Friends,
This Sunday, Oct. 7, marks the 11th year of the U.S. invasion and war of Afghanistan.
But that date was not even the beginning of war in Afghanistan -- over the past four decades, more than two million Afghans have been killed in war.
Join us this Sunday in a call for peace.
In October 2001, the United States launched "Operation Enduring Freedom" under the umbrella of a "war on terror" -- a project that is unfinished after 11 years and is the United States' longest war. The result is the loss of more than 2,000 U.S. soldiers and a financial burden jeopardizing the future of our country. Since that October 7th eleven years ago, the United States has spent $570 billion on war in Afghanistan, while at the same time we've endured budget cuts to healthcare, education, housing, and jobs.
Since the invasion began, Afghan civilians have paid a high price as well: tens of thousands have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have become internally displaced within Afghanistan or refugees in Iran and Pakistan.
 After 11 years, it's time for us to stand up and say, "There is no way to peace in Afghanistan -- peace is the way."
Join FOR and a coalition of peace communities on this eleventh anniversary of war to demand the end of violence and destruction. Together we will work to redirect our human and financial resources toward economic equality here and in Afghanistan.
FOR is particularly proud to join with the Afghan Peace Volunteers in their call for "Two Million Friends for Afghanistan." These young men and women in Afghanistan -- nonviolent peace activists in a country under siege -- have organized a petition to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for a ceasefire. Add your name to the ceasefire petition and become a friend of Afghanistan.
FOR member Judy Bello is blogging from Pakistan as part of a CODEPINK peace delegation that began yesterday in Islamabad and will travel to Waziristan this weekend.
 And this Sunday, join FOR, the United National Antiwar Committee, United for Peace and Justice and dozens of allied groups to call for an end to the war on Afghanistan. If you'd like to organize your own event but need more resources, we can help! Just reply to this email and let us know.
In peace and determination,
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Photos courtesy of Louisville FOR chapter (top), FOR-USA staff in Albany, New York (middle-left), and Olympia FOR chapter (bottom-right). |
