The Demands of the Demonstration

[michelle]

Patriotic Dissent
By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Speech

Saturday 24 September 2005

Ahhhh, I love the smell of Patriotic Dissent in the afternoon!

As we stand here on the grounds of a monument that is dedicated to the Father of our Country, George Washington, we are reminded that he was well known for the apocryphal stories of never being able to tell a lie. I find it so ironic that there is another man here named George who stays in this town between vacations, and he seems to never be able to tell the truth. It is tragic for us that our bookend presidents named George have two completely different relationships with honesty.

I also find it ironic and heartbreaking that my son, Casey, who was a brave person, tall and proud, who loved his country and was honest beyond measure, could be sent to his death by someone who is even too cowardly to meet with a broken-hearted mom, let alone go and fight in the illegal and immoral war of his generation. We are losing our best and our brightest in a country that we are destroying, that was no threat to the United States of America. Iraq was and still is no danger to our safety and security, or to our way of life. The weapons of mass destruction and mass deception reside in this town: they are the neocons who pull the strings and the members of Congress who have loosened the purse strings with reckless abandon and have practically given George and company a blank check to run our country into monetary and moral bankruptcy. We are out here in force today to take our country back and restore true democracy and sanity to our political process. The time is now, and we are here because we love our country, and we won't let the reckless maniacs destroy her any further.

We, as a young colony of Great Britain, broke from another tyrant, King George the Third. Well, I wish our George the Third were here today to see us out here in force protesting against his war and against his murderous policies. George is not here, though, because he is out galavanting around the country somewhere pretending that he cares about the people who are in the path of hurricane Rita. We know that he cares nothing for the people of America: Katrina, Iraq, and his idiotic response to 9/11 are evidence of that. He is just out and about play-acting like a President whose country is in crisis, just like he pretends to be a Commander in Chief and a Cowboy (I wonder if before he took off to Texas or Colorado or wherever he went, he watched a movie like Independence Day to see how that other fake president acted?). The reason he is out today is that his handlers told him that he got a little flak for playing golf and eating birthday cake with Senator McCain while some of his employers were hanging off rooftops and treetops in New Orleans. He swaggers around arrogantly like he is a macho dictatorial tyrant who doesn't have to answer to his employers, the people of the United States of America. Those days are over George, we are here today to tell you that we are a majority and we will never rest until you bring our young people home from the Middle East, and until you start putting money into rebuilding OUR communities: the ones natural disasters destroy with your help, and the ones which your callous and racist war economy are decimating. We won't allow you to take anymore money out of social programs to finance Halliburton to rebuild the Gulf States: there is no money. Our bank account is empty. George, this is our rainy day and you have failed us miserably. Stop pouring money into the pockets of the war profiteers and into building permanent bases in Iraq ... It is time to bring our billions of dollars home from Iraq too!!!

One thing the Camp Casey movement that hunkered down in Crawford, Texas, this past August taught us is that we the people of America have the power and we can and should name our national policy and make sure it is carried out. I constantly get asked if we are making a difference and if we think (like we're naïve boobs) that we will actually stop the war. Well, looking back at how Vietnam was ended and looking back in the history of our country, most notably in the suffragette, union, and civil rights movements, we the people are the only ones who have been able to transform history and affect true and lasting change here in America: so to those people who question if we are making a difference: I tell them to go back to school and read their history books!! And another thing these questioners overlook is that WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!! And we are here to tell the media, Congress, and this criminal and criminally negligent administration: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY!!!

We in the peace movement need to agree on one thing: yes we need an exit plan, but it is not a strategy, it is a command. The command should be: have all of our military personnel and paid killer mercenaries out of Iraq within 6 months, and the generals carry out the command. Simple, it's not brain surgery, and I think it is so easy even George Bush can sign the order. We can't give the homicidal maniacs any wiggle room or long-term strategy sessions. For one thing, when our leaders strategize, we are put in even more jeopardy - they have proven that they are not too bright or even a little compassionate. But the most important thing is that people die every day in Iraq for absolutely no reason and for lies. We have to say NOW because the people on the other side are saying NEVER. We can't compromise, we can't say please, and we can't retreat. If we do, our country is doomed. We have to honor the sacrifices of our loved ones by completing the mission of peace and justice. It is time. Bring our troops home, NOW!

www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092405Y.shtml

[Anwaar]

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SAT anti war PROTEST..20 BLOCKS LONG AND 250,000 IN THE STREETS !...on cspan right now !

[james]

That's Great Power to the people Amen.

