U.S. REMAINS IN IRAQ AFTER 6 YEARS: On March 19, 2009---The 6th Anniversary Of The War---We'll STILL Be There

Within the first 100 days of Obama's presidency, U.S. troops will still be fighting in Iraq, with an additional 65,000 American military personnel to go into Afghanistan, according to the incoming administration's transitional website www.change.gov

The "Obama-Biden Plan" foreign policy outline on their website also states that troops will be gradually removed from Iraq by one to two brigades a month through 2010. The President-elect's webpage gives no specified starting date for troop withdrawal from Iraq, but says the U.S. military, "...will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda ...and protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel."

The Obama-Biden Plan also calls for U.S. and other NATO forces to increase military resources towards fighting GWOT (the "Global War On Terror").

With the 6th anniversary of the continuing war only three and a half months from now, there is some information available on how local, state, and national groups intend to respond on March 19th to the incoming administration's continued focus on middle-eastern domination and worldwide militarism.

In Rochester, grass-roots ad-hoc coalition of area anti-war groups, Rochester Against War (RAW), continues a weekly discussion on the implications of U.S. military escalation in Afghanistan. Thus far neither RAW, nor any of its allied groups, have made plans for March 19th anti-war demonstrations.

RAW, however, is affiliated with state-wide grassroots organization Upstate New York Anti-War Network (UNYAWN). Recently, UNYAWN member from Albany, Jo Lombardo (Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Northeast Peace and Justice Coalition) contacted Rochester anti-war and peace organizations about signing on to endorse and/or participate in the ad hoc grassroots National Assembly's call out for mobilizations in Washington, D.C. organized by UFPJ (United For Peace and Justice) during the week of March 19, culminating in the massive united demonstrations organized by ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) for Saturday, March 21st, in D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and other cities marking the sixth year of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations is a network that was formed by over 400 anti-war grass-roots activists from 26 states in Cleveland, Ohio this past June to try and forge unity in action in the U.S. anti-war movement. The National Assembly's formation was, in part, a response to the dis-unity and in-fighting of larger "top-down" anti-war organizations like UFPJ and ANSWER, which have organized mass anti-war mobilizations in the past. The National Assembly was also a way to turn up the volume on the voices of smaller peace organizations like the Assembly's members who were overshadowed by larger constructs like ANSWER and UFPJ. You can endorse the larger actions or register your group's local demonstration with the National Assembly at natassembly@aol.com

Prior to the March 19th anniversary, peace activist Kathy Kelly's organization, Voices for Creative Non-Violence, will begin an anti-war encampment outside Chicago in Obama's hometown of Hyde Park, IL on January 1st through the 19th. The action, entitled "Camp Hope" will bring the anti-war movement home to Obama's doorstep. For information go to www.camphope2009.org

Rochester's Independent Media Center (Rochester Indymedia, R-IMC) traveled to the recent large-scale anti-war, anti-poverty, and anti-capitalist mobilizations at the Democratic (DNC) and Republican National Conventions (RNC) in Denver CO and St. Paul MN this past September. IMC observed that the organizers of the St. Paul anti-war mobilization, Unconventional Action, added the organizing strategies used by San Francisco's Stop the War to the more traditional march and Rally-style actions at the RNC. To everyone's recent surprise, a Rochester IMC correspondent reported that the Twin Cities police forces had issued a mea culpa on their local FOX news channel (available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkZvtGCh5YA) saying that the police officers had lost control of the city on the first day of the RNC to Unconventional Action, despite fifty million dollars the Twin Cities spent on riot gear, weapons, intelligence gathering, and 12 months of special police training.

Local and regional anti-authoritarian and anarchist organizations such as Rochester Unconventional Action, or North East Anarchist Network (NEAN), also have not indicated what they plan to do on the upcoming anniversary of the war. However, more information on the successful organizing model used in St. Paul will be available when Seattle independent media videographer Frank "The Stimulator" Lopez from Submedia presents his film of the RNC protests, "Ground Noise and Static" at the Arnett Branch of the Rochester Public Library, 310 Arnett Blvd., Tuesday, Dec 2nd 2008, 6pm.

A national call has just come through from Pagan theologian and justice activist Starhawk to, "...all anarchists, horizontalists, autonomists, anti-capitalists, anti-authoritarians, and others organizing a world from below..." for an anti-authoritarian "Celebrate People's History and Build Popular Power" bloc during the inauguration in Washington, DC on January 20th, 2009. This protest of electoral politics does not directly address the wars, but does look to "...be in critical solidarity with people who have been violently marginal-ized," which describes non-combatants and "poverty-drafted" military languishing in Iraq for the 6th year. More information on what the Washington bloc will be doing is available at http://hopefrompeople.com/ The call invites similar actions in home cities if travel to DC. is not possible.