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Why is Oregon's National Guard Headed to Syria
10 Years into the US War?
Friday, September 27, 2024 5:00 PM
at the Weekly Friday Rally for Peace and Justice
Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway
please mask up and stay distanced for safety
The US bombed Syria in 2014 as it expanded its war against the Islamic State in Iraq. It has since set up as many as a dozen bases including one called "Mission Support Site Conoco," showing that America's presence is really about access to oil, not freedom or democracy.
The deployment of 230 Oregon Guard members to Iraq and Syria began in mid-August 2024 with the troops heading to Oklahoma for training before they land in those two countries. Like Syria, where there are currently about 900 US troops, the 2500 troops in Iraq are not specifically authorized by any act of Congress.
On August 22, 2024 eleven (later joined by another six) Oregon-based groups sent a letter to Governor Tina Kotek, asking her not to deploy National Guard troops to undeclared war zones, shortly after the news announced that guard members were on the way to Iraq and Syria.
The Friday Rally for Peace and Justice began on a weekly basis shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan. Portland Peaceful Response Coalition began to gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 5 PM every Friday and hosted until March, 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit. PJW's Iraq Affinity Group has hosted since that time. The event is coordinated by Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group. For more information, or if your group would like to cosponsor or endorse this event, contact Peace and Justice Works at 503-236-3065 or iraq@pjw.info.
Read more about the ongoing Troops Home Campaign.