Say NO to the military spending spree!

While you wouldn’t know it from the national media coverage, this past weekend saw over 800 protests throughout the United States marking the second anniversary of the war in Iraq—and dozens overseas. CODEPINK organized an inspiring 40-mile walk for peace from Camp Pendleton in San Diego, spoke at the moving rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina outside of Ft. Bragg, and participated in dozens of other events where people left charged up to put an end to an occupation that is killing so many Iraqis and US soldiers.

George Bush talks about a wave of democracy sweeping over the Middle East, but he fails to mention the wave of democracy that is forcing nation after nation to disengage from the "coalition of the willing" and pull their troops out of Iraq. These countries include Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Spain and most recently, the Italian people are forcing their prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq.

Here in the US, polls show that a solid majority of Americans—59%— think the troops should come home. Yet last week, in a vote of 388 to 43, the House of Representatives approved $81.4 billion to continue funding the war. It’s time for our leaders to listen to us. Here are two things you can do.

1. The Senate will vote on the Iraq war money on April 6. Contact your Senators now and tell them to vote no on the Supplemental Appropriations Bill for Iraq. Call 202-224-3121 or go to www.senate.gov . From March 21st to April 1st, Senators who are not on vacation will likely to be in their home offices. Even better than calls and emails are visits to their offices!

2. The House already voted, but their votes should be acknowledged. If your representative was one of the 43 who voted against the bill, please thank them. If they voted FOR more money for war, protest their vote. Call 202-224-3121 or go to www.house.gov. To find out how your representative voted, click here. Also, ask your representative to sign on to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey’s House Resolution 35, which calls for the President to develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq.

For more ideas on what you can do to end the occupation, see Medea's newest article entitled "Reigniting the Anti-War Movement."

As we work to build up the peace movement, let’s hold in our hearts the words of Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq. "I was stunned and dismayed when the United States invaded Iraq. I didn’t agree with it, but I never protested until after Casey was killed. I am very, very sorry I didn’t. Now I am doing everything I can to shorten this war and save other families the pain we’re going through."

In peace,
Andrea, Dana, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae & Tiffany

P.S. If you’re near San Francisco , Washington DC or Ann Arbor, there’s something more you can do this week: attend one of the teach-ins organized this Thursday night to mark the 40-year anniversary of the first Vietnam War teach-in. For details, click here.