IN CHICAGO, AFSC IS ORGANIZING AN EVENT TO COMMEMMORATE THE 2,000TH DEATH AT THE THE KLUCZYNSKI FEDERAL BUILDING (230 S. Dearborn St.). PLEASE VISIT AFSC.ORG TO SIGN UP.

Soon we’ll be reaching another horrific milestone in the war in Iraq – the death of the 2,000th U.S. service member. AFSC, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families for Peace are calling for people across the U.S. to stand up and say that the needless killing of U.S. troops and Iraqis must stop and that the resources funding this war are needed for other things.

Events to mark the 2,000th U.S. military casualty will range from candlelight vigils to public actions that illustrate the size of the death toll. On AFSC’s “No More Deaths, No More Dollars” campaign center at AFSC.org, you will find supporting materials and suggestions for designing an event that meets the needs of your community. We’re asking that you think along these two lines:

The Iraq War has already committed us to aiding a generation of veterans and their families and to rebuilding Iraq.

We need to meet these just obligations and stop the funding for further destruction so that our resources can be used to strengthen our communities and help those in need.


These are two types of actions we suggest:

1. Public actions at congressional offices, federal buildings and other appropriate spaces with 2,000 representations of the lives lost.

This could be 2,000 candles, 2,000 gold stars, or 2,000 placards with the name, rank, age and home state of each casualty with a photo of a pair of boots. We also ask that you find ways to recognize the tens of thousands Iraqi deaths. (Boot placards, star patterns, signs, and other materials are available at AFSC.org.)

2. Sign the call to Congress to end funding for the war and work with other organizers in your state to carry the message to your legislators in the month after the 2,000th reported casualty. (Further legislative information will be forthcoming.)


From AFSC:

The American Friends Service Committee believes that there is no military solution to the Iraq war. Continued fighting and occupation promises only further deaths and injuries, more widows and orphans, more separated families.

The U.S. is spending over $5.6 billion a month to fight this war—over $200 billion total to date. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the hard truths it brought home about who does and doesn’t have access to the American Dream tells us all how desperately these resources are needed in other areas.

The U.S. Constitution gives the Congress financial oversight. The time has come for our elected representatives to listen to the country’s pro-peace majority and end funding for this war.

The Iraq War has already committed us to aiding a generation of veterans and their families and to rebuilding Iraq. We need to meet these just obligations and stop the funding for further destruction so that our resources can be used to strengthen our communities and help those in need.

Working solutions for Iraq will be political solutions. Diplomacy and dialogue in close cooperation with the Iraqi government and broad sectors of Iraqi society are the way forward to peace and to rebuilding the U.S.’s strained relationship with the international community.

Working together, we will end this war.