Protests Against The Invasion & Occupation Of Iraq Are Heating Up

More Americans are beginning to hit the streets, as well as sponsoring web sites and lobbying efforts, in protest against our continued involvement in Iraq. There are several veterans' groups that are specifically against our continued presence and activity in Iraq, as well as veterans' groups from past eras and wars speaking out against US escalation in Iraq. Despite the serious consequences, several soldiers have chosen to stand up against being deployed--in many cases redeployed--in Iraq. We are seeing billboards that merely state: Out Of Iraq Now.

Even Gold Star Mothers are getting involved in the opposition to our Iraq involvement. Many retired generals and field rank officers (O-4 to O-6) have spoken out against the lack of effective strategy and planning in Iraq. These officers--many with impeccable credentials and records of heroic service--are still opposed to the plans for Iraq despite the "new plan" announced by President Bush about a week before the State of the Union Address. There is a oral history project involving interviews with troops that have returned from combat areas that oppose what is going on over there for logical and ethical reasons (c.f. Ground Truth: The Human Cost Of The War)

Despite the heating up of these protests, much like what we witnessed toward the end of the Vietnam Era, President Bush refuses to see the wisdom of the American people.

Thousands Gather to Protest Iraq War Policy in Washington

A raucous and colorful multitude of protesters, led by some of the aging activists of the past, staged a series of rallies and a march on the Capitol yesterday to demand that the United States end its war in Iraq.

Under a blue sky with a pale midday moon, tens of thousands of people angry about the war and other policies of the Bush administration danced, sang, shouted and chanted their opposition.

They came from across the country and across the activist spectrum, with a wide array of grievances. Many seemed to be under 30, but there were others who said they had been at the famed war protests of the 1960s and '70s.

They came to Washington at what they said was a moment of opportunity to push the new Congress to take action against the war, even as the Bush administration is accelerating plans to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. This week, the Senate will begin debating a resolution of disapproval of the president's Iraq policy, setting up a dramatic confrontation with the White House.

Some protesters plan to stay and lobby their representatives in Congress. Other antiwar activists intend to barnstorm states this week urging senators to oppose the troop escalation.

Protesters Say No To War In Iraq (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

The two men stood only inches apart in Portsmouth's Market Square, their voices raised in political disagreement and their faces locked in scowls. All around them, anti-war protesters waved signs and shouted slogans amid the honks of support from passing cars.

This was as contentious and chaotic as it got Saturday, where more than 50 protesters and a handful of people with differing views gathered for a peace vigil.

The vigil and another one that was taking place in Exeter, both between 1 and 2 p.m., were designed to mirror the peace march going on at the same time in Washington, D.C.

Protesters stood in the cold waving signs which read "New Hampshire says no to war" and "Peace now!"

Former Democratic state senator Burt Cohen spoke, drawing cheers from most of the crowd. Cohen urged the crowd to "keep the pressure on" to end the war in Iraq.

"I'm old enough to remember Vietnam. The protests started out small, but they got bigger and bigger and eventually helped bring about the end of the Vietnam War," Cohen said. "I see that happening again."

Army Denies Students Appeal Of Iraq Deployment

The U.S. Army has turned down an Eastern Illinois University student's appeal of orders that would send him to Iraq. Edward Sleezer says his son -- 22-year-old Drew Sleezer -- received the news by letter on Friday. Drew Sleezer is from the Chicago suburb of Darien. He's a sophomore at Eastern Illinois after serving with the Army in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005.

Army enlistment includes a commitment of up to eight years, so Sleezer still has several years to go. He (Sleezer) was told last fall that he would be called up again as part of President Bush's plan to add troops in Iraq. Sleezer has said he would file a second appeal if his first was denied.

Army Vet Ann Wright Running "Field Operations for Peace, Not War"

Ann Wright spent 26 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves. She was a diplomat in the State Department for 15 years before resigning in March 2003, protesting the then-impending invasion of Iraq.

Retired Generals Against Iraq War

Retired generals are speaking out against this war and the civilian leadership that thought it up and messed it up. Retired, yes. But all senior generals are (or at least consider themselves) members of a rather exclusive club, and when they speak out, it's not impossible that they express the opinions of their active peers.

The list is impressive. In a New York Times op-ed column, retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton, who helped revive the Iraqi army, described Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically" and called for his resignation. Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom, former director of the National Security Agency and now a Yale professor, said in a speech covered by the Providence Journal that America's invasion of Iraq might be the worst strategic mistake in American history.