Coverage of Yesterday's Peace Rallies

Yesterday's peace rally in Washington DC brought active-duty military, military families and concerned citizens together to call for an end to the Iraq War, and real leadership on the issue from the U.S. Congress. According to organizers, hundreds of thousands of people rallied; major media put the number at tens of thousands. Here are some excerpts from news accounts of the event.

From the DC Indymedia site:

Another speaker at the event, Rabbi Michael Lerner, said that if Congress doesn't cut off the funds for the war, then they are acting as "enablers" of the Bush-Cheney administration. The Rev. Jesse Jackson said: "It was easy to admire the late Martin Luther King Jr., but it was hard to follow him... We need new leaders and new priorities... Bush ignored Katrina... We need more money and justice at home... Stop spending $8.5 billion a month on madness. End the war."

From the Washington Post:

Oriana Futrell, 21, of Spokane, Wash., came with a sign that said: "Bring my husband home now." She said her husband, Dan, an Army lieutenant, was in Baghdad. They were married in April. She said she was weary of attending military funerals. ... "I don't know what else to say, other than: 'Bring them home,'" she said. "It is time. We need to bring them home where they can be safe."

From The New York Times:

Tassi McKee, from Bastrop, La., who said she was a staff sergeant in the Air Force, was among a small contingent of about 20 active-duty service members who turned out. "I believe this has become a civil war, and we are being hurt and making matters worse by staying in the middle of it," Sergeant McKee said.

She said that it was not illegal for active-duty members to attend protests but that it was strongly discouraged.

Veterans were more numerous among the crowd. ...

Fernando Braga, a 24-year-old Bronx native who is a member of the Army National Guard, said that he was skeptical of the war before it started. Mr. Braga said his views hardened into opposition while he served in Iraq from March 2004 through January 2005.

"My own commander told us when we arrived that if we thought we were there for any reason other than oil then we had another think coming," he said. "I realized even commanding officers were against it but following orders."

Michael McPhearson, executive director of Veterans for Peace, said more than 100 veterans from the Iraq war participated in the march, and several hundred veterans from previous wars attended as well.

And the Isthmus' Daily Page has a good account of yesterday's Madison rally.

Jan 27: Protest the Wars! and Meeting Notice

The next Women for Peace meeting will be Monday, February 5, at 6:30 pm, at the Social Justice Center (1202 Williamson Street, at the corner of Willy and Few). Stay tuned to the events page of this website for the locations of upcoming meetings.

But before then is the national anti-war mobilization called for Saturday, January 27. The main protest is in Washington DC, and is intended to help members of Congress discover their backbone. The United for Peace & Justice website says:

IT IS TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT!

With support from MoveOn.org, True Majority, Working Assets, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Organization for Women and hundreds of other national and local groups, word about the Jan. 27th antiwar mobilization is reaching far and wide. Momentum is building and people from all walks of life and every corner of the country will be marching on Washington, DC, on Saturday, Jan. 27th.

Our message will be clear, our voice will be strong: End the war in Iraq, Bring all the troops home now! We urge you to join us!

On Mon., Jan. 29th, we will take our message directly to the new Congress during our lobby day.

Thanks to Sr. Virgine Lawinger of Milwaukee, WI protestors can meet with Senator Kohl's office at 1:30 pm and Feingold's office at 2:30 pm on Jan 29 to discuss the war on Iraq -- and hopefully also the war on Afghanistan. For more information on these meetings, and others being set up with Representatives' offices, contact the WI Network for Peace and Justice at www.wnpj.org or call 608-250-9240.

Buses from Madison to Washington are being coordinated by the Campus Anti-War Network; see revoltingstudents.com or stop by Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative (426 W Gilman St) to get tickets.

Lastly, if you can't go to Washington DC, join the local January 27 rally and march. It starts at the UW Library Mall at 12 noon, followed by speakers at 12:30 pm and a march up State St at 1:00 pm. See the Madison Area Peace Coalition website for more info.

But Will Congress Listen?

On Wednesday in Washington DC, peace activists interrupted a press conference by Rahm Emanuel, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus. After failing to regain control, the Dems cut short the event, and Cindy Sheehan took over the microphone. From Democracy Now!:

Cindy Sheehan: "Our leaders who get us into these messes are the ones who need to be held accountable. And if that happens then maybe my grandchildren won't have to be fighting in an illegal and immoral war."

Sheehan's other comments, from the New York Times:

She called for a greater role for the peace movement in the new Democratic majority, which she said is ignoring the people who put them in power. She called for an end to financing the war.

"And these are not requests," said Ms. Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq. "These are demands."

The Raw Story has the transcript of the aborted press conference, including the protesters' chants: "De-escalate, investigate, troops home now!"

Sheehan later told Amy Goodman:

We wanted the Democrats to know that we're not going away, that we are going to hold their feet to the fire as much as we did the Republicans, and that the most important item on an agenda for our country is to bring the troops home.

George Bush is going to set out a plan in a few days ... and we know that it's going to be a bad plan. Everything single thing he's done since the invasion -- well, and including the invasion -- have been disorder. ... It's been wrong for America. My son is dead because of it. And the Democrats should not be waiting for George Bush to articulate his plan, because they know it's going to be a bad plan, and they know it's probably going to include an escalation of troops.

The Democrats need to have a plan. They need to have the courage and the strength and the integrity to know that George Bush cannot fix this mess that he has gotten our country into. The Democratic congress is going to have to be the ones to fix the mess. ... They have to know that the peace movement is solidly behind them, almost three-quarters of the country are behind them, and that we need a higher minimum wage, we need universal healthcare, we need lower interest rates on college loans.

And that will help my family. Everybody in my family will benefit from the Democrats' social plan, but where are they coming up with the money? Our country is spending $10 million an hour in Iraq. We can't afford to borrow any more money from China. We can't afford it. My great-grandchildren will be paying this debt off.

Amen, sister.