[jay paulson]

anti war demonstration, 24th sept==

Well, it took place, no deaths or traumatic incidents (although 13 via rail trains from NYC were stalled up for hours because of "electrical problems," causing March to be held up for a while: waiting for demonstrators to arrive.

So, 100 000 0r 300 000 marchers, take your pick. Not bad for sleepwalking America.

Too late to join the party if you don't have the training, but UFPJ and associated groups will have mass Nonviolent demonstration events in Washington, DC, Monday 26 September.
Ho hum, says sleepy America, looking for the sports pages.

[james]

"Ho hum, says sleepy America, looking for the sports pages."
Sad but true Jay. It never fails to sicken me to the point
of agony to see humanity so indifferent to one another's suffering.

Anwaar said it best in his article
The United Vegetative States of America
malakandsky.blogspot.com/2005/04/united-vegetative-states-of-america.html

Where is the free American media and their kind hearted patrons when their G.I. Joes are pumping up Iraq with depleted uranium, napalm bombs, cluster munitions and poisonous gases even as these lines are being written? Is death less camera-friendly in Iraq or is it less worthy of the Americans' attention? Are Iraqis children of a lesser god?

Is it the Media's fault? Media is a business and the bottom line is. What sells?

Or is it the complete apathy of the general public?

[michelle]

Some reports from my activist friends who were in Washington for the demonstration:

My day in Washington, September 24, 2005


Once again I went to Washington to protest the war in Iraq. The Washington Post said:
“Demonstration is largest in Capital since U.S. Military invaded Iraq.” and it was. C-
Span estimated the crowd at 500.000, I told someone while I was there that we were
probably 600.000. I will settle with C-Span but you my friends from Philadelphia who
were not there do not believe the Philadelphia Inquirer. Their number? Ten of
thousands. They need glasses.
On Saturday morning, I took the Peace movement bus from West Chester. With us
was a war veteran who was going to protest for the very first time.
Later, I found out that quite a few veterans were also doing their first protest. People
of all ages coming from all over the country, many children and parents pushing
babies in strollers, some carrying them in their arms.

I met two women who came as far as Alaska. WOW! And just for the day!
I met two long time war resisters from New York: who
on Tuesday (the 26th) will do acts of disobedience by dropping leaflets on the
Pentagon propriety and will -or try to- speak to workers on the consequences of wars.
We may hear about them as they probably will be arrested.
I met old time friends, a few clients from work and to my great surprise the man from
whom I buy fish in my home town. I am always amazed to see so many people I know
in large groups when I never meet someone in my own local movie theater. Perhaps
we do not have the same taste in movies but it is reassuring that we share the same
political opinions.

At Camp Casey I spoke with Carlos Arredondo who lost his son in Iraq. I could not hold
my tears as he spoke about his 20 years old whose picture was on the ground and as
he gave me the last letter he received from him. He was Lance Corporal Arredondo.
The link below will let you know what happened when Carlos heard of his son's death:

www.aztlan.net/father_burns_self.htm

For this March, I joined one of my groups: The Code Pink, a peace and social justice
women movement. Those women are full energy, fun and know how to move the
crowd with their creative chants and know how to attract attention with their pink and
often very funny outfits. Dressed in pink myself, I wore a bandanna on which I wrote:
BUSH LIES.
But my camera was calling me and wanted to capture the day, see the people with
whom I worked in preparation of Cindy Sheehan bus tour in Philadelphia, and as much
as It could absorb of all.
Below is the link that will take you to my day in a visual form.
If I have to compare the tone of this march with the one we did in protest of the 2004
Elections is that the despair and sadness I felt in me and in the protesters then, have
turned into a profound anger. Personally, I feel that we should protest every week and
each city until our troops come home, and continue to do so until we get an answer
about WHY we went to Iraq and since we know that Bush will continue to lie, we
should continue to protest and demand accountability.
www.sauvessanges.com/ENDTHEWAR1.html



Well, we were privileged to go to the March on Washington on Saturday!! It was a huge undertaking for every town and city in our country. We saw some of what it took for Pittsburgh to go. We were fortunate to be on the bus where the coordinator for all the buses rode. It was no small effort just for that part. He was also the captain of our bus. There were 17 buses from Pittsburgh as well as the surrounding area that went - pretty darn good turnout, wouldn't you say? Good for you Pittsburgh!! You probably all have seen on ANSWER Coalition and t r u t h o u t that this was the largest demonstration since the beginning of the war in Iraq in Washington, D.C. alone. We were under the impression that there were well over 1/2 million people down there but the-two-above alternative news websites said about 300,000. Seemed like more than that in the thick of it all.



