Peaceful Nonviolent Protest of Ahmed Chalabi in DC

Peaceful Nonviolent Protest of Ahmed Chalabi in Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2005

DISHONORING THE DEAD AT THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

Group Hosts Major Misleader of American People on Iraq

WASHINGTON, DC -- A broad coalition of organizations opposed to the war in Iraq will be demonstrating from 2PM to 4PM on Wednesday, November 9th against the appearance of Ahmed Chalabi at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

As an Iraqi exile before the war, Chalabi was one of the principal sources of intelligence about Iraq and its alleged weapons of mass destruction for neoconservatives and journalists (especially Judith Miller of the New York Times). But Chalabi's own record is highly questionable, including a sentence in absentia by a Jordanian court to 22 years in prison for bank fraud, and accusations that he has been acting as a double agent for the Iranian government.

"We know now that President Bush relied on Ahmed Chalabi in putting together the web of lies that this president used to take us to war," said David Swanson, Co-Founder of After Downing Street. "The American Enterprise Institute, which says in its mission statement that it is 'dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of freedom,' should be ashamed of hosting a man whose lies have done so much to weaken those foundations."

"We're here today at AEI to remind the American people that President Bush backed Ahmed Chalabi for puppet leader in Iraq. We should not in fact be seeking to impose any leader on a sovereign people," said Gael Murphy, Co-Founder of CODE PINK. "The blood of more than 2,000 dead Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis cries out against working with this architect of deceit and death. In a country truly dedicated to justice and freedom, our leaders should be arresting Ahmed Chalabi, not feasting with him."

WHAT: Peaceful Nonviolent Protest of Ahmed Chalabi in Washington, D.C.

WHERE: Outside the American Enterprise Institute, where Chalabi will be speaking on "An Insider's View: Democratic Politics at Work in Iraq." 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. ( Farragut North).

WHEN: 2-4 pm ET, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005

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