Midwest peace mobilization to mark 9th Anniversary of Afghanistan war with call to end U.S. Wars abroad, at home
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Activists traveling from eight states will mark surging public opposition to Afghanistan occupation and growing government assault on right to dissent at home
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Chicago, IL – Activists from Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota, Indiana and Illinois will gather in Chicago on Saturday, October 16 to mark another anniversary this month of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and to call for an end to the increasingly unpopular occupation — and the federal government’s war on dissent at home.
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 Marchers will assemble for a kick-off rally at 12:30 PM at 450 S. Michigan Avenue — Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway — and march through some of Chicago’s busiest thoroughfares, along State Street and Michigan Avenue to Chicago Ave. and Tower Court in Chicago’s Gold Coast for a closing rally.
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Planning for the action has been under way for months. Organizers seek to build opposition to the deadly consequences of the Afghanistan occupation, and to parallel U.S. sponsored military actions in countries that include Iraq, Palestine, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and to raise awareness about the consequences at home, from funds denied to human needs like jobs and education to the stepped-up federal attack on peace activists and the broader right to dissent.
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On September 24, the FBI raided the homes and offices and served grand jury subpoenas to 14 anti-war and solidarity activists, claiming they were seeking evidence of links to ‘material aid to terrorism’. The FBI has continued to target peace activists for ‘questioning’ in the wake of those raids, and all of the FBI targets have refused to obey the grand jury subpoenas. A growing number of civil liberties advocates have called the federal actions the most serious threat to the right to dissent since the McCarthy witch-hunts of the 1950’s.Â
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Activists from arenas that range from disability rights to public education have signed on to endorse the effort, arguing that every penny spent on U.S. military endeavors abroad denies funding for basic needs at home. They argue that while the economy continues to stumble, foreclosure rates spike, wages stagnate and millions remain out of work, President Obama has pledged a domestic spending freeze at the same time that he’s brought U.S. military spending to its highest level ever. Today, 57% of the federal budget is spent on war and U.S. military expenditures.
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Activists will also hold a teach-in Friday evening on the costs of war at home and abroad beginning at 6:30 PM at Grace Place, 637 S Dearborn Street in Chicago. Speakers will include Bruce Dixon of Black Agenda Report; Palestinian author, activist and scholar Dr. Ghada Talhami; Joe Iosbaker, one of the targets of the FBI raids; JR Fleming of Southside Together Organizing for Power — STOP — which organized against the Chicago Olympics; a representative of La Voz de Los De Abajos, which has been closely monitoring the deadly consequences of the U.S.-backed coup in Honduras; and Chilean activist Maria Pizarro, who was forced into exile after the 1973 U.S.-backed coup in Chile.
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Endorsers of the Friday teach-in and Saturday protest include: 8th Day Center for Justice; Albany Park, Mayfair, North Park Neighbors for Peace & Justice; American Muslims for Palestine; ANSWER Coalition; AWARE (Anti-War, Anti-Racism Effort─Champaign, IL); Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice; Chicago Area CodePINK; Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism; Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights; Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban Five; Chicago Single-Payer Action Network; Chicago Vietnam Veterans Against the War; Chicago World Can’t Wait; Comité Anti-Militarización (CAMI); Cook County Green Party; Dan La Botz Socialist campaign for U.S. Senate in Ohio; DuPage County Green Party; Episcopal Veterans Fellowship; Faith on the Front Line; Fellowship of Reconciliation; Four M’s Company; Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice; Gay Liberation Network; Industrial Workers of the World─Chicago; International Socialist Organization; International Solidarity Movement─Chicago; Jewish Voice For Peace─Chicago; La Voz de los de Abajo; Labor Beat / Labor Express; National Lawyers Guild, Michigan/Detroit Chapter; Near West Citizens for Peace & Justice (NWCPJ); Neighbors for Peace; News and Letters Committees; Nicaragua Solidarity Network; North Shore Coalition for Peace Justice and the Environment; Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition; Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project; Palestine Solidarity Group─Chicago; People Who Care About Peace; Peoria Area Peace Network; Sangat; Socialist Organizer / El Organizador; Socialist Workers Party; St. Clement’s Church Peace Committee; Students for a Democratic Society─Wilbur Wright College; Students for Justice in Palestine — Northeastern Illinois University; Veterans for Peace; Voices for Creative Nonviolence; Workers World Party.
