Anti-War Activists Refuse To Call It Quits

[Itsthetruth]

Activists Against Iraq War Refuse to Call it Quits
by Dogen Hannah
February 7, 2005
Contra Costa Times

National activists say they have gained ground with tactical triumphs, that their fight to force America from Iraq is not lost. More mass protests are on the way, they say, including many on the second anniversary of the war's March 19 onset.

"No, we haven't stopped it (the war) yet," said AiMara Lin national coordinator for the activist group Not In Our Name. "But to me, that's not a good enough reason to not keep going."

Diminished support for the war in recent polls has suggested that activists have a growing and sympathetic audience. Polls have shown as well that more Americans than before favor bringing troops home immediately, although that segment falls short of a majority.

"It's very hard in an election year to not get swept up in the dynamics of an election, because so much is at stake," Cagan said. "It does suck up a tremendous amount of time, energy and money and everything else."

This month, at their national convention, United for Peace and Justice's nearly 1,000 member organizations will try to come up with an 18-month strategy for building anti-war forces. They will be looking for new ideas.

"There's a lot of opposition out there, and how to focus it is a challenge but a very important task," said Bill Dobbs, a spokesman for the coalition. "The conference is going to be a moment for people to plan and develop a strategy."

United for Peace and Justice has called for protests nationwide March 19. In addition, the activist group International ANSWER has "big demonstrations planned everywhere" for that date, said Bill Hackwell, the group's national media coordinator.

The group is confident that mass demonstrations remain a potent tactic for changing public opinion. "If we can break through, we have logic on our side. ... We don't think that the formula that we've been using hasn't been strong," Hackwell said.


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