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Media Alert
Media Alert
LA CROSSE, WI ─ The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) will launch a Speak for
Peace Tour in Wisconsin that highlights the hidden side of the Iraq War, namely the displacement of
Iraqi citizens, the experiences of Iraqis and US soldiers exposed to continual violence, and the
prospects for a peaceful future in Iraq- told by those who have lived through it.
The tour will help lay the foundation for building reconciliation between the American and Iraqi
people. It will help people understand what happens during war both to military personnel and the
Iraqi people.
More than 4.5 million Iraqis have been displaced by the war and occupation; more than 2.5 million
have left the country seeking safety… (AFSC, Spring/Summer 2008). Additionally, studies by Nobel
Prize economist Joseph Stiglitz and Kennedy School of Government professor Linda Bilmes
conclude that the war is costing over $1 trillion dollars when costs of caring for wounded Iraq vets,
rebuilding the U.S. military and Iraq and increases in the budget of the Department of Defense are
factored in.
“Iraqis are demanding a complete withdrawal… they want the U.S. to continue a relationship with
Iraqis using other means besides military violence. There is no real conflict between Iraqis and U.S.
troops, they end up killing each other because they are placed into that situation by other means.”
said Raed Jarrar, guest speaker and Iraqi political analyst, currently working as the Iraq consultant
for the AFSC.