CODEPINK

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CODEPINK Counter-Recruitment Bake Sale at the US Army Career Center on Thursday

National “Not Your Soldier” Counter-Recruitment Day of Action in 30 Cities

LOS ANGELES-- Peace activists dressed as Bush administration officials will hold a fake bake sale for the war in Iraq, bringing to life the bumper sticker saying, "It will be a great day when our schools have all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”

WHEN: Thursday, November 17, 4 PM

WHERE: US Army Career Center, Sunset and La Brea, Los Angeles

VISUALS: Street theater with CODEPINK activists dressed as Bush administration officials selling cupcakes to raise funds for the Iraq war.

WHAT: While arguments over withdrawal timetables and manipulation of pre-war intelligence escalate in Washington DC, CODEPINK: Women for Peace activists in Los Angeles will protest the war by holding a fake bake sale outside the US Army Career Center at Sunset and La Brea at 4 PM on November 17. The street theater is part of a national “Not Your Soldier” day of action at recruiting centers and schools in 30 cities, from New Jersey to Texas to Nevada to North Carolina.

Some 2,080 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a fact that has made it more difficult for the US military to meet its goals for new recruits. The US Army missed its FY 2004 recruiting goal by 7,000 troops, and although its numbers were higher in October, recruiters from the Air National Guard and Navy Reserve were unable to meet their October goals.

According to the National Priorities Project, the US military recruited 3,723 people from Los Angeles County in FY 2004, the last year for which statistics are available. For details, see www.nationalpriorities.org.

Public schools in the US are ground zero for military recruiters. With military advertising, youth programs and frequent visits by military personnel, students are surrounded by pro-military propaganda. Due to the legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act, recruiters are guaranteed access to all secondary school students, so that students may be contacted at home.

The “Not Your Soldier” day of action (www.nyspc.net) on November 17 and a “National Stand Down Day” of non-violent civil disobedience on November 18 (www.iraqpledge.org) are part of the peace movement’s ongoing effort to educate young Americans about the reality of the Iraq war, where young American enlistees are being killed on a daily basis, and the armed forces are disregarding the terms of recruiting contracts to send soldiers back to Iraq on repeated tours of duty.

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