Why we say “end the occupation and bring the troops home NOW!”

•The U.S. presence in Iraq is the cause of, not the solution to, the destabilization of that country.

•The occupation of Iraq is immoral and illegal, and is making life unbearable for ordinary Iraqis. An overwhelming majority of Iraqi people want the U.S. to leave now.

•The death toll on both sides keeps mounting. More than 2,500 Americans and 100,000 Iraqis have been killed, and untold thousands more wounded. Hundreds of thousands have been traumatized by the chronic violence and insecurity.

•Continuing the occupation can only lead to more bloodshed, increased insecurity, and little hope for Iraqis to be able to reassert control over their lives and their government.

•U.S. actions inflame decisions and the potential for civil war. Only when the U.S. leaves can an independent government, free of external control, be able to open the door to discussion and reconciliation between groups.

•The millions of dollars spent each day on the war and occupation should be spent on the reconstruction of Iraq and reparations to the Iraqi people.

•The war and occupation have turned more and more people against the U.S., isolating us from other countries and peoples of the world, and thereby making our own lives less secure.

FFI: Twin Cities Peace Campaign-Focus on Iraq at 612-522-1861 or WAMM at 612-827-5364 (www.worldwidewamm.org).