DAVID POTORTI
Potorti is the primary author of the new book September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning Our Grief into Action for Peace. His brother was killed in the World Trade Center. He said today: “With the worst kind of cynicism, George W. Bush continues the hallucinatory link of Iraq to the deaths of our loved ones on Sept. 11…. Calling the invasion of Iraq ‘one of the swiftest and most humane military campaigns in history’ is not just a lie, but a damned lie. Between 6,000 and 10,000 civilians have been killed — two to three times the number who died on 9/11. To deny the reality of these deaths is not only dishonest to the innocent people of Iraq, but to the Americans in whose name we are waging the ‘war on terror.'” This week about 25 members of the Peaceful Tomorrows organization, including Potorti, are in New York City, where they will participate in a series of events.
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RITA LASAR
Also a member of Peaceful Tomorrows, Lasar lost her brother at the World Trade Center. She is available for a limited number of interviews. She said today: “Bush says he’s doing this to avenge the victims of 9/11 and to make us safer. But with the course he is taking us on, children are not yet born who will be fighting over this. This isn’t about keeping us safe, but because he wants to keep himself and his cronies rich.”
NANCY LESSIN, CANDANCE ROBISON
Members of Military Families Speak Out, both Lessin and Robison are in Washington, D.C., and will speak at a congressional briefing Tuesday afternoon. With several other military families, they watched Bush’s speech last night together.
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WILLIAM HARTUNG
FRIDA BERRIGAN
Hartung is director of the World Policy Institute’s Arms Trade Resource Center; Berrigan is senior researcher with the group. They said today: “Former White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsay was ridiculed for estimating a year ago that the invasion would end up costing $200 billion. It now looks like it will exceed that. Contrary to the impression given by Bush, the bulk of the $87 billion will go to military-related activities, much of which will profit companies close to his administration.”
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NORMAN SOLOMON
Executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, Solomon is co-author of Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You. He wrote in an essay published on Sunday by the San Francisco Chronicle: “In a cauldron of media alchemy, the human suffering of Sept. 11 became propaganda gold. Sorrow turned into political capital.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020,; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
