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'Bring the troops home now!'; Hundreds travel from Wisconsin, Minnesota to D.C.

Fourteen buses filled with a wide cross-section of the state’s population, rolled out of Wisconsin Friday headed for the September 24 Washington D.C. “Bring the troops home now!” march and rally. Hundreds more came from Minnesota. Over 300,000 participated in D.C.
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Traveling hours on buses…

Hundreds from Wisconsin, Minnesota declare:
'Bring the troops home now!'

By Bryan G. Pfeifer

Fourteen buses filled with a wide cross-section of the state’s population, rolled out of Wisconsin Friday headed for the September 24 Washington D.C. “Bring the troops home now!” march and rally.

They joined over 300,000 others in D.C. according to the sponsors International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice.

Other demands of the demonstration included ending the U.S.’ colonial occupations’ of Afghanistan, Haiti and Palestine, stopping the racist anti-immigrant and anti-labor offensive domestically, ending military recruitment in schools and communities and real relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

More than 350 cities and towns organized transportation to come to DC. Demonstrations also took place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and over 200 U.S. cities.

International protests were held in Paris, Rome, Madrid, Oslo and many other cities. In London thousands came out, many brandishing the popular placard “Bush: World No. 1 Terrorist.”

Anti-war sentiment widespread

Over 700 people filled the 14 buses and over 300 more traveled in car and van caravans to D.C. Some also flew. The over one thousand people, many low-wager earners, from Wisconsin traveled between 16-25 hours one way to make their voices heard. They included elders, immigrants, organized and unorganized workers, parents, and students.

The buses departed from Ashland, Eau Claire, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee, Wausau and Duluth, Minnesota near Superior.

Those staying behind held protests and other actions across the state in LaCrosse, Milwaukee, Madison and elsewhere.

Sixty-seven percent of those questioned in a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll conducted Sept. 16-18 said they disapproved of George W. Bush's handling of the war, the most since the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Pearla Moler, a 54-year-old artist from Waukesha traveling to her first national demonstration, encapsulated the sentiments of the Wisconsin anti-war delegation. “We can stop this,” she said. “We were misled into a war and the war was supposed to be over and it’s not.”

Before disembarking from UW-Madison’s Memorial Union with his father and sister, ten-year-old Justin Barham declared, “I’m ready. It’s going to make a difference.”

Mike Miles from Luck, Wisconsin and a member of Catholic worker, was a principal organizer of the Wisconsin delegation. “Hurricane Katrina has shown just how wrong our nation’s priorities are. Resources that could have been used to save lives are instead tied up in a war that continues to kill Iraqis and U.S. service people,” said Miles.

Other organizations that helped organize the trip included Peace Action Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Green Party, the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice and many community-based anti-war groups like the Manitowoc area Lakeshore Peacemakers and the Madison Area Peace Coalition. College and university anti-war and social justice organizations, especially in the UW System, were a key part of the organizing.

Many of these organizations are also participating in gathering signatures for a statewide referendum to officially call for the return of U.S. troops in Iraq. Thus far 5,000 of 16,000 signatures needed by Nov. 4 have been collected (www.wisconsingreenparty.org.

Almost 2,000 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq. Fourty-four from Wisconsin have died most between the ages of 18 and 30 and from formerly unionized industrial manufacturing areas. Many more suffer from injuries sustained in the war and from effects of depleted uranium.

In Minnesota hundreds of that state’s residents traveled to D.C. for an even longer trip than their state neighbors, some traveling 30 hours one way. A mass march and rally also took place in St. Paul with smaller actions such as vigils in other parts of the state.

The September 24 protest was the first time Anne Winkler-Morey of Minneapolis had attended a national demonstration in 20 years. She said the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was a catalyst for people to come out. “People are seeing the connection between what’s happening at home and what’s happening abroad,” she said.

The Minnesota delegation was organized primarily by Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), St. Joan of Arc Church and the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee.

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