I took part in the March for Peace in Washington this past saturday. It was PACKED in DC, the media in its generous moments estimated the crowd at 300,000 (according to AP), but I think it just HAD to be more. The "mainstream" media serves as the arbiter of conventional wisdom, what people SHOULD think about issues, what a "rational citizen" believes. But thanks to services like this one, we don't have to depend on it.
It was a grand and glorious sight, Social Democrats working along side of Trotskyites, plus the Code Pink ladies livened things up with their chant, "Condi, Condi, Condi Rice, your policy sucks but your shoes look nice!" And they say leftists have no sense of humor.
The quetion remains, do the wizards in Washington get the message? I fear that they don't since the main presidentian contenders for the Democrats, Kerry, Clinton, and Biden-of the "opposition" party-say we must increase the troop levels in Iraq. This shows we must repair our-what I call- our "one and a half party" system.

[michelle]

Civil Resistance at the White House!!!!!!!!!!!

Throughout our history the government has encouraged impotency among its citizens. The Bush administration has taken this to new highs. They have bet on the ordinary citizen's incapacity to act.

At times I found it hard not to fall into this type of thinking. We used every legal means available to get their attention. And still, the administration and Congress ignored us.

But TODAY, what a thrill, the smell of civil disobedience was in the air! I haven't felt such pride since I was a kid and my Aunt Judy told me our family was listed with the FBI because we belonged to a peace group.

Cindy Sheehan and possibly 300 or more were arrested today. Touche' to these courageous Americans. What brilliance! What a rush!!!!
Anybody see this today?

Civil Resistance at the White House
By David Swanson
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/3119

I got to the White House around noon and found hundreds of people gathered awaiting the arrival of marchers who planned to get themselves arrested protesting the war.

I ran into Mike Ferner of Veterans for Peace, who showed me the paperwork from his arrest early this morning at the Pentagon. He said he'd been one of 41 people arrested between 6:30 and nearly 7:30 a.m. at the Pentagon. Three Veterans for Peace members had joined others from the War Resisters League. They'd shut down an entrance and the Pentagon Metro stop. They were swiftly booked and released, charged with "disobeying a lawful order" and given court dates in federal district court in Alexandria in January.

For a while people milled around in the street and the park in front of the White House. Around 12:30 or so, members of Code Pink stretched a giant banner out along Pennslvania Avenue, reading "Mothers Say No to War." As they did so, the media swarmed and filmed every movement. Code Pink members sang a number of songs, including "The Day the Music Died," but with lyrics something like this:

Bye bye, Mr. President, bye
You didn't fix the levee
Now the water's too high
You started a war based on a lie
You don't care if poor people die…

Another went:
We are Code Pink and we are proud
We are sisters and we are loud
We are many and we'll be more
And we'll end this bloody war

A SWAT team truck was parked on one side of the park. Large numbers of police were lined up in front of the White House fence. Guards inside the fence on the White House grounds carried large sticks, and one led a dog on a long leash.

When the group of civil resisters arrived, organized by United for Peace and Justice, they gathered in one side of the park to prepare. Representatives of military families and veterans groups, and of Clergy and Laity Concerned made brief remarks. Bill Mitchell spoke, who lost his son in Iraq. There was a brief reading from the Koran, some remarks in Hebrew by a Rabbi, and a Christian minister who said "When we go over there, remember that that's not the power. They have the violence, but we have the power. Who do they represent? We represent 60 percent of the country."

An organizer advised people to participate only if they were ready to risk arrest and trained in nonviolence. A woman in the crowd next to me asked another "Will you risk arrest?" "Yes." "Good, we'll be together."

Around 1 p.m. a delegation of leaders walked to the gate of the White House to request a meeting with Bush. Cindy Sheehan, Cornel West, and Rev. Sekou were among the leaders, with Sekou shouting at the media to get out of the way. A wall of TV cameras walking backwards slowed the walk and blocked it for a while from reaching the White House.

A crowd gathered, as the delegation made its fruitless request. There were thousands on hand at this point. The chant was "Liar! Liar! Say it a little louder!"

That and "Media, Step Back!"

The crowd also sang "Give Peace a Chance."

With the delegation at the gate for about 10 minutes, a loud chant of "The Whole World is Watching" caught on.

There was also "Ain't no power like the power of the people, and the power of the people is now!"

