Since September 21st of 2007 and every 3rd Friday of the month since then, protests against the Iraq war have taken place across the USA.  This Friday, Feb 15th is Moratorium Day #6 by the growing group of activists deeply dissatisfied with the slow pace of change when it comes to the outrageous and illegal Iraq war and occupation.

Protest demonstrations may take the form of people wearing armbands, or it might be that people choose not to buy anything other than necessities.  It may be that individuals stay home from work, or it might be that there are picket lines in front of military recruitment centers.  Whatever form(s) it takes, the point is the same.  The war must stop and there will no longer be a climate of business-as-usual while Iraqis are killed in almost incalculable numbers and the ticker continues to click off as one after another US soldier loses his or her life.

Not only is it critical that we who object to this war do more than hold periodic national demonstrations, it is equally important that Black America demonstrate its own rejection of the war.  This should not be difficult.  A recent media report identified that Black Americans are not signing onto the military, including those of us from military families.  The reasons were clear:  in numbers that outpace ANY other segment of the population, we deeply oppose the Iraq war and occupation.

February 15th must be our day to protest.  Nearly 30 months after the Katrina disaster, our protests against the war are as much protests against the political and economic disaster that followed from Hurricane Katrina.  Each day evacuees remain dispersed throughout the USA and little is done to make the Gulf Coast the home for its native population, the war in Iraq proceeds on.  Despite all evidence that this is not only an illegal war but that it is one that is not succeeding, the Bush administration continues to puts its hands over its ears and eyes and press on, pressing on with US soldiers, our money, and the lives of the Iraqi population.  This happens, and evacuees remain uprooted, New Orleans remains a disaster zone and, yes, bridges collapse in Minneapolis.  The resources so desperately needed here are evaporating, all in the name of a war that should never have been.

Black America must collectively demonstrate outrage over this war.  Whether through special meetings on campuses, religious services at our institutions, rallies, or just black arm-bands, we can make it clear that we want no part of this war and that this war will NOT be prosecuted in our name.

The Bush administration has made it obvious that it will listen to no one other than itself when it comes to Iraq policy.  If that is the case, will it listen to the silence when millions decide to pull back from everyday life and eventually bring this country to a halt?

The time has passed for assuming that our periodic national expressions of horror and opposition will result in an awakening of the conscience of this Administration.  This Administration has no conscience, which means that we must respond with power.  That power will be found in our capacity to illustrate, through our own actions, what we mean by no more business as usual.

The preceeding is updated from text taken from a commentary by BC Executive Editor Bill Fletcher, Jr. that was published on September 6, 2007.

The following information is provided by IraqMoratorium.org:

About the Moratorium

The Iraq Moratorium project grew out of the frustration we share with so many Americans. Why does the war grind on when the people of this country have so clearly rejected it? Clearly voting didn’t do the job. In response to questions like those listed below, the idea of the Iraq Moratorium took shape.

• I really hate this war and what it's doing to my country, but I've never protested. I am not sure that I would be comfortable at a vigil or peace march.

If you do attend a vigil or other protest, you will probably be surprised at how many people very much like you are present. Still, there are many other ways to take a stand as an individual. Wear a black armband or ribbon on Moratorium Day. Call or write your elected officials that day or send a letter to the editor of the local paper. Don't buy gas.

Whatever you do, you’ll be doing with millions of people, and whatever you do, fill out the easy to use form that will be posted on the website, to let your elected officials and the media know what you did.

• I've already done all this. What good will this do?

We know. So have we. That's where the Moratorium idea came from. Imagine that even half the people who have stood up to end the war over the last 4 years were joined by even a tenth of all those who oppose the war privately - on the same day! It will be the biggest single outcry of protest in US history. And it will continue month after month until Washington listens and ends the War.

• Why black ribbons and armbands?

In U.S. society, black is the color of mourning. We wear the ribbons to remind ourselves, and our country, of the thousands of US troops and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children who have died needlessly in this fiasco. We wear them as well to remind ourselves that if we do not act to stop it, the deaths will keep on coming. And coming.

• We've been holding a vigil on Sunday morning for years, and we don't want to change the day.

Fine, don't change your vigil time. But as you have an organized group, consider doing something else on the Third Friday. You might hold an additional vigil. You might on Friday morning leaflet houses in the neighborhood where the vigil takes place, leaving a flier with a ribbon attached and calling on folks to attend the vigil. You might plan an educational event or film showing on Friday evening at which you could also promote your vigil.

• What good does writing and calling my elected officials do?

It won't change things overnight, but politicians keep track of every call they get. They even have a formula to count each call as about 100 people. And they watch the polls. They know the war and the administration are hugely unpopular. What they won't know until we make it crystal clear is that the people of this country are willing to back their views with action.

As a rule of thumb, the more effort you put into contacting politicians, the more attention they have to pay: one email is worth a dozen petition signatures, one phone call is worth a dozen emails, one hand-signed letter is worth a dozen calls, one office visit worth a dozen letters.

• Why don't you say "Troops Out NOW"?

