Minneapolis, MN – Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) hosted CODEPINK Co-founder Medea Benjamin at three events in the Twin Cities the weekend of March 28-29 to discuss her recent trip to deliver aid to Cuba, Trump’s attacks on Iran and Venezuela, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Benjamin first spoke Friday afternoon at the weekly WAMM Free Palestine rally, held at the intersections of Summit and Snelling in Saint Paul. Speaking to the crowd, Benjamin said, “I see things changing; way too slowly, agonizingly slow, certainly for the Palestinian people, certainly for the people on the West Bank who are being attacked every day by violent settlers. Certainly for the people in Lebanon, one million of whom have just been displaced, over a thousand of them killed in this recent time, since a ‘ceasefire’. And we know that in the case of Gaza, over 600 people have been killed since a supposed ceasefire. So it’s agonizingly slow, but it is changing.”

Benjamin continued, “The issue is: do you want a foreign power coming in to bomb the heck out of you, destroy your culture, and tell you who should be governing your country? No, you don’t! And that’s what the U.S. is doing in Iran, and of course we see that’s what the U.S. has just done, and tried to do, in Venezuela, that’s what they want to do in Cuba.”

Later that evening Benjamin spoke in an intimate setting of WAMM members and community members about many topics, one of which being her trips to Cuba and experiences with the Cuban people.

Benjamin stated, “The most remarkable source of income for Cubans was medical missions,” Benjamin said. “It became the number one source of income at one point. Which is just remarkable to think about, how a poor country could create so many professionals and send them all over the world to help people. And I say this with great expertise, because my life was saved by Cuban doctors.” Benjamin went on to explain that Cuban doctors in a poor region in Guinea-Bissau saved her from a horrible case of malaria.

On March 28 about 100 people gathered for WAMM’s annual meeting, themed “Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad,” featuring Benjamin alongside Layna Crandell of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump and the MN Anti-War Committee. Guests enjoyed a community meal before the talk began.

During the panel, Benjamin emphasized the ways unlimited funding for war harms us here at home. “In Minnesota, 69% of fourth graders do not read at a proficient level. Eighth grade, 72%,” she said. “And of course we know how defunded our healthcare system is, and everything else that’s good for people.” She ended by saying “It is a multipolar world. While sometimes we might feel lonely in our work here, the majority of people around the world want the same thing we do. They want to live in peace and cooperation around the world.”

The panel also featured Layna Crandell, a member of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT), who stated, “U.S. intervention has destabilized countries, supported coups to carry out regime change, and imposed deadly sanctions that strangle economies. This forces people to migrate for survival, only for them to be criminalized and targeted when they come here looking for better conditions. All the while, the aggression we see directed at our own communities relies on the same tools used to destabilize nations abroad. The brutality carried out on the periphery becomes normalized, making it easier to carry out similar repression here through the degradation of human rights, through policing, surveillance, and border control.”

After the event, many attended the No Kings protest in Saint Paul, featuring guests like Senator Bernie Sanders, Jane Fonda and Bruce Springsteen. Upwards of 200,000 people were said to be in attendance, making it the largest single protest in Minnesota history. Benjamin attended and talked with demonstrators at the event. The weekend was a large success, giving hundreds of Minnesotans opportunities to learn from Benjamin’s experiences fighting U.S. imperialism in the belly of the beast.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #WAMM #CodePink

Milwaukee, WI – At noon on Saturday, September 6, a flotilla of boats and kayaks set sail on the Milwaukee River to express solidarity with and demand safe passage for the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international effort to deliver aid to Gaza and break the Israeli blockade. It is made up of more than 50 vessels with over 15,000 participating activists from 44 countries. The Milwaukee flotilla consisted of four larger pontoon boats and a handful of smaller boats and kayaks, all decked out in Palestine flags, keffiyehs and signs.

The event, called by CODEPINK Milwaukee, was the second of its kind this year. It was planned in preparation for attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla from Israel, as other aid efforts have seen in the past. Most recently, in July 2025, the Handala Freedom Flotilla was seized by Israel and its crew kidnapped, imprisoned, facing inhumane conditions and physical assault.

Concurrent to the flotilla on water, supporters of the Milwaukee flotilla gathered at Pere Marquette Park, a park situated along the Milwaukee River. They, too, brought signs and flags, awaiting the flotilla’s arrival.

At around 1 p.m., the flotilla crew reached Pere Marquette Park, where over 30 people cheered the flotilla’s arrival. As the boats reached the park, they circled around in the water, with Palestine flags flying in the wind. Both groups joined voices, chanting, “From Iran to Palestine, occupation is a crime!” “When people are occupied, resistance is justified!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Netanyahu has got to go!”

