12/17: Anti-War Protesters Say No to War & War Taxes at Rep. McCollum’s Office

News Alert – For Immediate Release:  Wednesday, 12/16/09
Anti-War Protesters Say No to War & War Taxes at Rep. McCollum’s Office

Anti-war activists will gather this Thursday at the office of Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) to voice their opposition to the politician’s pro-war stance.

McCollum announced support for President Obama’s decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and called for a 1% tax increase to pay for this effort. She is a co-sponsor of the “Share the Sacrifice Act of 2010,” which would impose a 1% added income tax. She claimed, “Shared sacrifice means not only committing to fight a war but also committing to pay for it.”

The Anti-War Committee called for the protest to be held:

Thursday, December 17, 2009 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm
Rep. Betty McCollum’s Office, 165 Western Ave North Suite 17, Saint Paul

Jess Sundin , Anti-War Committee member, explains, “The war has already cost American taxpayers $232 billion. The US spends $100 million a day on military operations in Afghanistan, and every additional soldier will add $1 million a year. Rep. McCollum has proposed that we pay for it.  Too many Afghans and Americans have already died in this conflict. Gen. McChrystal’s strategy has made 2009 the deadliest year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with a soldier dying every 14 hours. At the same time, civilian casualties are at the highest levels since the aerial bombings at the start of the war. Expanding the military operations with 34,000 new troops will send these numbers through the roof. We need to stop the bloodshed and demand an end to the US occupation of Afghanistan.”

Misty Rowan, Anti-War Committee member, added, “We need to step up and stop our elected officials from the continuation of what is first, a human rights crisis and second, a failed foreign policy. We encourage St. Paulites to tell Betty McCollum that the cost of this war is already far too great and that the only reasonable course of action is immediate withdrawl.”

For more information contact the Anti-War Committee at 612-379-3899 or antiwarcommittee.org

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