Events

For all of you that can attend Please contact Dan Handleman, info below.

The debate and vote on House Joint Memorial 9, the resolution to bring the troops home, will be held this coming Tuesday, March 20, at 10 AM. This is very appropriate as the "Shock and Awe" bombs began dropping on Baghdad at midnight on March 20 in 2003.

If you are planning to drive down and can take passengers please email us,
if you are looking for a ride we will try to hook people up together.
Driving directions, etc, can be found on the state website at
http://www.oregon.gov (or I can re-send them if you'd like).

Be aware that there is no public input at the state legislature during
their voting process. We think it's important, though, to have a large
presence there and to the extent possible to contact your rep in person.
While you're down there consider talking to your state Senator, since the
next step assuming this passes the house will be a Senate work session,
debate and vote.

Don't forget about the Portland City Council resolution against war in
Iran being heard Wednesday at 10:15 AM.

Below is an editorial from KINK-FM in support of the state resolution.

This is an important time for our state to weigh in on ending the
occupation of Iraq!!

--dan h.
Peace and Justice Works
Iraq Affinity Group
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065 (Office)
iraq // at \\ pjw.info
http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html

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Posted: Friday, 02 March 2007 8:00AM

Oregon and Iraq

One more voice could only help. KINK Considers whether the Oregon
Legislature should take a stand on the Iraq war.

It's especially timely that the Oregon Legislature is considering speaking
out on the Iraq war with a pending resolution urging Congress to bring our
troops home. That's because more Oregon families got the news this week that
250 members of Oregon National Guard will be deployed to Iraq again, part of
the President's stay-the-course-plus plan that will add 27-thousand troops.
The Oregon resolution would call for stopping the escalation and beginning
the withdrawal.

The Iraq Study Commission report brilliantly articulated our central problem
in Iraq. It says U.S. forces can help provide stability for a time but they
cannot stop the violence--or even contain it--if there is no underlying
political agreement among Iraqis about the future of their country and the
need for reconciliation. But even at our highest levels of government there
is uncertainty about whether the Iraqi government even wants national
reconciliation.

Meanwhile our government is not supporting our troops that are in Iraq or on
their way there. The armed forces are short thousands of vehicles, armor
kits and other equipment and when wounded soldiers return they find support
sometimes brutally inadequate.

It's true that we opened a Pandora's Box in Iraq and helped unleash
centuries of hatred and we have had an obligation to Iraqis to make up for
our mistakes. But isn't four years, 32-hundred lives, more than 20-thousand
wounded, and 400 billion dollars enough of a commitment? We can't fully
withdraw because while Al-Qaeda had no presence in Iraq before the war, it
certainly does now and we should prevent parts of Iraq from turning into
major bases for terrorism. But we can begin a withdrawal process and we hope
the Oregon Legislature adds its voice to the growing chorus calling for that
withdrawal.

KINK Considers is a KINK-FM commentary that primarily takes stands on
emerging local or regional issues of importance and interest to the
community. KINK Considers airs at 5:10 AM, 10:45 AM, and 3:20PM on
Wednesdays and Fridays. It is written and produced by Jacob Lewin.