Feature Archives

Sacramento area anti-war activists are keeping the pressure on the Governor to withdraw the California National Guard from Iraq. The Sacramento Catholic Worker House, Grandmothers for Peace and other local peace activists held a rally and march in Sacramento on Friday, December 15th demanding that the California National Guard be withdrawn from Iraq immediately. Photos

On January 2, 2007, shortly after her appearance on Democracy Now, journalist Sarah Olson received word that the U.S. Army was backing off of its demand that she testify at the January 4 pre-trial hearing in the court-martial of Lt. Ehren Watada. The Army subpoenaed Olson in December to testify about her interview with Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse his orders to deploy to Iraq and the first military officer charged with public dissent since 1965. Olson remains under subpoena to testify at the full court-martial of Lt. Watada scheduled for early February at Fort Lewis in Washington State.

On December 14th, a US Army prosecutor subpoenaed independent journalist, radio producer and former Indybay volunteer Sarah Olson, seeking her sworn testimony at the court-martial of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada. Watada refused deployment to Iraq earlier this year.

December 8th through 10th were National Days of Action to Support GI Resistance and GI Rights. Military resisters, their families, veterans and concerned community members took public action all over the US. In San Francisco, there was a rally and procession on Saturday, December 9th at at the War Memorial Veterans Building. Photos

On December 7th, Bay Area United Against War will celebrate the recent victory over JROTC with a potluck dinner at Compañeros del Barrio, at 474 Valencia St in San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Education voted on Tuesday, November 14th to phase out its JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) program over a two-year period. It is believed that this is the first time any school district has eliminated an existing JROTC program. The Board of Ed members who voted in favor of eliminating JROTC from San Francisco’s schools are Dr. Dan Kelly, Sarah Lipson, Eric Mar, and Mark Sanchez.

A new group called Mandate for Peace has emerged in the wake of the 2006 elections. They say that the mid-term elections were a referendum on the war, and that the results showed that the voters said that they want peace. The organization says that the next step is to make sure that the new Representatives implement the will of the people and get the troops out of Iraq. Code Pink, Grandmothers for Peace, United for Peace, and others gathered outside of Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office on November 9th to demand that she speak up for the antiwar majority and take immediate action to bring the troops home. Video and Photos: 1 | 2 Mandate for Peace has encouraged others to take similar actions.

Sgt. Ricky Clousing, who served as a U.S. Army Interrogator in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, pled guilty to a charge of "absent without leave" on Thursday October 12th at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. Clousing is a 24-year-old Army sergeant and interrogator from Seattle who is also an Iraq combat veteran. Clousing was sentenced to three months' confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of pay while confined, and a bad conduct discharge. Clousing had left Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2005 after returning from Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division, and had been AWOL until he turned himself in on August 11th, 2006. At the press conference on August 11th, he outlined his opposition to a "war of aggression" that has "no legal basis to be fought."

On Wednesday, November 1st, anti-war protesters held a vigil to protest a Democratic Party fundraiser. They will be outside of the Warfield Theater, 982 Market Street at 6th/Taylor Streets, from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Democratic donors will be inside, at an event called "Flashback to the 60's." The vigil was co-sponsored by Not in Our Name, CodePink, and Global Exchange. Green Party Congressional candidate Krissy Keefer planned to vigil silently to mourn the death of democracy. Protesters aimed to draw attention to Pelosi's refusal to help end the war and impeach President Bush.