War issue has staying power; Keep it alive on Feb. 15

From our friends at the Iraq Moratorium:

It’s a week until this month’s Iraq Moratorium on Friday, February 15.

Tuesday was what they called Super-Duper Tuesday, with presidential primaries and caucuses in two dozen states. The media covered it like a cross between the Super Bowl and some half-scripted “reality show.” But no matter how the talking heads and the candidates’ staffs try to spin things in some other direction, the fact remains that for us and for tens of millions of our fellow everyday Americans, the real issue is ending the war in Iraq.

An article in the San Jose Mercury News tells the story:

WASHINGTON – The Iraq war, conventional wisdom goes, has been eclipsed as the No. 1 issue of the presidential campaign. The housing crisis, credit crunch and overall economic woes top the list of voters’ concerns, recent polls show.

“But as the war nears two grim milestones – five years since the invasion and nearly 4,000 Americans killed – the question of what to do in Iraq is never far below the surface. In California, where polls show 42 percent of Republicans and 91 percent of Democrats oppose U.S. policy in Iraq, strong anti-war sentiment gives the issue staying

power…

The candidates sometimes avoid difficult questions about Iraq. The Democrats concede the surge improved security and don’t talk much about what they would do if violence increased during a withdrawal. Republicans talk often about “victory” over terrorists, but not about whether U.S. troops should try to suppress a messy civil war.

The war will be a major issue with distinct risks for both parties, predicted Jon Cohen, the director of the Washington Post’s polling. While a majority of Americans believe the war was a mistake, “there is much less settled opinion on how to go forward, so it’s a trickier issue for both sides,” he said.

There, in a nutshell, is why the Iraq Moratorium is so important. The people of this country want this war over with and we want it over with pronto. But 15 months after we voted in a new Congress to do the job, nothing has changed! It is crystal clear that nothing is going to change, unless and until we, the people, make sure it does.

February 15 is Moratorium Day #6. On the Iraq Moratorium website , you can check out what happened in January and look up events planned for this month in your area (and list new ones if an event you know about hasn’t been posted there yet.) You can also check out our growing list of individual actions you can take up in observation of the Moratorium.

For instance, a handful of churches in New England started ringing their bells at noon on the Third Friday of January. This month a bunch more are planning to do so. In October, veterans and others in Hobart, IN pioneered Mall Walks, wearing t-shirts protesting the war. By last month a half a dozen groups around the country took similar strolls through their local malls.

So consider this a little reminder:

Make your plans, now, to break your daily routine and take some action to end the war on the 15th.

Spread the word to friends, family and co-workers.

Post a short report on what you did, during the days after the Moratorium.

Give a buck (or more) to keep this project growing. If everyone who takes part in a Moratorium action every month gave one dollar, it would be enough to sustain the effort and build on our success, which includes more than 600 events since September.

What are you doing on February 15?