March to Remember Lost Iraqi Lives

Monday, March 19 marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. To remember the cost of this war, and to give the people of the Seattle metropolitan area a chance to take a few steps for peace, Peace Action of Washington will walk 655,000 steps — more than 230 miles – for five days, beginning Thursday, March 15 and ending Monday, March 19.
"We held a vigil to mark the 3,000th American death in this war," said Fred Miller, president of Peace Action of Washington. "Now we're remembering the Iraqis, because every life lost is a tragedy, every death a waste."
The most recent, credible study of deaths due to the war in Iraq showed that roughly 655,000 Iraqis had been killed as of July 2006.
The walk begins at noon on Thursday, March 15 in downtown Seattle and will wind through most of the neighborhoods in King County. Relays of people will walk 24 hours a day, ending at 3 p.m., Monday, March 19 at a coalition-sponsored rally and march to Seattle City Hall, where a large gathering of people will urge the Council to pass a resolution against the war.
Everyone is invited to walk for a mile or a day, or to drop by to talk about how America can increase our security by decreasing our militarism, and how you can connect with the neighborhood peace group in your community.
"With 655,000 Steps for Peace, we hope to dramatize the human costs of this war," Miller said. "This war has already cost Washington State residents $8.6 billion. That money could have been spent on education, health care and other priorities to make our lives safer and more fulfilling. Instead it has decimated countless families. America needs a foreign policy based on justice, respect for human rights and global cooperation."