7/23: Minnesotans to Protest the Surge in Afghanistan

For immediate Release: July 22, 2009

Anti-war
protesters will gather to express their opposition to President Obama’s
surge of 21,000 troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, July 23rd at 5:30 pm
in front of May Day Books at 301 Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis.
Protestors will be bannering, chanting and handing out flyers to
encourage other Minnesotans to speak out against the war and occupation
in Afghanistan.

President Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan is to increase the amount
of U.S. military troops and military operations. However, this course
of action has also caused an increase in causalities. The surge has
led to what the media has called an extremely bloody summer and to July
being one of the most deadly months. 32 Americans have been killed in
Afghanistan this month alone. Three Minnesotans have died in
Afghanistan in since last weekend.

This week the U.S. military has confirmed that the death toll in
Iraq and Afghanistan has reached 5,000. Over 700 of those deaths were
in Afghanistan.

Meredith Aby, Anti-War Committee member,
explained the purpose of the protest, “Obama has dramatically increased
troops and is considering sending an additional 10,000 more. This war
is too costly and bloody to both the Afghan and American people. We
need to send Obama a clear message that we want the troops brought home
now.”

Katrina Plotz, a spokesperson for the Anti-War Committee said, “The
U.S. has no more right to invade Afghanistan than it does to attack
Iraq. The Afghan people deserve to determine the future of their
country themselves. The U.S. has no business spending billions to
occupy another nation when so many people are struggling to meet their
basic human needs at home.”

The protest is organized by the Anti-War Committee (antiwarcommittee.org), which is a local grassroots peace organization.

-30-