Environment • North Suburban Peace Initiative • Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project • Oak Park Coalition for Truth & Justice • Our Lady Of Guadalupe • Palestine Solidarity Group–Chicago • Party for Socialism and Liberation • Southsiders For Peace • Students for Justice in Palestine at School of the Art Institute • Third Unitarian Church • U.S. Boat to Gaza–Chicago Network • Unity Temple Social Mission Committee • Veterans for Peace–Chicago Chapter • West Suburban Faith-based PEACE Coalition

For information or to endorse, email CCAWR@aol.com