For every $720 million spent per day on the Iraq war, the U.S. could provide almost half a million children with health care or about 35,000 university students with four-year scholarships.
These and other cost comparisons will be presented on 3-by-7 foot banners at the third floor atrium of Baker University Center today through May 1 as part of the Cost of War Banner Project, said Rod Nippert, a member of People for Peace and Justice.
The project is comprised of ten banners, with the first in the series stating that the cost of the war per day is $720 million, Nippert said. Subsequent banners state other ways the money could have been spent.
People for Peace and Justice, a local organization formed after the Sept. 11 attacks, is bringing the banners to Athens because the banners compare the cost of the Iraq war to that of beneficial programs for local residents.
A lot of the comparisons are relevant to our area like Headstart
free lunch and health care. These are problems for poor people in Appalachia Nippert said.
The project is sponsored by the Northeast Ohio branch of the American Friends Service Committee, a national organization rooted in the Quaker belief in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice according to the group's Web site.
People for Peace and Justice donated $100 for the display and several copies of the banners are available nationwide,
said Nippert.
Pamphlets about the Iraq war are also available at the display, Nippert said.
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Natalie Knoth
