FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19, 2000

              CONTACT:
              Erik Gustafson (202) 543-6176
              Keith Boylan (415) 252-4787 x318
              Fredy Champaign (707) 943-1874

              A delegation of a dozen American veterans returned home today after spending
              11 days in Iraq. They met with Iraqi veterans of the Iran-Iraq war and the
              1991 Gulf War. The delegation was part of the Iraq Water Project, a
              humanitarian effort to rebuild four water treatment facilities, restoring
              clean water for 65,000 - 70,000 Iraqi residents living in the Abul Khasib
              valley, south of Basra. The project is sponsored by Veterans for Peace
              (VfP), dedicated to reconciliation and abolishing war as an instrument of
              international policy, and Life for Relief and Development (LIFE), the
              largest U.S.-based relief organization working in Iraq.

              According to UNICEF, malnutrition and waterborne diseases claim the lives of
              thousands of children every month in Iraq. In Basra, the veterans worked
              side by side with Iraqi engineers and laborers on Labbani, the first of the
              four water facilities they hope to repair over the next six months. Erik
              Gustafson, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Education
              for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) noted: "While the Clinton Administration and
              Saddam Hussein's government continue to blame each other for the crisis, we
              are here to work toward concrete solutions. It's not about blame, it's
              about a humanitarian imperative to serve civilians caught in the crossfire."

              On Tuesday, October 10, while at the work site, the delegation witnessed the
              over-flight of a jetfighter. According to the Iraqi News Agency, American
              planes attacked targets in the North and South that day. On Thursday, Oct.
              12, Iraqi authorities reported 24 people were killed near Basra.

              While in Baghdad, the delegation stayed at the Al-Monsour Hotel alongside
              delegations from Turkey and Sudan, which both arrived by plane defying what
              U.S. officials consider a ban on air travel to Iraq. On Saturday, a
              hijacked Saudi Arabian airliner landed in Baghdad.

              The delegation included two Gulf War veterans, Keith Boylan and Erik
              Gustafson. Boylan said: "I came to see if I left a part of myself in the
              desert but rather then finding something I lost, I found I had something of
              myself to give back." Boylan provided artillery support with the 2nd Armored
              Calvary Regiment in Southern Iraq, one of the units to cut off the Iraqi
              retreat in an effort to destroy equipment. In Basra, during the delegation,
              he came face to face with General Ahmad Ibraheem Hammash, who was the core
              commander of the armored division Boylan's unit went up against.
              Surprisingly he was able to joke with Keith: "Please just don't do it
              again." The delegation met with the general at length. Erik Gustafson
              served with the 864th Engineer Battallion, which built POW camps, hospitals,
              roads and provided other key logistical support during the war. Both Boylan
              and Gustafson served under 7th Corps.

              The Iraq Water Project is led by Fredy Champagne, a VfP Board Member and
              Vietnam veteran. He is also founder of the Veterans Vietnam Restoration
              Project, a program that offers American veterans the opportunity to return
              to Vietnam to provide humanitarian service.

              Keith Boylan currently works as the Gulf War Veteran Outreach Coordinator
              with Swords to Plowshares, a veterans rights organization based in San
              Francisco. He and Fredy Champagne are scheduled to arrive at 2:05 pm on
              Thursday, at San Francisco International Airport aboard KLM flight #605.
              Erik Gustafson is scheduled to arrive at 2:10 pm on Friday at
              Washington-Dulles International Airport aboard KLM flight #6037.

              The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC), a Washington-based Gulf War
              veterans advocacy group, strongly endorses the participation of Gulf War
              veterans in the Iraq Water Project, recognizing the trip as an important
              step toward reconciliation and healing. Keith Boylan, who also serves on
              NGWRC's Board of Directors, also hopes such efforts might encourage other
              kinds of collaboration, most notably between American and Iraqi doctors and
              researchers studying Gulf War illnesses. "What Iraqi doctors and the World
              Health Organization learn in Iraq can help American doctors develop better
              treatments and possible cures for sick American veterans, as well as
              civilian populations living in contaminated areas. Our journey is not only
              about reconciliation, it is about healing - both physical and emotional," he
              said.

              [END]