Protest, Calls for Direct Action Mark 6th Anniversary of Iraq War

“Obama’s plan would keep combat troops in Iraq until August 2011 and would maintain a force of up to 50,000 troops in Iraq indefinitely,” said Marie Braun of the Twin Cities Peace Campaign. “Obama’s not talking about ending the war. He’s planning to continue an unjustified occupation for years to come.”   

 

Braun reminded the crowd that the U.S. has been at war with Iraq for 19 years, including the first Gulf War and 12 years of devastating sanctions that killed over 500,000 Iraqi children. According to the research group Just Foreign Policy, over a million Iraqis have died as a result of the latest war and occupation, and the majority of Iraqis still lack basic services like clean water, electricity, and health care. Meanwhile, Obama has announced an escalation of the war in Afghanistan where 17,000 additional U.S. troops were recently deployed.

 

Nancy Emery, of Military Families Speak Out, highlighted the stress that 6 years of war has put on countless military families. She mentioned a friend whose son recently joined the military and came home distraught after basic training. “His drill sergeant, who had spent two years in Iraq, killed himself. When Alex received orders that he would be deployed next, he went AWOL,” said Emery. Suicides among soldiers rose in 2008 for the 4^th consecutive year. It is believed that 128 soldiers took their own lives last year.

 

And while ordinary Americans bear the brunt of an unprecedented economic crisis, the Pentagon’s proposed budget for 2009 is a record setting $515 billion. “This is money that has been stolen from poor and working people,” said Phyllis Walker, president of AFSCME Local 3800 and member of the MN Coalition for a People’s Bailout. To rousing cheers, Walker condemned the war as wrong, but asserted that “there are things worth fighting for…dismantling the gap between rich and poor, reordering our priorities, and taking action for social and economic justice.”

 

After the rally, the crowd marched two miles down University Avenue to the State Capitol. Protesters chanted and waved to supportive motorists, and several passersby spontaneously joined the march. A large group of students from Youth Against War and Racism blasted music as part of a ‘Funk the War’ contingent. 

 

At a post-march gathering on the Capitol lawn, organizers urged participants to escalate the level of protest against the war. Misty Rowan, of the Anti-War Committee, called on people to take action against military recruitment. “Obama just nearly doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan,” she said. “The military will not be able to continue its wars and occupations in the Middle East without new recruits. It’s time to expose recruiter lies and shut down recruiter business.” The Anti-War Committee has initiated “Zero Recruitment Day” for April 23, when coordinated actions will take place at various recruiting centers around the state. See www.antiwarcommittee.org for details.

 

Hadley Pope, of the group Opposition to War and Occupation, called for direct action as necessary to disrupt the business of war. “The U.S. is the largest producer and exporter of weapons in the world,” she said. “Therefore the U.S. has a vested interest in maintaining war and violence indefinitely and everywhere. We must resist the occupier and those who profit from it. Only direct action can express the urgency of our demands.”

 

The demonstration ended with members of Iraq Veterans Against the War inviting participants to read the names of the 65 Minnesotans who have lost their lives in Iraq, including 3 who committed suicide. Off to the side, people threw shoes at a banner reading “Arrest Bush and Cheney.” Another protest to mark the 6^th anniversary of the war is planned for 12 noon on Thursday, March 26, in front of Coffman Union on the University of MN campus. 

Photos by Timothee Redkitten Genot