As we hope many of you are aware, the United States’ illegal occupation of Iraq is approaching its 5th year. Politicians have been skirting around the issue by passing meaningless resolutions and blaming the Iraqis for the problems the United States has caused in Iraq. Clearly, we cannot rely on these people to end the war and as a result we must take action ourselves to end this war. Each year, the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq has drawn large protests around the world however these have had little effect in altering the course of the war. This is due in part because people see the anniversary of the war as the only day of the year to take action against the war.

This year, ACTIVATE hopes to make the anniversary of the war a beginning in stronger anti-war organizing in Grand Rapids. Last year, we upped the stakes by marching to Representative Ehlers’ house, forcing him to begin to defend (however poorly he has done so) his position on the war. This year, after considerable thought and reflection, we feel that the antiwar movement needs to build its skills and increase the frequency of activity. We need to find new ways to challenge both the system responsible for the war, as well as challenging ourselves to find new ways of resisting.

In order to accomplish this, ACTIVATE will be putting out a series of guides on how to carry out certain actions, activities, tactics, and protests. Along with this, we will be putting on various workshops and hosting discussions in order for us to share skills and increase our skill-base and experience.

In doing this, we hope that people will come up with their own ideas on how to commemorate the anniversary of the war by carrying out many decentralized actions in different locations. We want to highlight the fact that there are an almost infinite number of ways in which we can act to stop the war, and that it is imperative that there be sustained activity around the war. Everything from direct action to vigils must be on the table–and at varying times–all tactics are important.

In addition to calling for decentralized actions, ACTIVATE is hosting a march on March 15 at 12:00pm at Heartside Park in downtown Grand Rapids. As we have in the past, we will use the march to make connections between related issues–militarism, racism, and capitalism–and to draw in people from outside the traditional sectors of the antiwar movement.

In Solidarity,
- ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) – www.activategr.org

PS – Expect to hear and see more from us very soon.

PPS – Additional Resources:

March 15 Plans and Promotional Materials:
http://www.activategr.org/news/5th-anniversary-antiwar-march/

Why ACTIVATE Calls for an Immediate End to the Occupation of Iraq:
http://www.activategr.org/news/end-the-occupation/

ACTIVATE’s Position on the 2008 Elections:
http://www.activategr.org/news/election-statement/