FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 17, 2008
CONTACT: ADELE KUBEIN (541-757-0323)

MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT – OREGON
Five Years and Counting
“Does Anyone Else But Military Families Care?”

Corvallis, OR – For members of MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT, March 19th marks an especially tragic event. It has been five full years since the United States began its illegal, immoral, and unjust invasion of Iraq. Nearly 4000 troops and perhaps over a million Iraqi children, women, and men have died in this war already. Continuing it for another year will mean the deaths of at least 350 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

MFSO-OR Spokesperson Adele Kubein said, “We are five years into a war that should never have happened, and we cannot wait until January 2009 to begin to see a change in this horrific situation.”

“Four thousand of the best young men and women this country has to offer have died as a result of this catastrophic blunder. So many tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed that we stopped counting. The only solution offered by our leaders to this carnage is more misery and bloodshed. When are we going to wake up and demand a change in course?” said MFSO member Steve Weiss, father whose Marine son has recently returned from Iraq.

MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAKS OUT-OREGON calls upon Congress to refuse to authorize funds for the continued operation of this war. We call upon the American people to insist Congress use its power of the purse to end the war and bring the troops home. We call upon all of us to ensure the 1.3 million American service men and women who have returned from Iraq receive the health care and other benefits they have earned.

Suzanne Brownlow, MFSO member, and mother of a soon-to-be stop-lossed war veteran, said, “The brunt and pain of this war seems to be falling only on the shoulders of us military families. It concerns us that the rest of Americans are no longer interested in ending this horrible war.”

MFSO member, and mother of four times deployed Army son, Kathy Kirsch suggested, “Americans don’t seem to be aware that we are still in Iraq. Maybe they wouldn’t notice if we left.”

Maggie Pondolfino, MFSO member and mother of Army son, said, “The majority of military families are against the war, but we represent only a tiny portion of the population. Every American who wants an end to the Iraq war needs to regularly and publicly voice their opposition.”

We are military families. We support our loved ones - we support our troops. We are speaking out to say: bring our troops home now, and take care of them when they get here, and never, ever again send them off to fight an unjust and unjustifiable war, a war based on lies.