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Military Families, Veterans Demand End to Occupation of Iraq, Immediate Return of All U.S. Troops to Home Duty Stations

8/7/03 3:53:00 PM

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: Ryan Fletch, 202-232-8997; Nancy Lessin, 617-320-5301; http://www.bringthemhomenow.org

News Advisory:

Galvanized to action by George W. Bush's inane and reckless "Bring 'em on" challenge to armed Iraqi's resisting occupation, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and other organizations based in the military community will launch Bring Them Home Now, a campaign aimed at ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq and returning troops to their home bases at a press conference on August 13 in Washington, D.C.

U.S. military casualties from the occupation of Iraq have been more than twice the number most Americans have been led to believe because of an extraordinarily high number of accidents, suicides and other non-combat deaths in the ranks that have gone largely unreported in the media. The other underreported cost of the war for US soldiers is the number of American wounded-827, officially, since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. (Unofficial figures are in the thousands.) About half have been injured since Bush's triumphant claim on board the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln at the beginning of May that major combat was over.

The mission of the Bring them Home Now campaign is to unite the voices of military families, veterans, and GIs themselves to demanding: an end to the occupation of Iraq and other misguided military adventures and an immediate return of all US troops to their home duty stations. On August 13 in Washington, D.C., Veterans and Military Families will raise concerns about current conditions in Iraq that their loved ones and other troops are facing such as the lack of planning and support troops are receiving, as well as questions about the justifications used to send troops to Iraq in the first place.

WHO:

-- Military Families and Veterans (See list of speakers below)

WHAT:

-- Press Conference to launch the Bring Them Home Now Campaign

WHEN:

-- Wednesday August 13, 2003 10 a.m.

WHERE:

-- National Press Club, West Room (529 14th Street NW Washington, D.C.)

Speakers Include:

Moderators: Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson, co-founders, Military Families Speak Out, an organization of families opposed to the U.S. invasion and now occupation of Iraq who all have loved ones in the military. Their son Joe is a Marine who was deployed in August 2002 and who returned from Iraq on Memorial Day 2003.

Susan Schuman, from Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, is the mother of Justin C. Schuman, a sergeant in the Massachusetts National Guard. Justin was deployed to Iraq from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on March 29, 2003, and is stationed in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

Michael T. McPhearson, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina was a field artillery officer of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. His military career includes 6 years of reserve service and 5 years active duty service. Now living in Bloomfield, N.J. and a member of Veterans For Peace, Michael works as an activist and facilitator to help bring about social and economic justice. He is the father of an eighteen-year-old son who is planning to join the Army in September.

Fernando Suarez del Solar, of Escondido, Calif., is the father of Marine Lance Cpl Jesus Suarez, one of the first U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq (March 27, 2003). Suarez is seeking the truth behind why his son and others were sent to their deaths in Iraq.

Stan Goff, of Raleigh, N.C., began a military carrier in the U.S. Army in 1970 and retired as a Special Forces Master Sergeant in 1996. He served in Ranger, Airborne and Special Forces counter-terrorist units, in eight conflict areas. He has become an astute commentator on military matters and an outspoken critic of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. His son Jessie serves in the U.S. Army and has just been deployed to Iraq.

Other military family members and veterans will be present and available for questions.

Bring Them Home Now -- http://www.bringthemhomenow.org

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