Cambridge Stop the War Coalition are holding a public organising meeting on Afghanistan on Monday 7th September at 7.30 pm in the Friends Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane, Cambridge.

A couple of weeks ago anti-war campaigners in Cambridge and nationally held Naming of the Dead ceremonies to mark 200 UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan. That number is still increasing steadily, not to mention countless numbers of innocent Afghan civilian deaths. Only yesterday came reports of the devastating consequences of Nato missile strikes as tens of civilians were killed outside the village of Omar Kheil. 2009 has proved to be the bloodiest year so far. The British government finds itself in a situation where a purely military solution in Afghanistan looks increasingly impossible, with chief army staff arguing the need for a new strategy. But what is that strategy? How can the continued presence of foreign troops in that country ever bring about peace there, or indeed, in the Middle East region?

The meeting will outline what has been happening in Afghanistan, and our reasons for getting the troops out. In the second half, we will organise activities to build the local and national campaign to bring the troops home. Coming up in the next few months, we plan to hold a big public meeting on the subject, and we will be building for the next national demonstration on October 24th.

1. For more information contact: Douglas Griffith, email:  dag30@gen.cam.ac.uk, tel / text 07742 995311.

2. For more information on Stop the War Coalition visit website,  http://www.stopwar.org.uk/.