Grand Rapids rallies against U.S. war on Iran, joins worldwide call for U.S. to leave Iraq
Grand Rapids, MI – 45 people rallied in Grand Rapids on January 25 to demand “No U.S. war on Iran! U.S. out of Iraq!”
“We are part of an international day of protest, with more than 100 protests in U.S. cities alone. People are sick of the endless wars that Trump promised to halt. The U.S. needs to leave the Middle East and let the people of those countries decide their own destiny,” said Barbara Howard of the Anti-War Committee.
Howard continued, “Trump’s assassination of the respected Iranian General Soleimani was outrageous. We think it is good Trump backed down quickly from a regional war. Now it is time for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, including the 3000 soldiers Trump just sent. That is clearly what the people of Iraq want, and so do the people of the United States.”
“U.S. intervention hurts the international working class. Domestically, it diverts money away from the public good and forces working-class people into fighting wars of imperialism that benefit the 1%. Abroad, every day people are exposed to violence, occupation and political instability, while the elite reap the benefits of U.S. expansion and hegemonic domination,” said Emily Butt of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Stepping off from the Union Soldier monument at Division and Fulton, the protesters marched and chanted through downtown to the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building carrying signs reading, “No to war, yes to peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!”
Millions of people rallied in Iraq on January 24 to demand U.S. forces leave Iraq. The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is holding a conference at the People’s Forum in New York on February 21 -23. Then on July 13 in Milwaukee, the Coalition to March on the DNC will be calling to “End U.S. wars and interventions,” at the protest that will coincide with the opening of the Democratic National Convention.