Sacramento Area Physicians Join Veterans Day Protest Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release

November 10, 2004

CONTACTS: Bill Durston, MD 916.202.0567
Harry Wang, MD 916.733.5077
Linda Copeland, MD  916.614.4802


Sacramento Area Physicians Protest Ongoing War in Iraq, Reflect on Original
Meaning of "Veteran's Day"

SACRAMENTO, CA – Members of the Sacramento Chapter of Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR/Sacramento) will be joining members of Veterans for Peace
and other local peace activist groups in a protest tomorrow from 11 AM to 1 PM
outside of the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) at 380 Rosin Court in
Sacramento. "MEPS" is where young men and women who are contemplating entering
military service go for physical fitness testing, and where many end up signing
contracts with the Armed Forces before they go home.

Sacramento Pediatrician and PSR member Dr. Linda Copeland states, "We want to
give these young men and women one more time to consider the consequences before
joining the military, particularly in times like these, when we are involved in
an unjust and unnecessary war in Iraq."

PSR/Sacramento has been a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq since well before
the U.S. led invasion began in March of 2003. Its members foresaw the heavy
civilian and military casualties and the destruction of the civilian
infrastructure which the war has brought.

PSR/Sacramento Vice President, Dr. Harry Wang, notes, "The recent election
doesn't change the facts about the war in Iraq. There was no link between Iraq
and September 11, and there were no weapons of mass destruction." Citing a
recently published article in the prestigious British medical journal, Lancet,
Wang continues, "It is estimated that nearly 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died
as a result of this war, including many women and children, and the carnage
continues."

PSR also predicted before the war began that an attack on Iraq would increase,
rather than decrease, the future risks of terrorist attacks against America and
its allies. Today, many foreign policy analysts agree that the U.S. presence in
Iraq has increased hatred toward America in the region, and Iraq itself has
become a terrorist haven.

Sacramento PSR President, Dr. Bill Durston, who is a combat veteran of Vietnam,
points out the symbolism of the Veteran's Day protest. "November 11 was
originally called Armistice Day, in honor of the armistice signed on this day in
1918, effectively ending World War I. This day was celebrated around the world
as a day of world peace. It's ironic that in 2004, many of us are going to be
spending this day protesting a war that our own country started."