What You Can Do to Oppose the U.S. Military Occupation of Iraq

1. Tell Your Elected Representatives to Bring Our Troops Home Now. Contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them you oppose the US military occupation of Iraq. Say you think occupation betrays American values, violates the will of the Iraqi people, fuels anti-Americanism, and makes us less safe at home. If they don't agree, organize your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to call them again, email them, ask for a meeting, or protest outside their offices. But begin with the first call; The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.
2. Demand Books, Not Bombs.Instead of spending billions on a humongous military, we should invest in our schools and health care system. Hold a rally at your library, school or hospital to show how this war is bleeding money from our local communities. Enlist teachers, librarians and nurses to speak. Use the rally as a way to talk about how much could be done in your community with the money it costs to build a single cruise missile.
3. Urge Your Governor to Bring the National Guard Troops Home Four out of 10 US troops in Iraq are National Guardsmen and women. The Guard's heavy deployment to Iraq is draining our communities of first-responders, and leaving us without enough local help for national security threats, natural disasters and community safety. Nearly half of every police department is missing officers due to Iraq deployment. Tell your Governor to recall state Guard troops from Iraq and not send more troops, because they're needed here at home.
4. Counter the Military Recruiters; Recruit for Peace.Military recruiters are in almost every school in the United States, encouraging young people to join the armed services. They promise money for education and exciting jobs, a message that appeals to young people with limited opportunities. We have a right to be in the schools too. Ask to be able to make a presentation about alternatives to war on the same day that military recruiters are going to make their presentation. Hand out flyers at schools telling students what's left out of the recruiters' talks. Tell parents that they can instruct the school not to give their child's home contact information to military recruiters.
5. Educate, educate, educate.We need to counter the Bush administration's "spin" about the war, and media bias that isn't showing Americans what the reality of war looks like. Discuss these issues with people who don't already agree with you; promote independent news sources; hand out educational flyers; organize teach-ins; and write letters to the editor.
6. Connect with the peace movement. There are hundreds of groups around the country working for peace and opposing a U.S. colony in Iraq. Some peace groups that have chapters in many cities and towns include Peace Action, the American Friends Service Committee, and CODEPINK. You can also look at the "local contacts" section on the United for Peace & Justice website and see who are the peace groups in your community: www.unitedforpeace.org.