At about 1:10, the delegation of potential arrestees moved east along the fence of the White House to the area directly in front of the building. The crowd chanted "Stop the War!" Many more wanting to be arrested moved in behind – clearly there would be hundreds of arrests. Still, the media probably out-numbered the non-media.

At 1:14 Sekou started a chorus of "This Little Light of Mine."

At 1:15, everybody not holding a camera or a gun sat down on the sidewalk.

At 1:16, the police ordered the media to move off the sidewalk and into the street, and warned everyone else they would be arrested.

At 1:18, Code Pink marched in from the east, along the fence, and joined the protest.

By 1:20 there were hundreds of people, some sitting, some standing, most singing, all refusing to leave.

By 1:22 many of the corporate media cameras were gone, and the independent and small media seemed to dominate. But they and onlookers were pushed further out in the street, as the police brought in their horses. The chant from the street then became "Get those animals off those horses!"

By 1:26, the dominant chant was "Arrest Bush." This chant came back again and again over the next 30 minutes. Another was "No more of a class war!"

By 1:30 they moved the horses out and brought in the police vans. But they only had a few teeny little vans. There was no way they could hold everyone.

Chant: "A liar, a coward, say it a little louder!"

One guy with a megaphone shouted "Hey Bushie Boy, we know you’ve got a lot of oil 'cause your boys are leaving the engines running. Did you fight a war for this oil?"

At a quarter to 2 they brought in a Metro bus – faster by far than they'd gotten buses into New Orleans. As the arrests started, the crowd yelled: "The Whole World Is Watching!"

UPDATE AT 6:05 PM ET: Barbara Cummings just phoned me. She was arrested at the White House and says she is on the fourth bus in a line of six. There are about 50 people on each bus, she said, plus several small vans of people. She estimates 300 have been arrested. The police are making them wait in the buses and vans, with plastic handcuffs on. Barbara slipped hers off to use the phone, but hung up when a police officer saw her and headed her way. She predicted he'd put the cuffs on her and jerk them tight.

7 p.m. Note from Cindy Sheehan:
The rumors are true this time. I was arrested in front of the White House today. It was my first time ever being arrested.

We proceeded from Lafayette Park to the Guard House at the White House. I, my sister, and other Gold Star Families for Peace members and some Military Families requested to meet with the President again. We again wanted to know: What is the Noble Cause? Our request was, to our immense shock and surprise, denied. They wouldn't even deliver any letters or pictures of our killed loved ones to the White House.

We all know by now why George won't meet with parents of the soldiers he has killed who disagree with him. First of all, he hates it when people disagree with him. I am not so sure he hates it as much as he is in denial that it even happens. Secondly, he is a coward who arrogantly refuses to meet with the people who pay his salary. Maybe the next time one of us is asked by our bosses to have a performance review, or we are going to be written up for a workplace infraction, we should refuse to go and talk to our bosses citing the fact that the President doesn't have to. The third reason why he won't talk to us is that he knows there is no Noble Cause for the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq. It is a question that has no true answer.

After we were refused a meeting with the Disconnected One, we went over to right in front of our house…the White House (in front of the gate of course) and we sat down and refused to move until George came out and talked to us. We actually had a good time singing old church songs and old protest songs while we waited. I tied a picture of Casey on the White House fence and apparently, that is against the law, too.

After three warnings to get up and move off of the sidewalk in front of our house, we were arrested. It is so ironic to me that the person who resides in our White House swears to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The person who is the (p)resident of the White House now has no concept of the Constitution. He was appointed by the Supreme Court for his first term, invaded and continues to occupy a sovereign country without a declaration of war from the Congress, and violated several treaties to actually invade, Iraq too. Not to mention the condoned torture that pervades the military prisons these days. These are all violations of the Constitution. The Patriot Act and denying us our rights to peaceably assemble are serious breaches of the Bill of Rights. George is so hypocritically concerned about Iraq developing a Constitution when he ignores and shreds our own Constitution.

Being arrested is not a big deal. Even though were arrested for "demonstrating without a permit" we were protesting something that is much more serious than sitting on a sidewalk: the tragic and needless deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Americans (both in Iraq and here in America) who would be alive if it weren't for the criminals who reside in and work in the White House.

