Sept. 24: Unity in the Streets

[UFPJ Action Alerts <listmaster at unitedforpeace.org>]

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
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United for Peace and Justice is circulating this memo to explain the
political reasoning behind our organizing approach for the
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe>September 24-26 mobilization, and
to respond to concerns about our decision not to merge our September 24
demonstration with a separate anti-war event being organized that same day.

We have reached a real turning point in the Iraq War. The Bush
Administration is experiencing incredible pressure to change course as a
result of declining U.S. popular support, growing calls within Congress and
the media for military withdrawal, and continued chaos and bloodshed within
Iraq.

UFPJ is organizing our three-day mobilization in Washington, D.C. from
September 24-26 to increase the pressure at this strategic time. This
mobilization is different from the large anti-war demonstrations we have
organized in the past in several key respects, and these differences have
shaped the organizing decisions that UFPJ's leadership -- a
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=1874>national steering
committee elected by our member groups -- has made about the mobilization.

END THE WAR ON IRAQ!
Visit the
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe>Fall Mobilization Section
of the UFPJ website
to download leaflets,
endorse the Sept. 24-26 events,
and/or make a much-needed financial contribution to our work.



The September mobilization comes as anti-war sentiment is dramatically
growing throughout the United States. New polls indicate that up to 60% of
people in this country oppose the war and believe some or all U.S. troops
should be withdrawn from Iraq. If we organize in an inclusive way, with
broad demands, accessible language, and an inviting style, we have the
potential to organize the largest and most diverse demonstration against
the war to date, with people from all walks of life coming together in a
clear call to bring our troops home now. If we are willing to go outside
our comfort zones and speak to people our movements don't typically reach,
we have the potential to mobilize large numbers of people from outside the
usual activist circles, people from a wide range of communities who are fed
up with the carnage in Iraq and ready to stand up publicly for peace and
justice. A truly massive turn-out for our September 24 march against the
war -- representing communities large and small, of every color and
ethnicity, every economic status, and every religious creed -- will
dramatize to the Bush administration and Congress how unpopular and
politically untenable this war has become.

The September mobilization also comes as years of intense anti-war
organizing are beginning to pay off in the legislative realm, with movement
in both houses of Congress to call for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. To build
on this crucial new political momentum, our three-day September
mobilization against the war will focus not just on the White House but
also on Congress; it will include not just the major protest march on
Saturday, September 24, but also, on Monday, September 26, large-scale
grassroots lobbying and a mass nonviolent civil disobedience action.

Finally, the September mobilization comes as the anti-war movement is
organizing more strategically than ever, pursuing a series of grassroots
campaigns that target the most vulnerable aspects of the Bush
administration's war drive. These include the increasingly effective
nationwide efforts to counter military recruitment, a rapidly growing
campaign of anti-war organizing in faith-based communities, and the
multi-state campaign against the use of the National Guard in Iraq. As part
of our three-day mobilization, we will be providing a range of ways for
people to plug into these campaigns, including an interfaith religious
service, grassroots training sessions, and "interactive stations" at the
anti-war festival following our Saturday march.

As part of our effort to build the most inclusive and diverse possible
mobilization, UFPJ has chosen two simple, broad demands for the weekend:
End the War on Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now! These main slogans are
accompanied by five additional demands that link to specific campaigns:
Leave no military bases behind; End the looting of Iraq; Stop bankrupting
our communities;  Stop the torture; No military recruitment in our schools.

We have chosen these overarching demands for the mobilization because we
believe it is politically imperative to bring the largest number of people
together right now in opposition to the war on Iraq. This September, we are
seeking to mobilize all opponents of the war, no matter what their
positions are on other political matters, and so we have kept our demands
broad and simple. At the same time, United for Peace and Justice, as a
coalition, has taken strong stances on an array of issues related to the
Iraq War: opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and
U.S. support for that occupation; stopping torture and illegal detentions;
preventing future “pre-emptive” wars against Iran, North Korea, Syria,
Venezuela, Cuba or other countries; supporting the democratic struggles of
the Haitian people; and challenging U.S. nuclear hegemony by demanding the
elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.

For the September mobilization, UFPJ warmly welcomes our allies in the wide
array of peace and justice movements to participate in the mobilization in
ways that highlight the links between their struggles and issues and the
absolute necessity to end the war on Iraq. We invite all those struggling
for peace and justice abroad or at home to organize contingents in our
march or feeder marches to the demonstration. The September 24 march is a
powerful opportunity for labor, women, communities of color, lesbian/gay/
bisexual/transgender people, immigrants, youth and students, and many other
communities to stand together and say, “We cannot make headway on any of
our issues without ending the war and bringing the troops home.”

Some people have urged UFPJ to consider a joint demonstration with the
Sept. 24 National Coalition, initiated by A.N.S.W.E.R., which is also
organizing an anti-war protest on September 24. We take seriously the
concerns from local organizers about the potential for confusion if there
are two separate marches on September 24. Therefore, we have agreed to US
Labor Against the War's proposal to convene a meeting with A.N.S.W.E.R. to
work through logistical issues about the day, including the possibility of
bringing the marches together. We are committed to working in good faith on
this process. But because of our different approaches to organizing and how
demands are articulated, we are not proposing a “unified” program that day.
(See our <http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2853>May 23 memo to
our member groups for a more detailed explanation.)

We urge all those who seek to bring this war to an end -- from national
groups to local organizations to concerned individuals -- to put maximum
effort into bringing new people and organizations into the nation's capital
for September 24-26. The streets of Washington, D.C. are big enough to
contain all of our events and movements that weekend. The important thing
is that the streets be filled with as many people as possible, all holding
the Bush Administration and Congress accountable for the continuing
devastation of this illegal and unjustified war.


<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe>
END THE WAR ON IRAQ! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

Massive 3-day mobilization in Washington, D.C.

September 24-26, 2005

Visit our website today to download leaflets, endorse the mobilization, and
learn more about the plans for this powerful weekend of action

<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe>http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe


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