Pittsburgh prepares for major March 20^th Day of Action against war: Thousands to march and rally against the occupation- Direct action to target the war machine.

March 20^th was the day exactly one year ago that we woke up to our country at war, that 2,000 Pittsburgh activists shut down the downtown core of the city at rush-hour, and that 145 people were arrested and assaulted by the Pittsburgh police- primarily after dark as protesters attempted to disperse. Despite the opposition of an overwhelming majority of the people in the United States and the world, the Bush administration led us to war. Justified as a war to expose and destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD’s) there is no little doubt that the public was misled. Not a single WMD has been found in Iraq, nor have we found anything indicating an Iraqi capability of producing them. The 400-member team whose task was to comb every nook and cranny in Iraq for military evidence has been recalled. The 1,400-member team charged with finding Iraq’s WMD program is being severely reduced to shuffle personnel to anti-insurgency efforts. Bush and Blair have admitted WMD’s may never be found in Iraq and are attempting after the fact to shift the initial rational for what remains a pre-emptive war that was illegal under International law to make it seem as if we fought a war of liberation for the people of Iraq. Former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill has reveled the administration started making plans for the invasion of Iraq days after coming to office. O'Neill has said an invasion of Iraq was "topic A" at the very first meeting of President George Bush's National Security Council and was further discussed at subsequent meetings.

The grim death toll for US soldiers has surpassed 500, a mark greater then those killed in the first 4 years of the war in Vietnam, with the majority of US deaths in Iraq coming after Bush had declared an end to the major hostilities. The toll of wounded is staggering; more then 8,000 soldiers have been evacuated from Iraq to receive treatment at the Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. A new generation of amputees and wheelchair bound veterans has been born in the sands of Iraq, while thousands of innocent Iraqis have been and continue to be killed. Protests in the United States and Iraq are being brutally repressed and there now exists an increasingly unpopular occupation that sees hundreds of thousands of Iraqis taking to the streets, an average of 17 attacks a day on coalition forces, and no sign of "liberation". As predicted, US corporations with close ties to the Administration such as Halliburton and Bechtel are making billions of dollars to rebuild an Iraq decimated by US firepower and restock the military’s supply of instruments of death. Iraq’s resources and markets are being privatized to make way for the Pepsi’s of the world. Around both countries’ momentum is building to end the occupation. Activists in the United States are working to; shine a spotlight on the lies and deceptions used to justify the war, put pressure on the Administration to end the occupation, and most importantly insure that what happened in Iraq is never repeated. To accomplish these goals many feel it is critical that there be an increase in the frequency, intensity, and attendance, of anti-occupation events.

This March 20^th United for Peace and Justice, International Answer, and other national coalitions are calling for a global day of action against war. There will be large events in Chicago, New York, DC, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh. The primary groups behind the previous years local anti-war actions, the Thomas Merton Center and the Pittsburgh Organizing Group, are again teaming up for large-scale anti-war events. The mass march and rally starts at 1pm at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park, and ends with a short closing rally outside the Student Union at the University of Pittsburgh. Modeled on the January anti-war regional convergence the M20 weekend will consist of concerts, a permitted mass march and rally, video showings, teach-ins, trainings, and direct action against local institutions involved in the war machine. The outpouring of support for a large-scale convergence on M20 has amazed Pete Schell, an organizer with the anti-war committee of the TMC. "I expected 10 or 15 people, but the first planning meeting for March 20^th was attended by 35+ people representing a variety of groups from our region. We believe we can get thousands in the streets, but to do so is going to require a thousand efforts large and small and we need everyone to contribute. Time, money, flyering, talking to your neighbors, phone banking, attending meetings, and getting active in the AWC committees that are doing the day to day work for the mobilization."

To complement the AWC’s events, POG is mobilizing for a non-violent direct action aimed at exposing and confronting the war machine in Pittsburgh. Those wishing to join the direct action will assemble around 4 large flags at the Student Union. At 3pm, following the permitted march and rally, a march will leave the Student Union for the Robotics Institute and the Software Engineering Institute. Both institutes have extensive ties to the military and receive contracts for research and development with military applications. The Robotics Institute is currently developing a remote controlled scout "tank" dubbed "gladiator" that has "offensive capabilities" to "neutralize threats" and SEI has a long and well-documented history of research for military applications. Upon arrival people will engage in a still being formulated direct action. John Chambers, of POG, believes the time is right to engage in non-violent resistance. "Pittsburgh has many ties to the military-industrial complex and we believe non-violent direct action is necessary to challenge those institutions directly contributing to the machinery of death. Although absolutely necessary, it is not enough to simply register our opposition in the streets. We must directly confront those involved in the research, development and production of weapons systems that are facilitating the wholesale slaughter of thousands of innocent people around the world." POG is aiming to build an inclusive direct action that allows people to participate in a variety of ways. Chambers says, "This action will not succeed unless the community at large supports it. While many people are willing to put their bodies on the line they will not be effective without large numbers of people helping with legal support, outreach, donations to the legal defense fund, providing direct support for those taking action, outreach, and organizational support."

Both POG and the AWC are meeting weekly in the lead-up to M20 and encourage everyone to contact them for upcoming meeting times. The next issue of the NewPeople will include 4 pages of in-depth coverage and schedule information for the M20 convergence.

To get involved in M20: Contact

Thomas Merton Center- Anti-war committee: Bill Rounsley 361-3022 or Pete Shell pshell@cs.cmu.edu

Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG): pog@mutualaid.org - www.organizepittsburgh.org