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You can find a protest in your area, attend town hall meeting, rally with your local peace community, or join any number of other events near you.  See http://www.unitedforpeace.org for a list of anti-war events.

Please join us in standing together against this outrage. Iraqis want us to leave. U.S. troops feel the war needs to end. The American public knows we can’t afford this war. There is no reason to stay.  Let’s make March 18, 2006 the last anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Thanks for all your hard work on behalf of peace and justice,
Global Exchange

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What is Happening on March 18?

To mark the three-year anniversary of the war, more than 500 events are planned throughout the United States between March 15 and Mark 22. The events include protests outside Congressional offices, peace marches and rallies, candlelight vigils, die-ins, and civil disobedience. From Juneau, Alaska to Cedar Falls, Iowa to Pensacola, Florida to Buffalo, New York, communities will be urging an immediate change of course in Iraq. For a full list of events, and to connect with other anti-war activists, see http://www.unitedforpeace.org

Even more exciting: Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace have brought over a delegation of Iraqi women to speak to the American public about life under occupation, and what is really happening to women and civilians in this war.  They have already visited the UN, the halls of Congress and more, and now they are separately visiting US cities all around the country.  Four are participating in anti-war rallies and marches tomorrow: in Seattle, WA; Fayetteville, NC; San Diego, CA; and Palm Beach, FL.  Their heartbreaking stories all lead to the same conclusion: Iraqi civilians need the U.S. Troops to leave, so they can begin rebuilding their shattered nation.

To read more about the Iraqi Women’s Delegation and to see their schedule over the next weeks, please visit http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mideast/iraq/iraqiwomentour.html

Why We Need to End the War Now

The U.S. military presence is not preventing civil war.  Instead, we’re exacerbating violence and preventing Iraqi rebuilding.  Iraqi civilians—the people that the Bush administration says we’re protecting—want us to leave, so they can begin to heal their country from this chaotic occupation. As the three-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq approaches, the country is still wracked by violence that the U.S. simply cannot control.  Iraqi civilians are suffering from a lack of basic services, including electricity and clean water, and women’s rights are eroding under a constitution that does not adequately protect them.

“The U.S. occupation has destroyed our country, made it into a prison. Schools are bombed, hospitals are bombed,” said Entisar Mohammad Ariabi of Baghdad, who will be speaking at an anti-war rally on Saturday in Palm Beach. “We thank you, Mr. Bush, for liberating our country from Saddam. But now, go out! Please go out!”

As the U.S. military engages in a massive offensive dubbed Operation Swarmer, Iraqi civilians are begging us to stop. “This attack against Samarra is a kind of collective punishment that leaves thousands of widows, orphans and handicapped. We have seen it before in Iraqi cities such as Fallujah, Qaim and Talafar. It creates misery and anger, leading to more terrorist attacks and fueling the cycle of violence,” said Eman Ahmad Khamas, who will be speaking at an anti-war rally in Seattle on Saturday, March 18. “The bombing must stop immediately, the injured must get treatment, the families of the dead must be compensated, and the U.S. troops must leave our country.”

Moreover, it’s clearer than ever that the Bush administration is out of touch with the American public.   The majority of people in the United States and in Iraq oppose the war, which has thus far cost the lives of more than 2,300 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis (estimates range from 33,489 to more than 100,000).  In December of last year, 60% of the American public felt that the war was a mistake, and that we needed to leave as soon as possible.  As the federal deficit balloons out of control and funds are pulled from basic services here at home, our strained economy cannot handle another penny for war.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming 72% of American troops currently serving in Iraq feel that the war should end in 2006, according to a Zogby poll last month.  More than ever, truly supporting our troops means getting them out of the quagmire now.

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