Karl Rove (besides just being a very creepy man) outted a CIA agent and was responsible for endangering many of our covert agents worldwide. dick Cheney's old company is reaping profits beyond anyone's wildest imaginations in their no-bid contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and New Orleans. John Negroponte's activities in South America are very shady and murderous. Rumsfeld and Gonzales are responsible for illegal and immoral authorization, encouragement and approval of torture. Not to mention, violating Geneva Conventions, torture endangers the lives of our service men and women in Iraq. Along with the above mentioned traitors, Condi lied through her teeth in the insane run-up to the invasion. The list of crimes this administration has commited is extensive, abhorrent, and unbelievable. What is so unbelievable is that WE were arrested for exercising our first amendment rights and these people are running free to enjoy their lives of crime and to wreak havoc on the world.

The fine for "demonstrating without a permit" is $75.00. I am certain that I won't pay it. My court date is November 16 th. Any lawyers out there want to help me challenge an unconstitutional law??

[michelle]

An open letter to the president
BRAVO, Monique!!!!

It matters what Leaders say

I cannot agree with you more, Mr. President, when during your news conference, Tuesday October 04, you
said “It matters what leaders say.”

You talked about your latest Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers- put her on a pedestal-

You talked about Social Security- your issue that will never go away-

You talked about our economy- your addiction to ownership-

You did not talk about the Valerie Plame investigation – not until the investigation is complete- You said.


The more you talked, the more I wondered why you had a news conference. Nothing about what you said
was news; your choices and decisions, as you always profess, are always the best for the growth of our
economy, the future of our children and the happiness of the American people.


But, you also talked about Iraq and you touched a nerve in me, Mr. President.


It matters to me that you said that “we” are at war, because Sir, this is YOUR war, not the Americans’ war. It
matters to me that you said that we are not leaving Iraq until the war is won.

It matters to me that you said that “we” are making progress when the only progress I see is in the
climbing numbers of coffins coming home.

It matters to me that 1,941 Americans have died since the beginning of your war and that we are spending
$5.6 billion a month in Iraq while you are preaching for an ownership society at home as a part of reducing
the budget deficit you have created.


Mr. President, you always talk about honor, virtue, compassion and commitment. Where was your honor
when you lied to the American people for your reasons to bomb Iraq? Where is your virtue when you lie
covering your lies about the reasons why you bomb Iraq? Where was your compassion when you sent
1,941 of our people to die for your lies? Where is your commitment to the nation you lead when you have
let us down?


Yes, it matters what leaders say and this is why I joined 500.000 of my sisters and brothers in Washington
to protest your leadership and to demand an end to the carnage you have created in Iraq. Because I am
committed to justice I will march and protest again until you pay for your crimes. This is how much it
matters to me.

Monique Frugier

October, 05, 2005

www.sauvessanges.com/ITMATTERSTOME.html

[DT1]

Yes,it was a superb statement-except for the Mr President part.
He has not been for one moment of my life,nor shall he EVER be,my president.

In light of his complete reckless disregard for The Constitution,The Bill of rights,and the welfare of common American citizens,I feel I am entirely justified in this position.

If I must reffer to him,I preffer the term
BUSHMONKEY.

[michelle]

A Bunch Of Grannies Arrested During War Protest
I have always said that there is something special about "Grandmothers".
God love them. I know that I do!!

October 17, 2005

Eighteen Anti-War grandmothers were arrested and face disorderly conduct charges
after they showed up at a military recruiting center in New York Times Square
and said they wanted to enlist, a protest group said.

Police arrested the women, ranging in age from 49 to 90, after they sat down Monday
in front of the recruiting station to protest the War in Iraq, police said.

When the women, including Marie Runyon, who is 90 and blind, tried to enter the recruiting station,
they found it locked, said Joan Wile, age 74 and the Director of 'Grandmothers Against the War'.

"We tried to ring the bell at the booth, but no one answered," 74 yr. old Joan Wile said.

"I saw a head poke-up from behind the counter every once in a while and then duck back down.
I don't know what they were afraid of? Maybe, they don't know how to deal with a bunch of grannies?!?"

'Grandmothers Against the War' joined the 'New York City Raging Grannies' and the 'Gray Panthers'
to form a Coalition called "The Anti-War Grandmothers", which organized the protest.

The group said about 100 grandmothers attended.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051018/ap_on_re_us/brf_antiwar_grandmothers;_ylt=


74 yr. old Joan Wile, founder of the group "Grandmothers Against the War," and one of the grandmothers arrested, said via a statement;
"People are dying in this awful war every day. If someone has to die, I would rather it be somebody like me, who has had the opportunity
to live a long life, instead of some young person."

