[IMC-DC] Vigil For a Moral Foreign Policy May 23rd Groton, CT Submarine Base

[Scott Harris]

Please join us for a 24-hour vigil at the Groton Submarine Base
starting 7PM, Tuesday May 23rd.

In this coming week, as we prepare for Memorial Day, we are asked to
think seriously about those values which our nation proclaims and
those values by which we live.  We stand together in sorrow and
outrage as we reflect on the past several years during which time our
country's leaders have sent American troops into war without
justification, seemingly unperturbed by overwhelming Iraqi civilian
casualties or the irrevocable damage inflicted on US military
personnel whose trust in their own country's leadership has been
inexcusably

violated.

We stand together recognizing:

As people living in the United States, we are outraged

... That a minimum of 35161 Iraqi civilians has been killed in the war
in Iraq.

... That 2677 coalition troops have been killed in Iraq to date, and
17869 Americans wounded.

... $368 billion has already been spent on the wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and around the world, with another $65 billion requested
for the rest of this year.

... That the pentagon is forcing mentally ill soldiers into combat.

The war in Iraq and related presidential acts violated not only
international law, violated the Constitution of the republic, and
violated the bond of trust between Americans and our government; it
violated basic moral principles. US foreign policy urgently needs to
change to reflect real American values: human life is inherently
valuable and war is a means of last resort.

Please gather with us for a day of reflection, mourning and outrage.
We do not demonstrate in opposition to the soldiers, sailors and
military families. We recognize the profound sacrifice that they are
making for us and for our country. We are appalled that the current
government would so casually mislead these young men and women,
sending them forth to fight and die in an unnecessary and immoral war.

We also understand the tremendous dependency of the Eastern
Connecticut region on the functioning of the Submarine Base at Groton.
We are voicing our fundamental horror at the decisions that have been
made by the current administration, while expressing our support for
those young men and women who have entered into military service, by
choice or by economic necessity.

Assemble on the corner of Route 12 and Crystal Lake Road, Groton, Rain
or Shine.

Join us at 7PM for the opening of the vigil and stay as long as you
like. If you would like a ride from New Haven, please call
203-231-0035.

--------------------------------

Sources:

Military spending:
1998,1998,FFFEhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5827250,00.html

Mentally ill soldiers in combat:
1998,1998,FFFEhttp://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/13/military.suicides.ap/

Coalition Casualty Count:
1998,1998,FFFEhttp://icasualties.org/oif/

Iraq Body Count:
1998,1998,FFFEhttp://www.iraqbodycount.org/


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