wfn.org | QUAKER ORGANIZATION DELIVERS OVER 40,

["Jenny Shields" <JShields@afsc.org>]

Across the United States Petitioners Confirm "War is the Wrong Path"

Contact: Janis D. Shields, Director Media and Public Relations
(215)	241-7060 AFTER HOURS: (302) 545-6596

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 20 - Hand delivery of petitions by Philadelphia's
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to key senators was
temporarily disrupted by the evacuation of the Capitol when a plane
strayed into D.C.'s restricted airspace.  The Service Committee was in
Washington delivering more than 40,000 signatures urging an end to the
Iraq war.

Across the United States, people concerned about this country's military
involvement in Iraq signed AFSC petitions affirming that "war is the
wrong path."  It was the Service Committee's second delivery of the
peace petitions in Washington, bringing the total to 50,000 who have
signed the call to bring the troops home. AFSC has called for a complete
withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

"I was particularly struck by the conversations we overheard as a river
of staffers and senators flowed out of the Senate Office Building,"
states Peter Lems, head of the AFSC Iraq program that sponsored the
petition drive. He observes:

"Rumors that a plane was on the way towards Washington were interrupted
by a construction worker who said, 'You just gave $80 billion dollars to
bomb Iraq, what do you expect?'"

"We can only hope that some of those who were evacuated will come to
realize that terror from the air and living in fear will never bring
lasting peace," Lems commented.

While in Washington, the Service Committee, a peace organization founded
in 1917, hoped to convey to Senate offices its determination to continue
to oppose more war funding and demonstrate growing support for a
diplomatic - rather than military - solution to the conflict.  The visit
coincided with U.S. Senate approval of the Supplemental Appropriations
Bill (HR 1268), which provides continued funding for the Iraq war.

Many signed the petition during visits to AFSC's traveling exhibition,
Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War in Iraq, which has traveled across
the United States.  Over 1,600 pairs of combat boots, representing U.S.
military who have died, provide a solemn reminder of the human cost of
war.

Explaining AFSC's complete troop withdrawal position, Mary Ellen McNish,
general secretary of the organization, said that "AFSC has long
condemned violence, as well as this particular war, and has advocated
peaceful measures, diplomacy and conflict prevention as alternatives to
war.  There are no military solutions to the Iraq war, only diplomatic
solutions."

The petition effort is part of the American Friends Service Committee
Wage Peace Campaign.  More than 50,000 people across the country are now
wearing blue Wage Peace bracelets. Approximately 120,000 have viewed its
two-minute on-line movie.

Details on the petition drive and the Wage Peace Campaign can be found
at www.afsc.org.

# # #

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice,
peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the
worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome
violence and injustice.