Vigil Marking the 4,000th US Soldier Killed in Iraq

Vigil Marking the 4,000th US Soldier Killed in Iraq

Nashville, TN: On Sunday, March 23rd the grim milestone of 4,000 US soldiers killed in Iraq was reached when four US soldiers were killed by an IED in Baghdad. In memory of this event I will be joining members of the Nashville Peace Coalition in front of the Federal Building on Monday, March 24th from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm to remember the all those killed in the war, including an estimated 89,000 Iraqis according to the website Iraq Body Count, although the truth is that no one knows exactly how many Iraqis have been killed and some estimates are as are as high as 600,000 to 1.1 million people.

I have participated in vigils to mark the milestone of every 1,000 US soldiers killed on three occasions since the start of the Iraqi occupation and have also helped to organize vigils and demonstrations to call for an end to the war in Iraq and a withdrawal of US armed forces. As a member of the Nashville Peace Coalition I recently participated in three events to mark the five year anniversary of the war in Iraq, including a protest on the visit of President Bush to Opryland on March 11th, a peace rally at Bicentennial Mall on March 15th and a street protest coordinated by Moveon.org on the actual anniversary of the start of the war on March 19th.

It is particularly sad that we have been so busy these past two weeks. I wish that our actions alone could bring an end to this war but it is going to take the concerted will of the Congress to reverse the terrible decision of the Bush administration to lead us to war. We must elect people who will speak out for peace and against war. As a candidate for federal office I support a federal level department of peace and nonviolence. I support a drastic reduction in the military budget and an immediate withdrawal of all US armed forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. It seems particularly sad that we have reached this milestone. I had hoped that it wouldn't come, but it has and I am going to be standing in front of the federal building to memorialize this occasion along with other concerned citizens of middle Tennessee.

I am proud to be a member of the Nashville Peace Coalition which has been working diligently for seven years to promote alternatives to violence, war and occupation. The peace coalition is made of representatives of Veterans for Peace, the Nashville Peace and Justice Center, Peace Roots Alliance as well as supporters of the Democratic party, the Green Party and members of various faith traditions all working together for peace. As a member of the Nashville Peace Coalition I will not be standing on the street on Monday to make a political statement. Instead I will be standing in vigil, remembering those who have been killed, both American and Iraqi and calling for congress to bring the troops home now.