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The
contingent of hundreds of Iraq vets that led the Sept. 15 Washington,
D.C., march was an important index of the revulsion that an increasing number
of soldiers hold for this horrific slaughter.
On
Sept. 30 in Syracuse, N.Y., in what may have been a first for the
antiwar movement, a rally of 3000, initiated by active-duty soldiers
based in nearby Fort Drum, marched through the city streets.
Members
of Iraq Veterans Against the War as well as Military Families Speak Out
(parents of active duty soldiers), Gold Star Families Speak Out
(families whose children or brothers/sisters have died in the war), and
Veterans for Peace were present and cheering for the active-duty
soldiers who spoke. Busloads of trade unionists from Hospital Workers
1199 participated in contingents coming from as far away as New York
City, as well as several upstate cities and towns.
Longtime
antiwar activist Joe Lombardo captured the spirit of the multi-racial
crowd when he reported, "Politicians will not lead us to ending
the war or to stopping the march to a new war with Iran. We must lead
until these politicians have no other option but to follow."
The
experience of San Francisco antiwar activist and Socialist Action
member Rebecca Doran, while leafleting at a community festival to build
the San Francisco Oct. 27 antiwar demonstration, confirms anecdotally
the growing antiwar sentiment in the U.S. military among active-duty
soldiers and veterans. Doran
spoke with a group of Marines who were a week away from deployment to
Iraq.
"Do
you support the war?" Doran asked. One Marine, speaking for
everyone, responded without sarcasm, "Well, isn't everybody
against war?" The Marines in turn asked Doran if she hated them
for joining the military. She replied, "No, we're fighting to stop
the war now and to bring you home immediately."
Another
indication that the burgeoning movement is breaking new ground was
demonstrated strikingly in a recent message from the AFL-CIO. In one of
its recent Working Families e-Activist Network daily e-mails, the
federation noted, "The president wants to spend as much in about
one month of the war in Iraq as it would cost to cover 10 million children
for one year." The message criticized Bush's request for $200
billion in Iraq war spending while denying, by vetoing, Congress'
S-CHIP bill, that would have provided basic medical care to millions of
children.
Several
AFL-CIO central labor councils as well as state federations have
endorsed the Oct. 27 regional mobilization. In San Francisco, the rally
will be co-chaired by labor council head Tim Paulson. In marked contrast to previous
nationally-organized antiwar actions, special efforts are underway to
secure new and broad endorsements and support from hundreds and
thousands of local, state, and national groups—ranging from trade
unions and peace and faith-based organizations to a host of civil and
human rights groups, and immigrant-rights, youth, and socialist
organizations.
In
Chicago, more than 120 groups and coalitions are on board building the
Oct. 27 actions. Similar endorsements have been secured in New York,
New England, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and virtually
everywhere else.
To
build for the New York-New Jersey regional demonstration in New York
City, UFPJ has convened three meetings for antiwar and social justice
groups from throughout the region as well as conference calls. A
program begun months ago to build local neighborhood antiwar groups has
been integrated into building for the 27th. All these activities have
included discussions of how groups can link their own issues—health
care, education, veteran support, etc.—to the war. Several of the
biggest unions in New York City, both AFL-CIO and Change to Win
affiliates have also begun spreading the word among their
members.
In
New England, the groups organizing for the Oct. 27 Boston march have
constituted themselves into New England United for Peace ( www.NewEnglandUnited.org ), a
formation that many expect to continue if Oct. 27 is successful.
Another
important aspect of the movement's development is the formation of
local antiwar groups organized on a neighborhood basis. These are
emerging everywhere, as near-spontaneous efforts to deepen the
movement's roots in the everyday lives of the American people. Door-to-door leafleting and personal
engagement in discussions with neighbors as well as community forums
are central to this work.
Additionally,
the newly formed regional antiwar coalitions are organizing
constituency contingents to participate. A report from the Chicago
coalition states, "Labor unions, healthcare workers, disability
rights organizers, faculty, lawyers and legal workers, business people,
teachers—everyone is encouraged to march in their work uniform (be it a
labor jacket or business suit) and to march with their group and/or
carry a sign identifying them as "Faculty for Peace and
Justice," "Environmentalists for Peace" or
whatever
their calling may be.”
The
Chicago coalition's report continues: "Buses or trains are coming
from Iowa, Missouri, and several places in Wisconsin, Ohio, and
Michigan. In Milwaukee, the NAACP has endorsed and is sending its own buses,
as are immigrant rights groups from Wisconsin. Small towns across
Wisconsin are getting enough interest to get their own buses (a first
for them.)”
In
Salt Lake City, another regional center slated for an Oct. 27
mobilization, the main organizing body is an ad hoc coalition called We
the People for Peace and Justice. It includes the local chapter of U.S.
Labor Against the War, the Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice,
Mormons for Equality and Justice, and Veterans for Peace. Salt Lake's
Mayor Rocky Anderson is scheduled to speak.
An
antiwar coalition in Duluth, Minn., is organizing buses for Chicago's
Oct. 27 mobilization. Antiwar activist and Socialist Action member Carl
Sack reports on an action in Duluth on Sept. 21, the first day of the
nationwide Moratorium Against the War: "Over 300 people
interrupted their normal routines to take part in the Strike for Peace,
which included events throughout the day aimed at opposing the war and
creating a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.”
Endorsements
and support came from the Duluth Central Labor Body, Northland Anti-War
Coalition, Veterans for Peace, Duluth Area Green Party, Loaves and
Fishes Catholic Worker Community, Socialist Action, Lake Superior
Greens and Grandmothers for Peace.
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