9-06-05, 9:03 am
On September 15, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and other congress members will be holding hearings on Capitol Hill on the issue of creating an exit strategy for Iraq. This event will be nine days before what organizers are hoping will be the biggest ever march against the war in Washington. Many of the same groups organizing the march on Sept. 24th have decided to hold a smaller rally in front of the White House on the 15th to support the action in Congress and the demand to get U.S. soldiers out of Iraq.
This has resulted in confusion for at least some small number of people. Here is an attempt to clarify.
There are many events happening both in Washington and around the country between now and the 24th as part of a growing movement. If you can come to DC and can only come once, come on the 24th. If possible, come on the 24th, 25th, and 26th. Take part in all of the activities that you'll find here: http://unitedforpeace.org and here: http://pdamerica.org
No buses are being organized from anywhere for the 15th. The rally at 5 p.m. that day in front of the White House will consist largely of people from DC, Maryland, Virginia, and surrounding areas who are able to easily make the trip or stop by after work. Everyone who comes will leave with a stack of flyers promoting the march on the 24th, the workshops on the 25th, and the day of lobbying and civil disobedience on the 26th.
Other events going on right now include three bus tours from Camp Casey to DC, stopping in various parts of the country and arriving in the nation's capital on the 21st. One bus will make it as far as Raleigh, N.C., by the 15th, and Ann Wright, a diplomat who resigned in opposition to the war and who served as coordinator of Camp Casey, will hop off to come up to DC and speak at the rally, before rejoining the bus for the rest of its trip.
There are also efforts going on around the country to pressure Congress Members through their district offices to oppose the war and to demand an investigation of the lies that launched it. These include a campaign demanding answer's to Cindy Sheehan's questions. And there are Camp Caseys and anti-war marches being organized around the country both on the 24th and before. Links to many of these activities are on the right side of this site: http://afterdowningstreet.org
The hearings and rally on the 15th will come four days after the Pentagon- and media-sponsored fascistic exploitation of the 9-11-2001 tragedies in the form of a march and country music concert in DC in support of killing Iraqis. There will be counter-demonstrations that day. But, more importantly, I think, there will be a popular push four days later, on the 15th, to end the war.
On that day, not only will Congresswoman Woolsey hold hearings (minority party unofficial hearings without subpoena power), but activists will hand in to congress members a stack of signatures on a petition in support of an exit plan for Iraq. You can sign the petition here: Gathering signatures on this petition is one of the more important steps that can be taken right now.
Another is to do what we will certainly try to do at the rally on the 15th and at the events of the 24-26th, namely draw the connections between Iraq and New Orleans. We have put the bulk of our nation's resources into an illegal war at the expense of everything else. We've diverted the National Guard from guarding the nation. We've enacted an energy strategy that focuses on steps to increase, rather than decrease, global warming. And even people who did not previously object to the war are now questioning Bush's priorities.
Also, the Resolution of Inquiry into Bush's lies (H Res 375) has 61 co-sponsors, including one Republican, and will be acted on in committee between Sept 6 and Sept 15. If your Congress Member is not yet co-sponsoring, you should call them on Tuesday!
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