Photos here:
nyc.indymedia.org/en/2005/10/58737.html

[michelle]

Out of Iraq Events Planned in Over 70 Cities

Local organizations have planned over 70 Out of Iraq events around the country on or about January 7th. (See list at bottom.) Most of the events are town hall forums, and several will feature members of Congress, including Bobby Scott, Diane Watson, Jim McDermott, Adam Smith, Bob Filner, Martin Sabo, Jim Moran, and John Murtha. Several other events will feature congressional staff, congressional and senatorial candidates, local elected officials, and leaders of the peace movement, including Gold Star Families for Peace founder Cindy Sheehan, and After Downing Street Co-Founder John Bonifaz.

While all of these events will focus on ending the war, many of them will also address Congressman John Conyers' new resolutions to censure President Bush and Vice President Cheney and to create a select committee to investigate and make recommendations on impeachment.

To sign up for an event near you, go to:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

[michelle]

Out of Iraq Events a Huge Success

Thousands of you put great effort into producing over 150 Out of Iraq town hall forums on Saturday. By all accounts they were a tremendous success.

Author and media critic Norman Solomon, mother/activist Cindy Sheehan, and actor Sean Penn, at Out of Iraq forum in Sacramento on Saturday.

Below you'll find a report on what topic seemed most to interest participants at events around the country. Hint: It starts with the letter I.

You'll also find a report of an important new story confirming the Downing Street Minutes and detailing which Americans Sir Richard Dearlove met with before he reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that the "facts were being fixed around the policy." We need your help in forcing the media to cover this new development. See the link below.

You'll also want to read the cover story from the latest issue of The Nation:
The Impeachment of George W. Bush
By Elizabeth Holtzman, The Nation
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6682

_________________

Most Popular Idea at Last Weekend's Out of Iraq Events? Impeachment.
By David Swanson

Your great work put together over 150 town hall forums last Saturday on the topic of getting out of Iraq. Reports, and audio and video, from dozens of these events have been posted at www.afterdowningstreet.org. What I gather from reviewing the reports, and from the two events I attended, is that the most popular topic was not the horrors of war or any legislation to end it, but the demand to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Given that opposition to this war has grown as exposure of the lies that launched it has advanced, going after the war-makers could turn out to be the fastest way to end the war. No doubt, it's the best way to end the war on terms that make the next war less likely to come soon. In any case, it's where the people's passion is, and at some point a democratic movement has to let that be its guide.

Of course, we've known the popularity of impeachment from polling.
www.afterdowningstreet.org/polling

But it's powerful to hear it in person in so many different voices. And it means more now that Congressman John Conyers has introduced a bill to create an investigation into grounds for impeachment, and the bill has begun to pick up cosponsors. Judging by Congress Members' remarks on Saturday, there should be some more cosponsors on the list soon.
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5921

We don't have reports from all of the events, but we know that overflow crowds were turned away in Sacramento, Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Progressive Democrats of America has summarized the day of events here:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6549

The Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska ran this headline: "Antiwar rally reflects changing attitudes," and wrote about people's opinions shifting against the war.
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6544

READ ABOUT THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR IMPEACHMENT:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6631

_________________

New Book "State of War" by NY Times' James Risen Gives Vital Background to Downing Street Memo
By Jonathan Schwarz

After the Downing Street Memo was leaked last May, the U.S. and U.K. governments were eventually forced to admit it was genuine. However, they never revealed any background to the memo—most importantly, who did Richard Dearlove, head of British intelligence, meet with in Washington just before the July 23, 2002 high-level U.K. government meeting the memo memorialized? This would go a long way to answering why Dearlove believed "Military action was now seen as inevitable" and "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

State of War, the just-released book by New York Times reporter James Risen, sheds important new light on these issues. (State of War is now best known for its revelations about warrantless spying by the NSA, but it contains a great deal of other significant information.) Regarding the Downing Street Memo, the most important points made by State of War are these:

• Dearlove was in part reporting on a CIA-MI6 summit he attended with other top MI6 officials at CIA headquarters on Saturday, July 20, 2002
• According to "a former senior CIA officer," the meeting was held "at the urgent request of the British"; CIA officials believe "Blair had ordered Dearlove to go to Washington to find out what the Bush administration was really thinking about Iraq"
• During the day-long summit, Dearlove met privately with CIA head George Tenet for an hour and a half

This obviously raises other questions, such as:

• What records of the meeting exist on the American side?
• Will the Senate Intelligence Committee examine the meeting as part of its Phase II Iraq intelligence investigation?
• What specifically did Dearlove and Tenet discuss when alone?
• Why has the New York Times failed to publish Risen's information about the Downing Street Memo background?

