On Dec. 22, the U.S. House and Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. The bill authorizes $725 billion for next year’s Defense Department budget, including nearly $160 billion of what the Pentagon calls “overseas contingency operations” – Congress’s name for the U.S. wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

_Activists raided by the FBI speak out _

Chicago, IL – Over 1000 rallied and marched here at a regional anti-war demonstration Oct. 16. Protesters called for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an end to U.S. foreign aid to Israel and an end to FBI repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Albany, NY – The National Conference to Bring the Troops Home Now met in Albany, New York, July 23-25. Around 700 activists from across the country came together to discuss and debate how to build the anti-war movement and to plan for coordinated days of protest.

Minneapolis, MN – Leaders of the Twin Cities peace and justice movement announced plans for a major anti-war march to coincide with the opening of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) – if the convention is held in Minneapolis. The press conference took place July 22 in front of the Metrodome, a proposed site of the convention.

_Whistleblower fears for his life _

In April 2010, a video leaked from top secret military files revealed a 2007 U.S. Army helicopter assault on Baghdad where eighteen civilians were murdered, including two journalists from the news agency Reuters. The video created international uproar over the brutality of U.S. war on Iraq and infuriated the Pentagon.

On Thursday, anti-war activists protested at Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demonstrate against the Obama administration’s escalating war in Afghanistan. The Anti-War Committee of Minneapolis-St. Paul organized the protest.

Deadliest day on record this year for U.S./NATO occupation

Ten NATO occupation soldiers were killed by Afghan resistance forces on June 7, marking the deadliest day on record for the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. Seven of those killed were U.S. soldiers. NATO reported that five troops were killed in an insurgent attack against a police training center, two soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing attack and one in a small arms attack. One day earlier, June 6, five NATO troops were killed in small arms fire attacks, a roadside bombing and a car crash. It is unclear if the car crash was related to a resistance attack.

St. Paul, MN – On May 18, as news reports stated that 1000 U.S. military deaths had occurred in Afghanistan, over 70 people joined a Saint Paul protest at the office of U.S. Representative Betty McCollum to demand that she vote against a $33 billion request for additional funding for the war in Afghanistan.

Minneapolis, MN – Nine people were arrested here, April 13, at the office of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar after refusing to leave her office. Protesters talked with Klobuchar by telephone. When she refused to make a commitment to voting against funding for the war in Afghanistan, the peace activists decided to remain in her office until they were arrested. Earlier, about 100 people rallied in front of the office.

Kandahar, Afghanistan – In the early morning hours of April 12, U.S. troops fired on a bus in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing five civilians and wounding 18 more. The driver of the bus, Esmate, said, “They opened fire at us and I fell unconscious. The people who were killed were sitting in the seats just behind me.”