Chicago, IL- In protest of Boeing's role in the war against Iraq, members of Voices in the Wilderness, Iraq Pledge of Resistance-Chicago, IL Peace Action and Chicago School of Americas Watch staged a sit-in at Boeing's World Headquarters on March 13. The protesters bolted themselves together in a "lock-down" in the lobby.

11 Protesters were arrested.

Boeing is the second largest Department of Defense weapons contractor. Boeing manufactures guidance systems for Tomahawk Cruise missiles, integration systems for nuclear weapons, AGM-130's, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (or JDAM, a conversion system to create "smart bombs") and Apache combat helicopters. Boeing's weapons have been used against civilians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, Columbia and Iraq.

Boeing moved its world headquarters to Chicago with $63 million in city and state subsidies; Chicago also pledged $1 million to retire the lease of the existing tenant in the space that Boeing occupies. This support of Boeing is inconsistent with the resolution the Chicago City Council passed in opposition to war against Iraq.

Lindsey Foreman of Voices in the Wilderness asks, "how can we - the city of Chicago - oppose this war when we host and financially support a company which profits from the killing of our sisters and brothers in Iraq?"

Since September 11, 2001, the company has laid off more than 30,000 employees while netting billions in profits from arms sales alone. 2002 saw a net increase in sales to the US Department of Defense - up $3.3 billion from 2001.