Get Involved!
Resistance to a new war on Iraq is snowballing. A recent poll in the UK, our most likely ally in a war against Iraq, revealed that a full two-thirds of British voters feel an attack on Iraq under present circumstances would be unjustified. Meanwhile, allies from Germany to Jordan have expressed outright rejection or major apprehension over Bush administration rhetoric. In the United States, polls and protests are putting pressure on the Bush admnistration to reconsider its blnd march to war. Still, war is a possibility. Now is the time to make your voice heard!
What You Can Do:
Sign the Iraq Peace Pledge
Sponsored by a growing coalition of national and local anti-war groups, the Iraq Peace Pledge is a way for you to:
- Publicly register your opposition to war on Iraq
- Add your name to a national list of citizens opposed to war that will be delivered to Congressional offices
- Join a coordinated national campaign to prevent a war with Iraq
Over 11,000 Americans have signed the pledge, which reads:
"I support peace for Iraq. I grant permission to use my name and city publicly as an opponent of the ongoing economic and bombing war on Iraq, and of any escalation of that war."
Signers of the pledge choose to be contacted to participate in:
- PUBLIC OUTREACH: Participate in legal demonstrations or vigils
- LOBBY: Letter writing or lobbying elected officials
- MEDIA: Contacting my local news & editorial outlets
- EDUCATE: Organizing an event in your community or place of worship
- VOLUNTEER: Working with local groups to promote the Pledge
Sign the Pledge of Resistance
The Pledge of resistence is an extension of the Peace Pledge. It is a pledge to commit nonviolent civil disobedience at an appropriate location in the event of new war with Iraq. The pledge reads:
"If the United States sends combat troops, invades by proxy, bombs or otherwise significantly escalates its intervention in Iraq, I pledge to join with others to engage in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience at U.S. Federal facilities, Congressional offices, military installations and other appropriate places. I pledge to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience in order to prevent or halt the death and destruction such U.S. military action causes the people of Iraq." Download the full pledge here.
Why nonviolent resistance?
U.S. citizens have a long history of nonviolent resistance to injustice and war. Nonviolent direct action was used effectively by the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the Central America solidarity movement and the anti-Vietnam war movement. Nonviolent resistance has also been used in liberation struggles around the world, from India to South Africa to the Philippines. Nationally coordinated nonviolent resistance will signal the unwillingness of thousands of Americans to support this war. It is an expression of our highest moral, spiritual and civic principles -- an effective way to bring the issue dramatically before the public and to pressure the U.S. government to stop the war.
Demonstrations and Vigils
You do not need hundreds of people to be effective. In fact, small groups presenting a dramatic or creative message can win more attention than a mass demonstration. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing...
- Hold a silent vigil, with all participants dressed in black. Standing in a straight line or another formation, hold signs that convey your message and have a couple of people passing out literature to passers-by. This silent, solemn presence can be especially effective in a normally bustling environment.
- Use street theater and/or life-sized puppets to get attention and dramatize some aspect of the realities of war.
- Have participants wear signs bearing the names (and ages/life work/circumstances of death, if possible) of Iraqis or U.S. soldiers who have been killed during the span of the US war with Iraq.
- Stage a mock funeral procession with coffins and march solemnly through town. Recite names of Iraqis who were killed during or since the Gulf War.
- Have a car or bike caravan: decorate 7-10 cars or multiple bike riders with anti-war slogans and cruise slowly through town, passing out leaflets (if it's a car caravan, it's a good idea to have bikers accompanying the caravan to pass out literature). Bring megaphones and let folks know what you're about. Make it fun!
- Hold an Iraq Peace Pledge Drive. Set up one or several tables around town with copies of the Iraq Peace Pledge and background info. Many people will indicate that they'd like to be involved in future demonstrations or vigils, which can create a new pool of participants for your future actions.
- Don't forget to write a press release. Creative actions often capture the media's attention, especially in small or mid-sized towns.
Good luck! Please tell us your success stories so we can post them on the site for others to see.
Contacting and Visiting Elected Officials
Elected officials need to know your views.
Visit congress.org to get information about your elected officials, find contact information for your local media outlets and fill out voter registration. Voice your opposition for war by writing to the President, Vice President, your Senators and Rep. You can also search for elected officials by name or zip code. Each bio page has a “send message” link (usually under the official’s picture). Selected letters (including several regarding Iraq) are posted on the website.
It is not necessary to contact members of the state congress.
Compile a list of all elected officials to be in contact with and their contact information. Include both the state and Washington DC offices of congresspeople. Also include:
- White House comments line: 202-456-1111
- White House switchboard: 202-456-1414
- George Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
- Dick Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
Putting pressure on elected officials to resist or stop a war with Iraq is extremely important. The best way to get their attention is, in descending order: personal meetings, faxes, phone calls, email. Do not use postal mail.
Circulate the list of contact information for elected officials as wide as possible. Ask everyone you know to constantly phone and email.
