End the War in Afghanistan NOW!

Emergency demonstration
Thursday, March 15 at 5pm
Powell and Market Streets, San Francisco

We encourage all of our members and supporters to join us for this important emergency rally on Thursday, March 15 at 5pm at Powell and Market to call for an immediate end to the Afghanistan war. The following is a press statement sent by the ANSWER Coalition in response to the recent massacre of civilians in Afghanistan.

Also, a teach-in on U.S.-led war crimes and regime change featuring former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and many other speakers will be held in San Francisco on Sunday, March 25. The latest U.S. atrocity in Afghanistan makes this an important and timely event. See below for details and information on purchasing tickets online.

Press statement by Richard Becker, Western Region Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition

The March 11 cold-blooded murder of at least 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. Army soldier is the latest in a decade-long history of atrocities carried out by the NATO occupiers. It will be remembered as the tipping point in a criminal war that grows more criminal with each passing month.

The “apologies” by President Obama and U.S. commanding General John Allen are nothing by brazen hypocrisy and will ring hollow in the ears of the Afghan people. Occupying armies, unable to distinguish insurgent fighters from the population as a whole, inevitably propagate a racist ideology among their troops. This officially promoted racism and contempt toward the occupied people is what produces atrocity after atrocity, and insult after insult.

The only way these horrors will end is by ending the war. We join with the people of Afghanistan and the anti-war movement around the world in demanding the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO occupying forces. The ANSWER Coalition organized protests on the first day of the U.S. war on Afghanistan in 2001 and has been working to end the war for the past decade.

Teach-In on the 9th Anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq
War Crimes and Regime Change in the Middle East

Sunday, March 25, 1pm
First Unitarian Church
1187 Franklin St. at Geary, SF

Buy your ticket online now for guaranteed seating for the special price of $10.
Limited seating will be available at the event.

This teach-in will address the myth of the U.S. “victory” and the real costs of the Iraq War. March 2012 marks the 9th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. After a devastating war, most U.S. troops are out of Iraq but Washington’s quest for domination of the oil-rich and strategic Middle East and Central Asia continues. Join us for presentations by a panel of activists and experts who have first-hand knowledge of the real situation in the Middle East. A discussion period will follow.

Featured speakers:

• Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General; author of “The Fire This Time” (first U.S. Gulf War); has traveled extensively to Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, & other countries in region.
• Mike Prysner, Iraq War vet and co-founder of March Forward, an organization of anti-war vets and active-duty service members
• Dr. Henry Clark, Executive Director, West County Toxics Coalition
• Nazila Bargshady, Iranian American activist, member, Teachers for Public Education
• Dr. Jess Ghannam, Al-Awda Palestine Right of Return Coalition, UCSF Global Health Service
• Gloria La Riva, Award-winning filmmaker, “Genocide by Sanctions” (Iraq)
• Richard Becker, Author, "Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire"

Buy your ticket online now for guaranteed seating for the special price of $10.
Limited seating will be available at the event.

$5-20 donation (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Wheelchair accessible. Lunch available for a nominal fee. Coffee, tea, refreshments complimentary.

Sponsored by ANSWER Coalition and the Unitarian Universalists for Peace - SF. Call 415-821-6545 for more info.

Make a donation to support the ongoing work of the ANSWER Coalition.