aloha kakou,I went to his "Raed Jarrar " Event on the 25th @1pm -3:30pm the AFSC's house up in Manoa and took the Video.We had a good talk Later Comparing Hawaii & IRAQ , BOTH ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED & RULED by a so called PEACEMAKER.PLEASE REPOST and SHARE THIS GUY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT!,The U.S. Role in IraqCan an occupier become a peacemaker?http://afsc.org/iraq/speaking-events/The_US_Role.htm
The U.S. Role in Iraq
Can an occupier become a peacemaker?
May 18 - May 31, 2008 Speaking Tour visiting Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and California
Speaking VenuesPortland, OR Mon., May 19, 7PM Vancouver, WA Tue., May 20, 7PM Honolulu, HI Fri., May 23, 7PM Hilo, HI Mon., May 26, 6PM Kauai, HI Details TBA. Los Angeles, CA Thurs., May 29, 7:30P Public event at California State University, Los Angeles with Sonali Kolhatkar (Emcee), Ann Wright |
Raed Jarrar, who was asked by House Foreign Relations Subcommittee to coordinate a visit of Iraqi Parliamentarians to testify before Congress in June, will travel to cities across the West Coast to discuss the initiative. He will also discuss current war funding bills before Congress, the ongoing insurgent conflict, and a vision of what a constructive U.S. involvement would look like.
Background:
The U.S. strategy in Iraq is not working. Five years of occupation has led to the largest forced displacement in the Middle East since 1948 and an estimated 1 million Iraqi dead. More than 4,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed, and the US Government has spent one trillion dollars. The result has been little security and no stability for the Iraqi people.
Inside Iraq, the deterioration of basic services, including the collapse of the health care system, lack of electricity and potable water, and personal and economic insecurity make daily life for Iraqis nearly impossible. Eight million Iraqis are in need of emergency assistance, and more than one in six Iraqis have been forced from their homes. In neighboring countries absorbing refugees, infrastructure is sorely inadequate, and the economic and political strain is increasing. The chaos and violence in Iraq threaten to destabilize the whole region.
A new vision is emerging based on the complete removal of US troops and bases, Iraqi political reconciliation and regional negotiations. It is what the majority in Iraqi's Parliament and a majority of Iraqis want. The peace plan would require U.S. assistance to Syria and Jordan, which are hosting approximately 2 million Iraqi refugees, and dialogue with Iran, an important actor in Iraq.
About Raed Jarrar
Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to AFSC's Iraq Program currently based in Washington, D.C. After the U.S.-led invasion, Jarrar became the country director for CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey group in post-war Iraq. He then established Emaar, (meaning "reconstruction" in Arabic), a grassroots organization that provided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs). Emaar delivered medicine and food as well as helped initiate micro-enterprise projects for IDPs. Additionally, Emaar engaged in political advocacy on behalf of displaced populations.
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About Raed Jarrar
Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to AFSC's Iraq Program currently based in Washington, D.C. After the U.S.-led invasion, Jarrar became the country director for CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey group in post-war Iraq.
He then established Emaar, (meaning "reconstruction" in Arabic), a grassroots organization that provided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs). Emaar delivered medicine and food as well as helped initiate micro-enterprise projects for IDPs. Additionally, Emaar engaged in political advocacy on behalf of displaced populations.
Selected Media Coverage:
Getting Iraq to Pay More Is Not the Answer
Foreign Policy in Focus, May 2008
"Congress should stop blaming the Iraqi government for our economic woes. As our economy sputters to a halt and Congress is set to spend an additional $160 billion on the war, U.S. lawmakers are openly criticizing the Iraqi government for not paying the bills."
Read more >- Iraq: What mission?
On NPR, May 2008
"It's been more than five years since President George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. "Because of you," he told sailors, "Iraq is free. America is grateful for a job well done." Five years later, it's open for debate what the job is, was, or should be. Today we ask, what mission can, or should the United States aim to accomplish in Iraq? We check in with unembedded journalists and Iraqi advocates."
Read/listen >
- Where Is Raed Now?
From Mother Jones, May 2008
"In 1998, 20-year-old Raed Jarrar watched from the roof of his family's home in Baghdad as American Tomahawk cruise missiles struck government buildings close by, blowing out the windows and sending him scrambling for cover. Five years later, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition planes targeted the same buildings, as well as the nearby airport and Saddam Hussein's palace, killing and wounding dozens of people from Jarrar's middle-class neighborhood. "
Read the story >
- Petraeus Expected to Urge Troop Strength Freeze
On NPR, April 2008
"The situation in Iraq will be front and center on Capitol Hill Tuesday as Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, begin two days of testimony. Petraeus is widely expected to recommend a temporary freeze in U.S. troop reductions."
Read/listen >
- The battle for Iraq is about oil
and democracy, not religion!
From AlterNet, Sept. 2007
This week, we'll be buried under a crush of analysis about an Iraq that's being ravaged by a religious civil war -- an incomprehensible war between "militants" of various stripes and "the Iraqi people." But Americans will be poorly served by the media's singular focus on Iraq's "sectarian violence." It obscures the fact that sectarian fighting is a symptom -- a street-level manifestation -- of a massive political conflict over what kind of country Iraq will be, who will rule it and who will control its enormous oil wealth.
Read more >
- On the Iraqi Oil law (CBC)
Watch the story on CBC >
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