The War Moratorium (Formerly Iraq Moratorium)

Latest anti-war news and political trends

Protesting Works! (and not much of anything else does)...

Saturday, 09 January 2010 08:08

E-mail

It’s no surprise that the anti-war movement is in a lull. The war in Afghanistan this month passes the War of Independence to become the second longest in US history. Thanks to a feeble news media, many in this country don’t even know that there are still 120,000 US occupation troops in Iraq (and about as many “private contractors” your tax dollars are paying for).

Now Barack Obama, the 2008 “peace candidate” whose victory drew heavily on support from voters sick of these wars, is sending 30,000 more young men and women into harm’s way in a country where drone attacks kill kids and create new insurgents on a weekly basis.

Many who have organized against and demonstrated against the wars since 2002 are worn out and hear the mournful strains of the old “protest is just self-indulgent and ineffective” song in their mind’s ear.

Well, folks, let me present to you the students in the California.higher education system and their allies: teachers, staff, parents and the community at large. They started fighting budget cuts last spring and in November, when the U of C trustees

Individuals Take Action!

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 03:36

E-mail

The Iraq Moratorium Committee tried using Facebook to build Moratorium Day #27. One benefit from this baby step was getting several reports from individuals who took action by themselves on the Third Friday in November. Here are a couple.

From Northern Alabama:

I put a new bumper sticker on my car in the missile-building Bible belt town where I live, "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" (For non-Bible Belters, this is a variation of a popular Christian bumper sticker, "What Would Jesus Do?")

From Calabria, Italy, Mike Leonardi reports:

We had a dinner discussion with some locals and sent some letters back home. Thanks for ratcheting up!

A college professor in Southern Arkansas checked in too:

I taught my history classes about the trickery President Polk used to launch the invasion of Mexico.

From Tucson, AZ:

I got a "Vietnamistan" bumper sticker and am considering a showing of "Rethink Afghanistan."

So what did you do?

The Word from Fort Hood

Saturday, 07 November 2009 18:29

E-mail

[The whole country has been stunned by the shootings at Fort Hood. Here is an insightful comment by active duty troops and veterans living there.]

Joint Statement from Under the Hood Café and the Fort Hood Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War

Our community is distraught by the tragic shooting at Fort Hood yesterday. We extend our condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

As upset as we are about this incident, this shooting does not come as a shock. Eight years of senseless wars have taken a huge toll on our troops and their families. It’s time to admit that the wars in southwest Asia are in no one’s best interests. Bring the troops home now!

The Army has also repeatedly demonstrated that it is more interested in making soldiers “deployable” than it is in helping them fully recover from PTSD and other mental health issues. This often leaves soldiers with few options other than to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. The Army routinely deploys soldiers who are clearly suicidal and homicidal. Yesterday was a gruesome reminder of the possible violent consequences of this policy. We hope the Army now takes its duty to take care of soldiers more seriously.

We demand transparency from the Army and other federal agencies involved with this investigation.

Under the Hood Café provides military service members support with referrals to legal, financial, and medical services. It is a space for troops to freely express their views on the wars and the military. It also offers GI rights counseling. Iraq Veterans Against the War calls for the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq, reparations for the human and structural damages Iraq has suffered, and full benefits for returning military.

Under the Hood Café
Iraq Veterans Against the War – Fort Hood Chapter

Some Numbers From Obama--And Some We Need To Know

Wednesday, 02 December 2009 13:41

E-mail

In a speech at West Point on December 1, President Obama announced his second escalation of the war in Afghanistan. His speech can be boiled down to three key numbers: 30,000, 2011 and 30 billion. Here's what he was talking about, with a few numbers he didn't mention.

30,000--That's how many new US troops he is rushing into harm's way by next August, for a total of 101,000 (up from 34,000 when he was sworn in). Troops from other NATO governments and private contractors (75,000 at last count) double that total.

The Pentagon estimates that there are a total of 100 al-Qaeda

Afghan News Keeps Getting Worse

Monday, 09 November 2009 17:41

E-mail

A short comment like this shouldn't be so hard to write.

Yesterday's NY Times reported that Barack Obama is leaning toward sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. This is evidently the "just right" solution, midway between sending the 40-80,000 requested by General McChrystal and the Mama Bear "too soft" proposal of only 20-25,000 more. It appears that no one of importance in the administration of last year's "peace candidate" is arguing against escalation, let alone for the rapid withdrawal the situation demands.

It's not a surprise, of course. The handwriting has been on the wall for months. It should be just one more piece of bad news from Afghanistan. The last couple of weeks has been full of them.

59 US troops died there in October, the deadliest month of the war

Afghan War: Mikey Likes It!

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 06:45

E-mail

Mike Mullen thinks the U.S. is losing the war in Afghanistan. He calls the situation "serious and deteriorating." So what? A lot of us think the same thing.

But we don't run the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the high command of the U.S. military. Mike Mullen does.

His job title isn't the only difference between Admiral Mullen and the rest of us. More than half of all Americans think the 8-year-old occupation of Afghanistan is a mistake (52% of us according to the latest poll) and want it over with.

Not Mike Mullen! Right now, he's locked in urgent discussions with administration advisers and his own generals to figure out how many more troops he can get away with asking for to keep the occupation going..

Will sending 15,000 more soldiers and Marines, the lowest number being floated, make the war the kind of liability for this administration that Iraq was for George W. Bush? Will Mullen dare to ask for 45,000 new troops, the number actually requested by General Stanley McChrystal, his top commander on the ground?

This is where WE come in. Follow the hearings when Congress comes back in session. Read the news commentary. The number of young men and women the Pentagon and the White House say must be sent into harm's way will tell us two things--just how badly the occupation is going and just how scared they are of the American people.

And when they do finally ask for more troops, that will tell us one more thing: they aren't scared enough of the political consequences to face reality--yet. It is still our job to to protest the escalation; to support the troops by demanding that they be brought home; to talk with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers: to pressure our Congresscritters.

Because if Admiral Mike Mullen has his way, this war will drag on for years and years to come, and the death toll--of Afghans and occupiers both --will climb and climb.

More Articles...

«
Start
Prev
1
2
3
4
Next
End
»

Page 1 of 4

Login

Feed Entries