Hey, most of us on the IMC think "Now" is more than four years too late. Still, plenty of people who want this war over with and the troops out of Iraq are gun-shy about the word "now" for a variety of reasons - political calculation, caution about putting troops at risk, concern for the people of Iraq. If you feel that "Now" is a key part of the message, raise it in the local actions you plan - the Iraq Moratorium Committee has neither the authority nor the desire to dictate local planning. The important thing is for folks all over the country to raise their own demands and plan their own activities. AT THE SAME TIME!

• Maybe we shouldn't have gone in the first place but won't things get worse if we leave now? Don't we have a moral obligation to the Iraqis?

Will bad things continue to happen in Iraq after U.S. military forces are pulled out? Yes. But as long as there is a large presence of US troops and mercenaries there (considered an occupying force by the majority of Iraqis), there is no way the people of Iraq can find their way to any solution to either the civil strife, or the infrastructure destruction, poverty and desperation that ravage their country now.

If the US occupation continues for years to come, as Gen. Petraeus is planning, it only means more death and more destruction and more delay, and the Iraqi people will still eventually have to deal with the damage, and chart their own way forward.

• Why do you call this a moratorium?

We chose the name in the spirit of the Vietnam Moratorium, the 1969 day of action that helped turn the corner toward ending that bloody conflict.

We chose it to signal that business as usual must be challenged and suspended.

We chose it to demonstrate that more and more people from the majority of Americans who oppose the war will be taking action.

• Fine, but is there anything that actually makes it a Moratorium?

Among the activities we are asking individuals to consider is refusing to buy gas, or even to shop at all on Moratorium Day. Initially, this will be a symbolic act, in recognition of the fact that oil has everything to do with why this horrific war has taken place, and that we will no longer put up with the pretense that everything is okay while the war grinds on. As the military is fond of saying: “We went to war, the rest of the country went to Wal-Mart”.

As the Iraq Moratorium picks up steam month by month, our numbers will reach the point where the impact of a boycott will actually show up in the daily numbers collected by Wall Street. That's power that scares the business executives and bankers who have a whole lot more political influence than the average citizen.

• What makes you think the media will cover this when they have largely ignored anti-war activities so far?

The sheer scale of the Moratorium will make it impossible to ignore. And we are moving at a good time - newspapers whose editorial pages had backed Bush on the war up until now are starting to change their stand. They have a lot to make up for and covering the movement to end the war will help them make amends to their readers.

And this website will be a powerful tool. On September 21 and every Third Friday thereafter, our automatic email system will make it easy for you contact the media, telling them with a single mouse click what you have done for the Moratorium, whether it's send a card to Congress or boycott gas or hand out Black armbands to passersby on a downtown street corner.

• How do I join?

You don't join. This is not an organization, it's a project. You endorse it. To take part you DO SOMETHING on the third Friday of every month. Ideally you do it with other people.

• My group organizes in urban communities around the fact that the war is draining resources that we need for our cities, schools, youth etc.

Great! The war impacts every aspect of our lives, and the more that point is made the better! We need local groups to bring campaigns that they are working on.

• What is your relationship to other antiwar groups and coalitions?

This is not a group. It's a campaign. Many diverse and often divergent groups and individuals have signed on to this project and consult with us about plans and direction. We are not asking any groups to stop doing what they are doing. Instead, we hope this project will be a tool they can use to strengthen their mobilizing.

• Who's behind this?

The Iraq Moratorium Committee was begun by a group of individuals who have been active against this war from the beginning, and decided to join forces in order to make a breakthrough.

Bill Fletcher, based in the DC area, is a longtime activist in the labor and Black movements, and a prolific writer on social and international issues. He is Executiver Editor of BlackCommentator.com and most recently he served as head of TransAfrica Forum.

Eve Lyman was the US Coordinator of Afghans for Civil Society, a grassroots Afghan/American organization based in Kandahar, and was the Executive Director of Boston Mobilization until early 2007.

Kathy Engel is a poet, cultural worker, teacher and consultant with peace, social justice and human rights organizations. Her newest books are Ruth's Skirts, IKON, April 2007 and We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon, Interlink Books, 2007.

Dennis O'Neil lives in NYC and has worked with veterans and military families in the Bring Them Home Now! campaign since 2003.

Eric See is the Organizing Director for Peace Action West, a group he has worked with for the last decade.

• Nothing is going to change until after the 2008 election anyway, so wouldn't it be better to concentrate on the elections?

We can't rely on our elected officials to do this. Unfortunately it is only unremitting pressure from the public that can bring this war to a speedy conclusion. Even after the 2006 Democratic sweep demonstrated how overwhelmingly the people of this country want the war to end, we have watched as the war escalates. After Nixon was elected in 1968 in a campaign that promised to end the war, it took 7 more years before it finally ended. As IM endorser Howard Zinn says, "We who protest the war are not politicians. We are citizens. Whatever politicians may do, let them first feel the full force of citizens who speak for what is right, not for what is winnable."

• Doesn't this undermine the morale of the troops?

Keeping the troops in harm's way in this unjust and unjustifiable war is not supporting them. Risking death and having to kill others for no good reason is what destroys morale. Working to get the troops out and to make sure they are taken proper care of once they get back home is the surest morale-builder there is. Organizations like Iraq Veterans Against the War and campaigns like the Appeal for Redress are concrete manifestations of the growing urgency many of the troops feel about ending this futile war.

For more information on IraqMoratorium.org click here.

Your comments are always welcome.