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MFSO’s first actions in the peace movement included a press conference, which publicized the group’s mission to stop the invasion of Iraq, and a demonstration that involved hundreds of families marching with members of Veterans for Peace. In 2004, MFSO established chapters in cities nationwide so that the group could be organized. This has increased MFSO’s ability to hold speaking programs, vigils, demonstrations, press conferences, meetings with elected officials, and many different kinds of creative actions and increased their ability to offer families around the country support, get the voices of military families opposing the war into the media, and help establish coalitions in communities to put pressure on elected officials to end the war. Not In Our Name (NION) is a group that was established in March 2002 after 9/11 to call upon the American people to resist. The group established a “Pledge of Resistance,” which said that people must resist the injustices done by their government, oppose endless war, and believe that “another world is possible” without unnecessary violence. The group went on to collect signatories for a “Statement of Conscience.” The “Statement of Conscience” was a call to stand up against repression and oppose the vile practices of the American government which were being done to immigrants especially Muslims after 9/11. The “Statement” since 2005 has been updated. The signatories include: Robert Altman, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, John Cusack, Mos Def, Ani DiFranco, Michael Eric Dyson, Steve Earle, Daniel Ellsberg, Jane Fonda, Michael Franti, Tom Hayden, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Michael Parenti, Susan Sarandon, Studs Terkel, Gore Vidal, Kurt Vonnegut, Howard Zinn, and more. Despite the ability of Not in Our Name to ignite the peace movement around pledges and statements, the group has become known as one that opposes the group ANSWER. It joined United for Peace and Justice to curb the influence of ANSWER in 2005. While the group has been accepted by many as a good component of the antiwar movement, its ulterior motives have called into question whether it can truly serve the American people or not. Veterans for Peace is a group founded in 1985 that consists of male and female veterans from World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf wars. The group is a non-governmental organization that enjoys non-profit status and is an educational United Nations non-governmental organization. The group began to participate in the peace movement behind Iraq in 2003 when they chose to hold public forums on stopping the invasion immediately when news of a possible invasion came out to the public. The group went on to support Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey in Texas and has also participated in a huge march in March 2006 with coalition partners Iraq Veterans Against the War, Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak out and Hurricane Katrina survivors and relief and rebuilding organizations like Savin’ Ourselves After Katrina, Common Ground Collective and Bayou Liberty Relief. The march went from Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana. Many were inspired by this march. United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is a coalition of more than 1,300 organizations opposed to U.S. empire-building and pre-emptive wars. Thus, UFPJ is another peace group that expands the focus of ending the war to ending U.S. imperialism. Founded in October 2002 before the invasion of Iraq, the coalition routinely organizes large protests. It grew out of "United We March!", which was put together by Global Exchange, the Green Party of the United States, and others that opposed the invasion of Afghanistan in an April 20th demonstration. The group often separates the work it does into seven areas: Iraq, counter-military recruitment, global justice, nuclear disarmament, Palestine/Israel, civil liberties/immigrant rights, and faith-based organizing. In the group’s history, the group made a name for itself during the action they took from September 24-26 in Washington D.C. They participated in a rally on September 24th with hundreds of thousands of people, a grassroots training and interfaith service on September 25th, and finally, on September 26th, time was devoted to lobbying Congress and nonviolent direct action. The group had over 300 people arrested for blocking the entrance to the White House while demanding to meet with George W. Bush. UFPJ’s history, unfortunately, is tainted by a feud with ANSWER. The two have had a fall out and disagreement over the message and actions the peace movement should communicate and take. While UFPJ incorporates stances on elections into its rallies/events, ANSWER prefers to not work with politicians like UFPJ does. In fact, UFPJ has been accused of working to help Democrats win victories since October 2005. Interestingly, the group has not been accused of supporting John Kerry’s failed candidacy for president in 2004. Lastly, World Can’t Wait is a group that came late to the peace movement but is different from all of the other groups because its mission is to see Bush and Cheney removed from office. Established in 2005 by the Revolutionary Communist Party members Sunsara Taylor and C. Clark Kissinger, the group is known for opposing the Iraq war, prisoner abuse and torture, the elimination of habeas corpus, domestic wire-tapping, the incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina, and the Bush Administration’s anti-abortion legislation. Headquartered in New York City, the group has many different supporters of all political stripes and colors which include but are not limited to: Cynthia McKinney, Major Owens, Rev. Al Sharpton, Ralph Nader, Michael Lerner, Gore Vidal, Ray McGovern, and Sean Penn. While most of the actions World Can’t Wait have taken have been similar to that of other peace groups, World Can’t Wait organized student walk outs in October 2006 and have organized protests and demonstrations against Bush’s State of the Union address. Recently, the group’s San Francisco Chapter took advantage of the climate CODEPINK was creating in Berkeley and blocked the entrance to a Marine Recruiting Center by chaining themselves to the door. The action brought attention to the city council’s opposition to the war and led to a further of week of action against the war which involved hundreds of students. The further actions by peace groups garnered the attention of several right wing groups who sent their forces to oppose the peace movement or “traitors” in Berkeley.
Kevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral system, its military-industrial complex, its foreign policy of American exceptionalism, its media which has become the Fourth Branch of government,etc.)
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