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For Immediate Release
September, 26 2012, 08:20am EDT
Contact:
Leah Bolger LeahBolger@comcast.net 541-207-7761; Ann Wright microann@yahoo.com 808-741-1141; David Swanson,david@davidswanson.com 202-329-7847
Veterans For Peace Travel to Drone War in Pakistan
Seven Members of Veterans For Peace are part of a 40-member delegation organized by Code Pink and planning to be in Pakistan between September 28th and October 10th. VFP members Leah Bolger, Dave Dittemore, Bill Kelly, Jody Mackey, Rob Mulford, and Ann Wright will meet with drone victims' families, elected officials, tribal elders, and residents of South Waziristan, where U.S. drone strikes have killed thousands, while injuring and making refugees of many more. Code Pink's Medea Benjamin is an associate member of VFP.
WASHINGTON
Seven Members of Veterans For Peace are part of a 40-member delegation organized by Code Pink and planning to be in Pakistan between September 28th and October 10th. VFP members Leah Bolger, Dave Dittemore, Bill Kelly, Jody Mackey, Rob Mulford, and Ann Wright will meet with drone victims' families, elected officials, tribal elders, and residents of South Waziristan, where U.S. drone strikes have killed thousands, while injuring and making refugees of many more. Code Pink's Medea Benjamin is an associate member of VFP.
VFP President Leah Bolger said, "The use of combat drones is both immoral and illegal. They violate the sovereign airspace of countries that we have not declared war with, and have killed thousands of innocent civilians. Can you imagine how the American public would react if another country murdered our citizens with drones? The U.S. military favors the use of drones because they 'save American lives' -- when will we start thinking of the lives of others as being as valuable as our own?"
Participants are available for interviews by email and phone, and in-person prior to or after the trip.
Veterans For Peace was founded in 1985 and has approximately 5,000 members in 150 chapters located in every U.S. state and several countries. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the United Nations, and is the only national veterans' organization calling for the abolishment of war.
Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.
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