Anti-war protest at Senator Klobuchar’s office June 17

BY ED FELIEN

On Thursday, June 17, at 4:30 pm about 25 anti-war activists gathered outside Senator Klobuchar’s office on Washington Avenue in South Minneapolis to protest her support for the escalation of war in Afghanistan.

The Anti-War Committee in its press statement said: “Since the deployment of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan last December, civilian casualties there have increased dramatically. Rhetoric from the Obama administration expresses concern for civilian deaths, but the violence continues.

Last month, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry reported that civilian casualties jumped by 33 percent in a recent month-long period. Afghan officials reported 173 civilian deaths from March 21 through April 21 of this year and stated that ‘an increasing number are at the hands of U. S. and foreign forces.’ Despite widespread opposition from the people of Afghanistan, the U. S. has considered a large-scale military offensive in Kandahar, a city of half a million people.”

Katrina Plotz of the Anti-War Committee said, “The presence of U. S. troops is an unjust foreign occupation that is actually causing, rather than solving, problems of violence, displacement and poverty in Afghanistan. The Afghan people deserve the right to determine the future of their country for themselves. The U. S. has no business attacking Kandahar or continuing to occupy Afghanistan any longer.”

Ray Camper, a member of the Iraq Veterans Against the War and The Anti-War Committee spoke at the rally. He said, “Senator Klobuchar, first and foremost, I must say that I have been following your career from the very beginning and am proud of the work that you are doing on behalf of the welfare and safety of Minnesotans.

“I was also proud of the fact that you expressed concerns about the legality and justifications regarding the invasion of Iraq.

“I am, however, saddened by the fact that you are supporting the latest offensives in Afghanistan.

“The latest proposed offensive into Kandahar will have the same consequences as previous offensives: more civilian deaths, more U. S. military deaths and yet another recruiting tool for those who care little about human life—be it the lives of Americans or their own countrymen.

“As a veteran, I am using my voice for those who cannot. I am speaking not just on behalf of myself but also for all those who have seen enough war, enough death and enough of our human and monetary capital being diverted from where it is needed most.

“Bring our men and women home and provide them with jobs.

“Keep our money here and provide schools and an education for our children.
“Let’s build houses and communities here, instead of tearing down and destroying them abroad.”