I am here to express my opposition to the illegal invasion of Iraq and to oppose any attack on Iran. We see the same terrifying progression of events with Iran that we saw with Iraq--a wildly exaggerated picture of Iran as a threat to peace, sanctions, demands and deadlines. The next step, already planned, is the invasion of a country which has not threatened the United States and does not have and will not soon have the nuclear weapons capability the administration claims justifies an invasion.

The tragic result of our invasion of Iraq and its bungled aftermath is seen in the newspapers every day--more and more U.S. and Iraqi lives torn apart by violence. The war has cost over $315 billion dollars, resulting in over 2,600 U.S. soldiers dead and 20 to 40,000 U.S. wounded, over 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead.

We are involved in a "War on Terrorism" which has no end, and we have given fuel to the fires which breed terrorists by our violence and unwillingness to see reality.

Worse than this, terrible as it all is, the administration has lost its moral compass. We invaded a country which did not threaten us! We have 14,000 "detainees" in Guantanamo and other prisons--prisoners who, the administration claims, may be held for years without being charged. Although we claim not to torture, the evidence of Abu Ghraib and other prisons is clear. We do torture, and the administration claims the right to do so--by redefining "torture." Right now Bush is trying to have laws passed to legitimize military tribunals denying the accused the right to know what evidence is being presented against him.

I never thought to see the day when the United States would invade a country without just cause, when torture would be justified as necessary and proper, when the United States would ignore the Geneva Conventions.

I have to take a stand against all this. I want my country back-- the United States which did not invade other countries, the United States where people were innocent until tried and found guilty, the United States ruled by law, the United States standing tall as the moral leader of the world.

Coalition for Peace
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