Meeting with Elected Officials
Senators and representatives often post their schedules on their websites. Find out when they will be in the state and try to arrange a meeting. If you or someone you know is traveling to Washington DC, try to arrange a meeting there.
When meeting with elected officials, bring information about the effects of sanctions and war on the Iraqi people. Try to convey that war on Iraq is wrong and there is massive resistance to it among the official’s constituency.
It may be helpful to present the official with petitions to resist or stop war with Iraq. Do not merely present a petition as randomly collected signatures unless you have thousands. Say something like: “Last Sunday I asked everyone in my church who opposes war with Iraq to sign their name for you,” or “I told the students in my civics class I was going to be meeting with you, and they wanted me to let you know they oppose war with Iraq.”
Organize an Educational Event in Your Community
Libraries, schools, parks, and places of worship are perfect venues for a discussion on war with Iraq. Show a movie or invite a speaker who has been to Iraq.
Suggested Videos:
- Hidden Wars of Desert Storm: A 64 minute documentary that explores some of the more controversial questions of the Gulf War. Were all diplomatic means really utilized to try and resolve the issue peacefully? What are the facts behind "Gulf War Syndrome"? And, what are the alternative purposes behind the embargo against Iraq that still persists? The result of two years of investigating, The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm, narrated by actor John Hurt, uses documents never before seen on television, and interviews with prominent figures such as General Norman Schwarzkopf, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and former UN Iraq Program Director Dennis Halliday, among others, to answer these and other questions.
- Forum on Iraq - Sanctions and the Politics of Weapons Inspections: John Miglietta, a documentary film maker and activist in New York City, has recently completed a 30- minute video to educate the general public about two of the central issues surrounding US government policy towards Iraq. It features Scott Ritter, former chief weapons inspector for the UN in Iraq, and Dr. Simon Harak, SJ, peace activist and member of Voices in the Wilderness, a US group which defies the US-led sanctions regime by bringing in food and medicines to the Iraqi people. Ritter, a former US Marine intelligence officer, and Harak, a long-time pacifist and Professor of ethics, have been speaking together on college campuses on two of the key issues that the American public needs to understand: the human catastrophe in Iraq brought on by the sanctions and the reality of the Iraqi "threat" via weapons of mass destruction.
- Paying the Price: A 74 minute (also available in 47-minute version) special report by award-winning British journalist and filmmaker John Pilger. Investigating the effects of sanctions on the people of Iraq, Pilger takes the former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Denis Halliday, back to the crippled country for the first time since he resigned in protest over the sanctions back in September 1998. Together, they reveal an extraordinary portrait of life in a country with a decaying infrastructure and a population that Pilger says is being held hostage to the compliance of Saddam Hussein.
- Greetings from Missle Street: In the Summer of 2000, members of Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to stop the economic sanctions against Iraq, committed an act of civil disobedience. Facing up to 12 years in jail and fines potentially in excess of $1 million, the delegates went to live in Basra, Iraq with families who survive on the U.N. Oil for Food Program. As the enforced poverty in which Iraqis live shows, the real crime is the effects of 10 years of sanctions and random bombings, imposed primarily by the United States, not going to Iraq to get a clear picture of what’s happening. The Iraqi families involved in the project asked to have their stories told. Greetings From Missile Street is a rare glimpse at a small but exemplary sample of the hardships experienced by Iraqi citizens.
Find a speaker near you:
- Voices in the Wilderness Local Resource List: A list of Voices in the Wilderness members who have traveled to Iraq and are available to assist with resources, outreach, and education. Slides and several videos are also available and may be part of presentations. Speakers stipends are not expected. If a speaking engagement incurs travel expenses, financial help will be appreciated.
- Iraq Speakers Bureau: ISB helps to book policy experts, diplomats, former UN officials, human rights activists, and public health researchers.
- Veterans for Peace: VFP's Iraq Water Project has sent three teams of veterans to Iraq who paid for their own expenses and worked alongside the Iraqi laborers repairing water treatment plants. Contact VFP at dovlg@coffey.com to find out if any speakers are available in your area.
Media Activism
Ali Abunimah, the unflagging Middle East analyst has this to say about media activism: "When we see stories and articles in the media that are inaccurate or biased, our natural response is to be infuriated and develop a hostile attitude to the media. It is very important to realize that directing hostility towards the media or approaching them with anger will NOT bring about positive change. Yes, there is a lot of deliberate distortion and omission, but often bad reporting is the result of media organizations not having access to good information and to alternative viewpoints. This is where YOU can make the difference."
We think Ali Abunimah's Media Activism Advice is an excellent step-by-step guide to media activism. Written for the Electronic Intifada site and focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the document offers invaluable wisdom for media activism on any issue.
Here are some examples of letters that were successfully published in newspapers:
Here are some examples of anti-war op-eds successfully published in newspapers:
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