The dismissal of all charges against us today is a victory for the tens of thousands of Chicagoans who have opposed the illegal and unjustified war in Iraq.

By dropping the charges, the state admitted that they did not want a jury hearing our case for nonviolent witness at the Federal Building on January 27 against an unjustified war.

The state dismissed our charges, but the U.S. government cannot dismiss the illegality of the war in Iraq. They cannot dismiss the fact that every justification for the war has been found to be false. No weapons of mass destruction have been found. No ties between Iraq and al Queda have been discovered. And no nuclear weapons capabilities existed.

The state can dismiss charges against us, but they cannot dismiss the fact that these acts of conscience are justified under international law as the right and responsibility of citizens to stop their government from undertaking aggressive first strike warfare.

The state dismissed our charges, but the U.S. government cannot dismiss the fact of 205 U.S. soldiers killed and hundreds seriously wounded, and the anguish, even now, of the families whose sons and daughters and spouses are in harm’s way.

The U.S, government cannot dismiss the thousands of Iraqi civilians and tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers killed by the war.

We are concerned by the City of Chicago’s pattern of arresting and jailing hundreds of protestors, only to later drop the charges. This intimidation chills dissent and stifles the constitutional rights of all Americans to freedom of speech and assembly.

In the weeks to come we will not drop our charges against the Bush Administration regarding the illegality of the Iraq War. We will be calling for an independent investigation of the actions of the Bush Administration. What did President Bush know and when did he know it?

We will be at the Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn at 4PM on Wednesday, July 23 to erect a memorial wall for all of the victims of the Iraq War and call upon our elected representatives to establish an independent commission of inquiry concerning the truth about the Bush Administration’s justifications for the war.

*The Circle of Life Group is composed people of faith including grandfathers, fathers, mothers, ministers, chaplains, social workers, students and people who have recently visited Iraq.

CONTACT: Michael McConnell, AFSC Regional Director
773/425-0834 ©