Join us in Walnut Creek to mark the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war

As part of one of many activities to mark the tragic 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq, Peace Action West will be tabling at the “Surge for Peace” march and rally in Walnut Creek on Saturday, March 15th sponsored by the Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center.

While it is great to take part in the marches in big cities like San Francisco, I found the Walnut Creek march to be particularly inspiring when I attended two years ago.  It is exciting to see so many people turn out in an area that is not known as a bastion of peace movement activity.  It really demonstrates what most of us in the movement know: the kind of foreign policy we want to see is what the majority of American people—the “mainstream”—support.  When I was in Walnut Creek for the 3rd anniversary, the march in San Francisco was smaller than years past, yet the Walnut Creek march was 3 times as big as the year before. There are millions of others who don’t attend these events but support a radical shift in our foreign policy.

If you attend the rally, make sure you stop by the Peace Action West table.  Jahsiah and some of our volunteers will be collecting petition signatures to Rep. Tauscher on stopping new nuclear weapons and comments to the Department of Energy.  On March 24th, we will bring community leaders to meet with Rep. Tauscher’s staff and present the petitions we have gathered so far, so this is a great time to get your name on there for the first delivery.

However you decide to commemorate the anniversary of the war in Iraq, let it be a starting point for a year when we turn up the pressure another notch and keep building momentum until US troops start coming home.