from CommonDreams:
Published on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 by OneWorld.net
Bush to Face Street Protests over Iraq Escalation Plan
by Haider Rizvi
The Bush administration's plan to beef up the U.S. military presence in Iraq is likely to create a new wave of protests across the United States in the coming days.
As Bush is expected to announce his plans Wednesday to send approximately 20,000 more troops to Iraq, anti-war groups say they will hold rallies and sit-ins in dozens of cities across the nation to press the U.S. Congress to thwart any troop escalation.
Within 24 hours of Bush's announcement, there will be protests all over the country, according to Tom Andrews, former Congressman and director of Win Without War, one of the largest anti-war coalitions.
Andrews' group, which is working closely with United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), another major anti-war umbrella group, has planned a series of protests, including a Web-based campaign to push Congress to block Bush's plans for Iraq.
In addition to rallies and sit-ins, the campaign includes personal YouTube.com appeals and photos calling for legislators in Washington to reject Bush's strategy for Iraq and call for an end to the occupation.
Those participating in the Web-based campaign have already begun to download
"No" signs, with petitions urging Congress to exercise its powers of the purse to block any escalation of war in Iraq.
"It is unbelievable that after the voters and the Iraqis said they want and end to this war, Bush is going to escalate it," said Leslie Cagan of UFPJ. "He was wrong to begin the war and he is wrong to prolong it even one more day."
Cagan called the Iraq war "outrageous," and demanded that Bush recall all U.S. troops from Iraq.
For his part, however, Bush has made clear that he not only intends to increase the size of the U.S. army in Iraq, but would also seek further funding for the war.
Some reports suggest that next month Bush is likely to ask Congress for emergency funding for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and what he calls the "war on terror" that would bring total military spending for fiscal year 2007 to more than $110 billion.
The expected request for increased funding, if approved, would bring total spending on the war to more than $500 billion.
But given the changed political climate on Capitol Hill, indications are that Bush's effort to boost funding and troop levels may not succeed. Now that they hold leadership positions in both houses of Congress, many Democrats are becoming increasingly critical of Bush's Iraq policy. ....(more)
The rest of the article is at:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0110-07.htm
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