 Hello, I'm Terry Rockefeller from September 11th families for peaceful tomorrows when peaceful tomorrows organized in late 2001 we did so because we never wanted families anywhere to experience what we had as Family members of victims of the 9-11 attacks. We rejected the idea that a war on terrorism was possible while you can kill terrorist The violence of war only breeds further violence and The statistics on the extremely high number of civilian casualties in modern war left us grieving in advance of the first bombs falling We rejected war in Afghanistan We were outraged when the war on Iraq Was sold to a frightened and hurting American public as having anything to do with the terrorist acts that killed our loved ones Peaceful tomorrows members traveled to Iraq in 2003 Hoping that our voices would carry weight amidst the rising chorus of opposition to the war On that trip We met many many Iraqi citizens already devastated by years of conflict with the u.s. And Iran Who were nonetheless Optimistic that they could and would work from within their own society to reform and improve their lives. I Remember and it makes my heart break today a Conversation I had with a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Baghdad She said to me Right now there are not terrorists in Iraq Right now we have a problem Real a real problem with our youth who get a college education and then cannot find jobs We need to work to address that challenge But if war comes to Iraq, she said those same young people will be drawn into the conflict and Many of them will become terrorists. I Don't know what happened to that professor when I read about the murder of Hundreds of Iraqi professors during the war. I often thought of and feared for her Now is the time for an open transparent Truth Commission to investigate all the crimes of the US led war on Iraq Including our responsibility for fomenting and increasing terrorism throughout the world Members of peaceful tomorrows have been extraordinarily blessed to remain in touch with some people in Iraq and We have been able to deepen those connections with a group of amazing and inspiring Iraqi activists through the work of the Iraqi civil society solidarity initiative What Americans hear far too little about are the massive ongoing nonviolent protests in Baghdad and through out Iraq Led by set of citizens who are fed up with the corrupt sectarian government that the US installed The protesters demands are clear They need and want drastic reform of the political system and an end to the sectarian quotas That have stoked violence throughout their country they seek to rebuild and Have a system That gives all people Equal rights and duties The protesters are outraged by the levels of corruption that pervade the Iraqi state And they demand that their leaders denounce corruption and prosecute violators and Finally the protesters the protesters are calling for the provision of essential public services That will allow all Iraqis to live a decent life Those Iraqis who have been demonstrating week after week for well over a year include men and women and a strong and growing contingent of youth For activists in the US who want to support Iraqi activists in their efforts to undo The horrific damage and cost of our invasion and occupation Please learn more about the Iraqi civil society solidarity initiative and Consider joining us in January of 2017 at our annual meeting in Sulamnia Check out WWW Iraqi civil society org and thank you