By Joshua Daniel Hershfield 9/29/06
In a week of fierce opposition to the Bush administration’s
policies and the War in Iraq,
over 375 acts of civil disobedience and protest were staged all over the United States. Cities involved included Lincoln,
Nebraska; Houston,
Texas; Des Moines,
Idaho; Cincinnati,
Ohio; Little Rock,
Arkansas; and Fayetteville,
North Carolina – home to Fort Bragg.
Since last Thursday (9/21/06) over 250 people have been
arrested for protest actions, and more than 500 anti-war groups have signed the
“Declaration of Peace,” a document demanding the withdrawal of US
troops from Iraq, the closure of bases, a peace process, and a shift of funding
from military to human needs. The
actions were largely organized by faith-based groups, though participants
included immigrant organizations, women’s rights groups, lawmakers, and
military veterans.
“We are spending billions of dollars a week on the
occupation of Iraq,”
said an activist in New York. “This money can be spent on health and
education.”
Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, one of 34 people
to be arrested at an action outside the White House, said, “As citizens
and people of faith, we must be our country’s conscience.”
Over 100 Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders
have planned other actions to prevent an attack on Iran, and signers of the
“Declaration of Peace” are planning another round of civil
disobedience.
It is actions such as these that can send a clear message to
the rest of the world that we do not support this tyrannical administration,
that we do not support this war, and we will put our bodies on the line to stop
it in its tracks.
Since March 2003, over 100,000 Iraqi people have been killed
by the United States
military, and 2,500 US
troops have died.