Des Moines: Conference on 9/11 to Assess Global Security on Third Anniversary of War on Terrorism
The public is welcome

A unique educational event will take place in Des Moines on September 11.

The conference, “National Security and the New Arms Race: Impact on our Health, Environment and Humanity” will explore critical questions about achieving collective and individual health and security in an increasingly unstable and violent world. George E. Moose, United States Ambassador, will be the keynote speaker. A panel of physicians and nuclear weapons experts will discuss the escalating unhealthy costs of the new nuclear arms race to health, the environment and the economy.

The conference will open with an interfaith memorial to all who have suffered or died as a result of the attack on 9/11 – both in the U.S. and abroad. At the conclusion of the memorial, conference participants will consider whether on the eve of the 4th year of this war, the world is more secure or less than it was before 9/11. Conference participants, including health care, religious and academic leaders, students and peace and justice activists, will be encouraged to explore ways to work together to abolish the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

“We hope the conference will motivate a diverse group of concerned Iowans to seek alternative responses to terrorism. Investing in diplomacy, communicating ideas and sharing common values with alienated and persecuted peoples and nations, and addressing the root causes of terrorism will help us reclaim our role as peacekeepers and conflict mediators,” according to The Rev. Paul Fraser of Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, one of the conference’s co-sponsors. The conference will present Physicians for Social Responsibility’s SMART Security Platform: a Sensible, Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism. This platform has been affirmed by a diverse group of religious leaders in Iowa.

Sponsors include the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and Physicians for Social Responsibility in cooperation with Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, Drake Center for Global Citizenship, American Friends Service Committee and Iowa United Nations Association.

The conference will be held on September 11 in the Des Moines Botanical Center, and will open at 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 4:30 p.m.  Conference registration is $35.00 for general public and $20.00 for students.

To register, contact mickiq@earthlink.net or visit www.iowa-psr.org. Walk-ins will also be welcome on the day of the event.

On the eve of the Conference, Friday, September 10 at 8 p.m., Ambassador Moose will address “The US Role in Globalization: Present and Future” at the Drake University’s Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center on 25th and Carpenter in Des Moines.

A brochure is available to download at http://www.iowachurches.org/