Afghanistan

"The person who's not currently a household name who I most wish was, is Andrew Bacevich." —Rachel Maddow

"The hard-earned insights of this veteran, analyst, insider, and parent will resonate with people across the political spectrum and offer a serious, riveting, and authentically personal critique of U.S. power."
—Amy Goodman, host and executive producer, Democracy Now!

Mayor Frank Cownie

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie spoke at an April 2009 rally celebrating the Iowa Supreme Court's decision in support of same-sex marriage. Mayor Cownie is also active with Mayors for Peace.

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE TO WEDNESDAY, JULY 28. At the last meeting of the Des Moines Area Ecumenical Peace Committee, it was voted to work with Kathleen McQuillen of AFSC on getting the Des Moines City Council to pass a resolution calling attention to  the hardship that military spending creates for meeting public needs. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie will meet with the Peace Committee to discuss developing a strategy for such a resolution.

The Eyes Wide Open exhibit, created by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), is a living memorial to the military personnel and civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan-- and a stark reminder of the human cost of war.
 
Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War first opened in Chicago's Federal Plaza with just over 500 pairs of boots in January 2004. Since its last display on Memorial Day weekend 2007 with over 3,400 pairs of boots the exhibition has been divided into state displays to travel to smaller cities and towns.

Waking from a dream as she slept comfortably in a remote Kurdish village in Northeastern Iran, Karla Hansen stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.  Across the border in Afghanistan, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), controlled by American pilots sitting in front of video screens inside the U.S. were dropping bombs on the poorest of Afghanistan’s poor.  Hundreds of children, beautiful children, like those who welcomed her every day during her visit to Iran, had already perished.