Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org
Rebecca Rotzler, Peace Action Committee Co-chair, 845-255-3122, rebelrot@yahoo.com
Greens press for immediate withdrawal and call
for political action to remove pro-war politicians; Wisconsin Greens
campaign for state referendum to return U.S. troops.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Parties across the U.S.
are marking the announcement that 2,000 members of the U.S. Armed
Forces have been killed in Iraq, with vigils, protest rallies against
the continued occupation, and other events.
"We're remembering the 2,000 dead American
troops, thousands more injured, and also the tens of thousands of
Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the U.S. invasion and
occupation," said Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of
the United States, co-chair of the party's Peace Action Committee, and
Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York. "'Occupation' has become a
euphemism for continued war."
Greens noted that the number of estimated civilian
Iraqi casualties -- uncounted by the U.S. Department of Defense --
ranges from 24,000 to more than 100,000, and that U.S. military deaths
which occur outside a war zone from injuries sustained within a war
zone are not counted within the Defense Department's 2,000 figure.
Green Party leaders emphasized the need for
concerted political action to follow up on the September 24 protests
in Washington, D.C. and other cities against the war.
"Unless Americans appalled by the direction
of our country take steps to remove the Bush Administration and the
Republicans and Democrats who supported the war, the September 24
demos will have limited effect," said Steve Kramer, co-chair of
the Green Party.
In Wisconsin, Greens have initiated a ballot
referendum which, if approved by voters in an April 2006 election,
will authorize the state to demand the complete and immediate
withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The Green Party called for the impeachment of
President Bush in July, 2003, citing the numerous deceptions and
violations of U.S. constitutional and international law behind the
invasion. The party has also strongly criticized Democrats and
Republicans who surrendered Congress's constitutionally mandated power
to declare war to President Bush, and has condemned the requests from
some Democratic leaders to increase troop numbers, especially Sen.
Hillary Clinton's (N.Y.) call for 80,000 more troops.
In calling for a White House order to begin the
withdrawal of U.S. troops immediately, the Green Party has rejected
the position of Democrats who ask for a plan to withdraw troops by the
end of 2006.
"Every day the occupation is prolonged, more
American troops and Iraqi civilians will be killed and maimed, we're
no closer to stability in Iraq, and are possibly nearer to a civil war
there," said Jody Grage Haug, Green Party co-chair and GPAX
member. "The thousands of dead soldiers and civilians,
nonexistent WMDs, forged evidence of an Iraqi nuclear threat
(highlighted by the Plame scandal), torture in Abu Ghraib, and
realization that a radical political ideology has motivated a massive
abuse of power have resulted in majority opposition to the war,
according to recent polls."
"On this sad day, we also remember the
servicemembers who are still risking their lives in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and we remember the families who have lost loved ones and
who fear news of a lost loved one. And we thank people like Cindy
Sheehan and all the veterans, families of fallen soldiers, and
organizations supporting them for calling America back to
sanity," added Marc Sanson, party co-chair.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/
Wisconsin Green Party: Referendum on Troop Withdrawal
http://www.wisconsingreenparty.org/iraqreferendum
American Friends Service Committee: Wage Peace Campaign
http://www.afsc.org/2000/
Gold Star Families For Peace
http://www.GSFP.org
Iraq Veterans Against the War
http://www.ivaw.net/
Military Families Speak Out
http://www.mfso.org