Anti-war activists pursue Bush back to D.C.
By
Dustin Langley
Published Aug 30, 2005 11:28 AM
As George W. Bush heads back to Washington,
D.C., ending a five-week vacation at his Crawford estate, he will be pursued by
busloads of activists and haun ted by an anti-war movement that has gained new
energy and enthusiasm from the efforts of Cindy Sheehan and thousands of
organizers across the country.
Cindy Sheehan’s encampment outside
Bush’s ranch began on Aug. 6, when she was joined by veterans and military
families supporting her demand to speak to the president about the death of her
son, Casey Sheehan, in Iraq.
Since then, thousands have made the trip to
Crawford, camping out in tents or cars along a narrow road. Many were veterans
or military families; some had never been to an anti-war event
before.
Other visitors included the Rev. Al Sharp ton, who joined
hundreds near Bush’s ranch for an interfaith service Sunday. He said,
“I feel that it is our moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with
these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this
nation.”
American Indian Movement co-foun der Dennis Banks
presented Cindy a cloak on behalf of her fallen son.
‘Phenomenal
acoustics’
“We had no idea the ditch in Crawford had such
phenomenal acoustics,” said Nancy Lessin of Military Families Speak Out.
“There’s a momentum building across the country
...”
This momentum has inspired vigils, solidarity rallies and
speakouts across the country. Many local activists set up “Camp
Caseys” in their own towns. In New York’s Union Square, organizers
have maintained a continued presence at Camp Casey NYC since Aug. 15, despite
police harassment and arrests.
This momentum will not end when the
president returns to Washington. On Aug. 31, the last day of the encampment at
Camp Casey, the Bring Them Home Now Tour will launch three buses from Craw ford,
Texas. Each bus will carry military family members, Gold Star families and
veterans.
They will follow three different routes across the U.S. for
three weeks, stopping at meetings and rallies against the war. The buses will
all converge on Wash ing ton, D.C., for the massive march on Sept. 24.
The
example of Cindy Sheehan and of the thousands who have joined her demonstrate
that it is the people, not the politicians, who will stop this
war.
‘Shut down the war!’
Organizers with the
Troops Out Now Coalition are mobilizing to maximize the energy and inspiration
coming out of this new phase of the struggle against the war. Noting that
opposition to the war is growing, military recruiting is at an all-time low, and
the movement is gearing up for a season of renewed mobilization, organizers say
that now is the time to turn up the heat.
This spring, the Troops Out Now
Coa li tion issued a call for a united demonstration in Washington, D.C.,
saying, “No thing is more important at this moment than for all to walk
together on the high road to unity. We believe that what we all do will be
decisive. We must and we can stop the war and get every U.S. soldier out of
Iraq. It is up to all of us to do whatever is necessary for our movement to rise
to this challenge.”
TONC is organizing hundreds of buses, cars and
vans to travel to Washington from more than 50 organizing centers. TONC is also
looking beyond September to contin ue the struggle against the war and occu
pation. The Millions More Move ment events of Oct. 14-16 will be a massive and
historic mobilization in Wash ington on the 10th anniversary of the Million Man
March.
On Dec. 1-3, TONC, along with other national anti-war, labor, and
community organizations, will organize a series of national and local
“Shut Down the War” events. This will be the 50th anniversary of the
day that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This
act of defiance launched the modern Civil Rights struggle as a mass movement in
the streets.
This anniversary is an appropriate occasion to take direct
action to shut down the war; not just the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the
war against working people and people of color here at home. TONC is calling on
activists across the country to organize student walkouts, sickouts, boycotts
and other direct action to say “Bring the troops home now, or we’ll
shut it down!”
Sept. 10 strategy meeting
To launch this
busy season of activity and protest, the Troops Out Now Coalition will be
holding a Strategy Meeting in New York City at the Lang Center at New School
University in Manhattan on Sept. 10, from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Labor
organizers, anti-war activists, vet erans, clergy, military families and com
munity leaders will be coming from all over the country to plan and coordinate
activities on a national level geared towards shutting the war down.
Sessions will include: updates and planning for Sept. 24-26,
counter-recruiting and beyond Sept. 24: shutting down the war.
This
national meeting of grassroots activists will be an important opportunity to
assess the next steps to organize nationally to bring the troops home
now.
Langley is a national organizer of the Troops Out Now
Coalition.
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