Fwd: 300th British soldier killed in Afghanistan

[Lambert, Emily]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Student Stop the War Coalition <stud...@stopwar.org.uk>

Date: 21 June 2010 16:56:01 GMT+01:00

To: "st...@lists.riseup.net" <st...@lists.riseup.net>

Subject: 300th British soldier killed in Afghanistan

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No.1161
21 June 2010
Email off...@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) 300TH BRITISH SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
2) BUDGET DAY STOP THE WAR/CND PROTEST AT PARLIAMENT
3) PUBLIC MEETING ON AFGHANISTAN AND TRIDENT
4) SUPPORTING THE ARMY IS A "SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY"
5) FREE TICKETS FOR ANTI-WAR MUSICAL HAIR
6) PADDY ASHDOWN & SEUMAS MILNE DEBATE AFGHANISTAN

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1) 300TH BRITISH SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN

Another tragic landmark has been passed with the 300th British soldier do be
killed in Afghanistan. They are now dying at a rate of one every two days in a
war which is clearly aimless and unwinnable.

The average age of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan is 22. Two hundred
soldiers have been killed in their twenties and 31 teenagers are among the
death toll. (SEE http://bit.ly/9vr3AE )

David Cameron says he wants the troops to return home from Afghanistan "with
heads held high". His present war policies means an increasing number will only
return in a coffin or with missing limbs.

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2) BUDGET DAY STOP THE WAR/CND PROTEST AT PARLIAMENT

Chancellor George Osborne has forewarned of a slash and burn attack on all
public services in his budget, with the exception of defence expenditure, which
will be "protected".

The Afghan War has cost £11 billion so far, and this year will waste another
£4 billion (SEE http://bit.ly/a33Fdj ). Trident renewal will cost an
astronomical £70 billion, more than the total amount the government wants to
cut from its budget deficit in the next five years.

It is the war budget that should be slashed, rather than public services. And
all the troops should be brought home to help end the spiral of violence in
Afghanistan. The United Nations reported recently that the presence of the
British army has only worsened security in the country (SEE
http://bit.ly/cx7cL9 ).

Join the budget day protest at Parliament, called by Stop the War and CND:

CUT THE WAR, SCRAP TRIDENT, BRING THE TROOPS HOME
TUESDAY 22 JUNE 4.30PM - 6.30PM
PARLIAMENT SQUARE, LONDON

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3) PUBLIC MEETING ON AFGHANISTAN AND TRIDENT

Stop the War and CND have organised a joint meeting in Parliament on Monday 28
June, at which Jeremy Corbyn MP, Paul Flynn MP and other MPS to be announced,
will speak on the government's war policies and commitment to renew the Trident
nuclear missile system. The meeting is open to all.

STOP THE WAR/CND PUBLIC MEETING IN PARLIAMENT
MONDAY 28 JUNE: 6.30PM
CUT THE WAR - SCRAP TRIDENT - BRING THE TROOPS HOME
THATCHER ROOM, PORTCULLIS HOUSE
BRIDGE STREET LONDON SW1A2LW ALL WELCOME.
With Jeremy Corbyn MP, Paul Flynn MP (other MPs to be announced), Lindsey
German, Andrew Murray, Kate Hudson and a member of Military Families Against
the War.

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4) SUPPORTING THE ARMY IS A "SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY"

Saturday has been designated armed forces day and David Cameron says we all
should express our "social responsibility", with "an explosion of red, white
and blue" in "appreciation of what our Armed Forces do" (SEE
http://bit.ly/b0sAXr ).

Stop the War has asked all its local groups across the country to express a
very different social responsibility this Saturday 26 June, with vigils naming
the Afghan and British dead, protests calling for the troops fighting an
unjustified war to be brought home, and with petitions calling for cuts to the
war budget instead of public services.

********************************
5) FREE TICKETS FOR ANTI-WAR MUSICAL HAIR

Stop the War has three pairs of tickets to give away for Hair, the legendary
60s musical playing to rave reviews in the London's West End. Although set in
the Vietnam War, the issues raised are equally applicable today to Iraq and
Afghanistan.

To win a pair of tickets you need to answer three questions in the Stop the War
"Hair" Competition. The three winners will be picked at random from all correct
entries.

For full details and how to enter the competition, SEE: http://bit.ly/9jz5Cw

********************************
6) PADDY ASHDOWN & SEUMAS MILNE DEBATE AFGHANISTAN

Lord Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats and now advisor to
David Cameron, debated the Afghanistan war with Guardian journalist Seumas
Milne, at a meeting organised by Yeovil and Sherborne Stop the War Coalition.

The motion for debate was, " Is Afghanistan the wrong war, at the wrong time,
for the wrong cause?

The video of the debate is now available on the Stop the War website and is
highly recommended as an excellent summary of the arguments for and against the
war in Afghanistan.

SEE THE DEBATE VIDEO HERE: http://bit.ly/bVaVWJ

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