SOUTH VALLEY RESIDENTS JOIN GLOBAL CALL FOR IRAQ PULL-OUT

VISALIA, CA--Peaceful protest will return to the corner of Walnut and Mooney on the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Saturday, March 20 from noon to 4 p.m., South Valley
Peace Center members and supporters will rally for an end to
the U.S. occupation of Iraq at the northwest corner of
Mooney Boulevard and Walnut Avenue. They join demonstrators
in similar gatherings around the globe.

In the year since American forces entered Iraq, 553
U.S. service men and women have died along with an estimated
16,000 Iraqi soldiers and civilians. American wounded and
those suffering war-related illness number between 7,000 and
10,000.

No weapons of mass destruction have been discovered nor
are any likely to be; facilities to produce them apparently
no longer exist if they ever did. This fruitless search has
so far cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $105 billion and will
continue to cost an estimated $4 billion or more a month
while armed occupation lasts.

By comparison, $105 billion would...

* Pay the annual salaries of more than 1.4 million
teachers.

* Fund a year of Head Start care and instruction for
10.6 million children.

* Provide a year of health care for 32.2 million
children.

* Pay for 1.9 million four-year college scholarships.

* Allow construction of more than one million
affordable housing units.

Anyone interested in supporting this call for the
withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq is encouraged to join
this peaceful demonstration.

Information: http://www.svpc.info.