READ THE RELEVANT BOOK EXCERPTS:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6558

TELL THE MEDIA TO REPORT THIS STORY:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

[michelle]

From American Friends Service Committee
3/17/06

Dear Wage Peace Campaign supporter,

Here is a short note to update you on our campaign’s progress.

Together, we are showing that the majority in this country wants a new course in Iraq. I hope that you feel very proud of our work. I know I do.

This weekend is an important opportunity for us and our message. In more than 400 communities across the country, neighbors will gather to commemorate three years of the Iraq War. That is almost twice as many events as we had for the second anniversary. If you’re already planning on attending, please use our web site to remind your friends, learn some last-minute details, and download and print signs and petitions.

Find an event near you at www.afsc.org/3years/.

At the same time, we have already sent more than 1,600 letters to newspapers. We are well on our way to sending 2,006 letters by the end of March. To send a letter, please visit www.afsc.org/iraq/media-advocacy.htm or pick a letter from the choices on the right.

If you have sent a letter, please visit www.afsc.org/secure/letter-editor/ to tell us if your letter got published.

Fortunately, we have many opportunities to get our letters placed. The President and some of his top advisors are on a media blitz affirming the first-strike policy of pre-emptive war and “staying the course” in Iraq. Yesterday, with great publicity, the military announced “Operation Swarmer,” the largest air-assault since the invasion in 2003.

Each news story about the Iraq War, each article about the Bush Administration’s public-relations campaign, each mention of polls that show that the majority wants U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq is an opportunity to publish letters showing our convictions.

Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives approved billons of dollars in supplemental funding for the Iraq War. The good news is that the House passed an amendment against keeping permanent military bases in Iraq, an important symbol to the Iraqi people and a major foreign policy statement. This shows that Congress is slowly beginning to respond to public opinion.

The funding bill will go to the Senate soon. Stay tuned for activism opportunities with your senators to support peace-friendly amendments to the funding legislation and to say “no” to war funding.

Voices for peace are being heard in Congress and the media. And we are going to seize this moment to say that we, the majority, want this war to end. We are not just poll numbers. We are people of conscience, working together for peace.

I have heard from many of the local third anniversary event organizers and from some who have sent in letters to the editor. The passion and creativity is inspiring. This weekend, prepare to be impressed.

Peace,

Peter Lems
for the Wage Peace Campaign

P.S. I want to express our deep sympathy to Tom Fox’s family and community. His kidnapping and death are tragic, and we pray for the safe return of all other hostages. More >

To view as a webpage:
support.afsc.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=2401.0&dlv_id=5881&JServSessionIdr010=jwqydgqpk1.app2b

[michelle]

Military Families March from Mobile to New Orleans to Highlight the Third Anniversary of the Iraq War; Media Availabilities

3/18/2006 7:10:00 AM

Contact: Stacy Bannerman, 215-570-1540 or Nancy Lessin, 617-320-5301

NEW ORLEANS, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Members of Military Families Speak Out who have joined with Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and Gold Star Families for Peace in a 5 day march along the Gulf Coast will be available for interview in New Orleans on Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19.

The march is highlighting the ways in which the war in Iraq has redirected resources away from taking care of those in need here at home and how the deployment of the National Guard in particular left the people of the Gulf Coast unprotected when Katrina struck.

Military families with loved ones currently in Iraq, those with loved ones who may deploy or redeploy, those with loved ones who have returned with physical and psychological wounds, and families with loved ones who died as the result of the war in Iraq, will be speaking out and calling on members of Congress, Senators and the Administration to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home now and take care of them when they get here.

Military families will speak about their loved ones, the Iraqi people and all who remain in harm's way because of the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq. Military families will be available for interview at the following times and locations:

March 18, 2006 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. -- Chalmette National Military Cemetery, Chalmette (just outside New Orleans)

4 p.m. -- St. Augustine's Catholic Church, New Orleans

March 19, 2006

10 a.m. -- Armstrong Park (Congo Square, New Orleans), site of the Rally Against War and Injustice.

The following military families are available for interview:

Stacy Bannerman of Kent, Wash., whose husband serves in the Washington Army National Guard. He served a year's tour of duty in Iraq. Upon return to the US, members his unit were released after only a week of out-processing, and have gotten no post-deployment mental health counseling.

William Fisher & Marilyn Lambert-Fisher of Rochester, NY, whose son, a Sergeant in the Army Reserves, has returned from Iraq.

Valarie Fletcher of Seymour, Mo., whose son is a Marine and is currently serving his first deployment to Iraq.

