It's historic: This weekend, on the two-year anniversary of the Iraq war, people will gather in more than 725 communities, in all 50 states, to mourn the devastating losses and call for the troops to come home now. This is more than double the number of anti-war actions that took place on the first anniversary of the war. The unprecedented number and geographic spread of these events reflect the growing breadth of U.S. peace organizing, which is reaching into more communities than it ever has.
A state-by-state listing of the towns and cities where events will occur is below. If you know of an event not represented on this list, please add it to our website calendar at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/events. If you live in a community where no event is planned yet, organize your own -- make a few signs, call a few friends, and gather in a high-profile location to demonstrate your opposition to this pointless war.
Many of the events throughout the country will feature veterans and family members of active-duty soldiers speaking out against the war. In Fayetteville, NC, home of Ft. Bragg, military families and veterans have been central to organizing what promises to be an extraordinary mobilization. If you live in driving distance from Fayetteville, we urge you to join this powerful event (visit http://www.ncpeacejustice.org for more details).
There will be numerous protests outside military recruitment centers, to counter the predatory targeting of youth by the U.S. armed forces, in places ranging from Tucscon, Arizona to Springfield, Missouri to Williston, Vermont. And there will be an array of nonviolent civil disobedience actions across the country, many as part of a new National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance Against the War in Iraq (visit http://www.iraqpledge.org/ for more information).
This weekend will also mark the formal launching of Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq. Nurtured by United for Peace and Justice, this new national faith-based network is focusing on the immorality of the war and occupation. Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/faith for highlighted events and more information.
A majority of Americans now agree with the peace movement that the Iraq War was a mistake. But we have far to go in persuading the U.S. government to bring the troops home -- just yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 388 to 43 in favor of spending an additional $80+ billion on this unnecessary and pointless war. In the next few weeks we will be working to pressure members of the Senate to vote against this funding: be sure to check our website for updates on this important fight.
Join us in the streets this weekend, in communities large and small, to publicly demonstrate our determination to bring an end to this disaster.
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