On 5th anniversary of U.S. invasion, South Bay demands end to Iraq war

The shoes of soldiers, civilian men, women, and children were laid out on the footpath in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King Library in downtown San Jose. They symbolized the thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed so far in the war in Iraq.

Some 200 people had gathered on Wednesday afternoon, March 19th, 2008 to speak out against five years of war in Iraq. It is now the third longest war in U.S. history, after the Vietnam war and the current war in Afghanistan.

Iraq war veteran, Jesse Johnsen, of Santa Cruz condemned the lies and deceptions that were told to him by his commanders in Iraq. He said that the combat training he received deliberately dehumanized Iraqi civilians in order to make it easier for U.S. troops to kill. He was told to act first and then ask questions later.

Johnsen served two tours of duty in Iraq while in the U.S. Marine Corps. He said that he began to realize the deceptions of the war during his second tour of duty in Iraq. He recalled that most of the marines he served with were afraid to talk openly about what they thought, but they all just wanted to get out of Iraq and go home.

A dozen members of the labor union Unite Here! came as group in support of fellow member Ana Diaz whose son was sent to Iraq. According to Diaz, military recruiters falsely promised that her son would not be going to war. Now, she wants her son and all U.S. troops back home.

Gil Villagrán, a faculty member at San Jose State University, compared the growing public sentiment against the Iraq war to the mass movement against the Vietnam war. Recalling his days as a student at San Jose State University nearly 40 years ago, he said that the only factor that prevents the antiwar movement, particularly among college students, from being much larger is the lack of a military draft.

The "speak-out" against the Iraq war was organized by the San Jose Peace and Justice Center. It was supported by South Bay Mobilization; Raging Grannies; Code Pink; the Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Refrigeration Fitters Union Local 393; the Silicon Valley Impeachment Coalition; and many other organizations.

Other participants included students, musicians, workers, a dancer, and a bicyclist "against oil wars." Organizer Charlotte Casey said that so many people wanted to speak "because they are angry that this illegal war goes on and on."

At the end of the vigil, Richard Hobbs, a candidate for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, led a "walk and fast for peace." The walk proceeded from the Dr. Martin Luther King Library to the South Bay Islamic Society on Third Street, where participants in Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice and a wide variety of religious organizations broke their three-day fast at a community dinner.

These protest were among many in the South Bay.

Another was held at 10:15 pm at Stanford University to mark the actual time that the U.S. aerial bombardment of Baghdad began five years ago. Students and staff held a candlelight vigil in White Plaza, laying out a giant peace symbol in lighted candles. Participants took turns to offer words of wisdom about war, peace, dehumanization, struggles at home for social justice, and striving to create a better society. The vigil was organized by Stanford Says No to War.

Other vigils were held during the preceding weekend in front of Palo Alto City Hall, at the corner of Stevens Creek and Winchester Boulevards in San Jose, and at many other locations where weekly or monthly peace vigils have sprouted since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The week's events were capped by a talk by Cindy Sheehan at the First Unitarian Church in San Jose on Saturday, March 22. Sheehan lost her son, Casey, in 2004 while he was serving in Iraq. The tragic loss spurred Sheehan to set up Camp Casey on land she bought at the entrance to President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. The publicity propelled Sheehan into becoming the face of the antiwar movement. She is now challenging Nancy Pelosi for her seat in Congress because of the latter's reluctance to stop funding the Iraq war.

South Bay Mobilization organizer Aamir Qureshi said, "Cindy is the one who brought the antiwar movement to George Bush's doorstep." Now, she is bringing the antiwar movement to Congress.