Annie O'Brien, of Peaks Island, Maine, whose son Perry, who is with her on the March, was a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne who spent 8 months in Afghanistan in 2003 and received an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector in 2004.

Paula Rogovin of Teaneck, NJ, whose son is an officer in the Marine Corps and has not yet deployed to Iraq.

Tammara Rosenleaf of Helena, Mont., whose husband is in the Army and is currently serving in Iraq on his first deployment.

JoAnn Sohl of Palisades Park, NJ, whose son is in the Army and is currently serving in Iraq.

Al Zappala of Philadelphia, Pa., whose son Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed in action in Iraq on April 26, 2004. He was the first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in combat since World War II. He was killed in an explosion while assigned to protect those in the Iraq Survey Group who were searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction long after it was known that there were no WMD's in Iraq.

For further information, go to www.mfso.org

[michelle]

Here are some photos from the March 18th anti-war action. Marchers, flags, signs, cops, and more cops.
pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/23205.php

More photos from the March 18 Thomas Merton Center Anti-War Committee's march and rally to mark the third anniversary of the official start of the war on Iraq.
pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/23222.php


New documents uncover FBI monitoring of the Thomas Merton Center

The Thomas Merton Center and the American Civil Liberties Union have released documents relevant to the FBI's monitoring of the Thomas Merton Center.The documents indicate, among other things, that the FBI targetted the Thomas Merton Center because of their opposition to the Iraq War, and that the FBI used confidental sources "who are not in a position to testify" to monitor the activities of the Thomas Merton Center. In protest of the domestic surveillence, the Merton Center's Anti-War Committee and the Pittsburgh Bill of Rights Defense Campaign have organized a "spy-in" on Tuesday, March 21st at the Federal building downtown.
[ View the released documents (PDF Files):
[] International Terrorism Matters ,
[] investigation of anti-war activity,
[] confidential sources ][
[] Read more from the ACLU ]
pittsburgh.indymedia.org/

ACLU Releases First Concrete Evidence of FBI Spying Based Solely on Groups’ Anti-War Views Pennsylvania Group Labeled “Pacifists” Targeted for Handing Out Flyers in Town Square
(3/14/2006)

PITTSBURGH – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania today released new evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting investigations into a political organizations based solely on its anti-war views.

Two documents released today reveal that the FBI investigated gatherings of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice just because the organization opposed the war in Iraq. Although previously disclosed documents show that the FBI is retaining files on anti-war groups, these documents are the first to show conclusively that the rationale for FBI targeting is the group's opposition to the war.

“It makes no sense that the FBI would be spying on peace activists handing out flyers,” said Jim Kleissler, Executive Director of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice. “Our members were simply offering leaflets to passersby, legally and peacefully, and now they’re being investigated by a counter–terrorism unit. Something is seriously wrong in how our government determines who and what constitutes terrorism when peace activists find themselves targeted.”

According to the documents released today, the FBI initiated a classified investigation into the activities of the Thomas Merton Center, noting in a November 2002 memo that the center “holds daily leaflet distribution activities in downtown Pittsburgh and is currently focused on its opposition to the potential war on Iraq.” The synopsis of the document is provided to “report results of investigation on Pittsburgh anti-war activities.” The FBI memo points out that the Merton Center “is a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism.”

“All over the country we see the FBI monitoring and keeping files on Americans exercising their First Amendment rights to free expression,” said Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “These documents show that Americans are not safe from secret government surveillance, even when they are handing out flyers in the town square – an activity clearly protected by the Constitution.”

The documents come to the ACLU as a result of a national campaign to expose domestic spying by the FBI and other government agencies. The ACLU has filed Freedom of Information Act requests in 20 states on behalf of more than 150 organizations and individuals. In response to these requests, the government has released documents that reveal monitoring and infiltration by the FBI and local law enforcement, targeting political, environmental, anti-war and faith-based groups.

“From the FBI to the Pentagon to the National Security Agency this administration has embarked on an unprecedented campaign to spy on innocent Americans,” said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the national ACLU. “Investigating law-abiding groups and their members simply because of their political views is not only irresponsible, it has a chilling effect on the vibrant tradition of dissent in this country.”

More information about the ACLU’s Spy Files project including the documents released today as well as profiles of members of the Thomas Merton Center is available online at www.aclu.org/spyfiles

More information about the Thomas Merton Center is available online at: www.thomasmertoncenter.org

FROM:
www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/24528prs20060314.html