Others on land and in the water, including passersby and people renting out boats on the Milwaukee River for the day, noticed the flotilla’s presence. Many took videos and observed the flotilla, which could be seen and heard down up and down the river in downtown Milwaukee.

CODEPINK Milwaukee member Chris Jeske provided insight into the importance of the event, saying, “We're going to need to apply all kinds of international pressure to let the activists and aid workers into Gaza.”

Jeske continued,” So, that's part of why we're doing this here, is to try and raise the profile locally of this important international effort.”

Sawsan Rizeq, organizer with Milwaukee 4 Palestine, echoed this sentiment. “How many people have tried already and been stopped? And now we have more countries involved and more boats, and so this is our ‘sumud’, or ‘steadfast’, to continue the fight.”

After exuberant chanting, the flotilla vessels headed back to their starting location. As the Global Sumud Flotilla makes its way to Palestine, Milwaukee residents will keep their eyes on the vessels and the response from Israel, ready to mobilize at a moment's notice.

Milwaukee says safe passage for the Global Sumud Flotilla, and free Palestine!

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #CodePink #M4P

Pewaukee, WI – On the afternoon of May 13, dozens of anti-war and pro-Palestine activists held a rally outside the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council (WDIC)’s inaugural conference at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, a suburb of Milwaukee. The rally spoke out against the WDIC’s stated mission, to increase the influence of defense manufacturing in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Defense Industry Council was founded in December 2023, mere months after the genocide ramped up in Palestine – and just in time to capitalize and profit off the mass deaths of the Palestinian people. This timing has not gone unnoticed in Wisconsin.

Sabine Wolter, a Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) member who emceed the rally, started off by stating the need for a protest against the WDIC. “Right behind those hotel doors, the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council is meeting. They are working right now to expand defense spending here in Wisconsin. They want more of our tax dollars funneled into the hands of rich defense contractors – tax dollars that could have been used for essential services, like housing, healthcare and education!” Wolter declared, adding, “We are here today to tell them not in our state!”

Concurrently with the rally, five activists staged a die-in in the conference space of the Ingleside Hotel. Initially, they were planning to disrupt an afternoon panel, but they were barred from entering the session. Instead, activists pivoted and staged the die-in in the conference room foyer, while one speaker, Carson Bunker with MAC, stood and spoke on the bloody ties of the WDIC, saying, “How dare you profit off of death and destruction? Shame on you!” and “Wisconsin residents don’t want this. We didn’t ask for this!”

An estimated ten police officers were already waiting inside the conference room foyer, prepared to make arrests to escalate the non-violent protest. The protesters were able to successfully cause a disruption to the inaugural WDIC conference for about seven minutes until two activists were arrested and taken into custody.

At the word of arrests, the protesters quickly mobilized to the Waukesha Police Department where the two were being held. With their solidarity as well as a public call-in campaign, the two protesters were ticketed and eventually released, to cheers from the crowd.

The rally was called by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC), a local grassroots organization that has previously protested WDIC events and defense corporations in the area. They were joined by over a dozen other organizations, including CODEPINK Milwaukee, Green Bay Anti-war Committee, Peace Action Wisconsin, Black Alliance for Peace, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Wisconsin.

Throughout the rally, the spirited crowd chanted, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” and “WDIC is guilty!” Protesters carried flags and wore keffiyehs in support of the Palestinian people, who have been suffering under an ongoing genocide by the state of Israel since October 2023.

The WDIC tries to paint itself as serving all of Wisconsin by creating jobs and bringing more money to the state. However, working-class Wisconsinites know that the only people benefiting from the WDIC are the war profiteers at the top. As they get richer, working-class people suffer. In Milwaukee, a lead crisis threatens the public school district, and hospitals are closing every year on top of an already poor access to healthcare.

Wisconsin says no to the WDIC!

#PewaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #MAC #CodePink

Plano, TX – Dozens of community members gathered north of Dallas on Sunday, February 2, for a protest against Chevron’s complicity in the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. This protest marked the launching of a local campaign against the oil and gas company by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – North Texas Chapter.

Speakers highlighted the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields off the coast of occupied Palestine, which are used to provide energy to Israeli military and prison facilities. They also called out the theft of indigenous land and resources around the world and Chevron’s central role in the global climate catastrophe.

During a speech, Sean Byrne of DSA North Texas called on participants to boycott Chevron gas, stating that Israel “is a laboratory for how the nations of the imperialist world will deal with the waves of human beings displaced by the very climate catastrophe that they themselves have sown, with corporations like Chevron being among the worst culprits of this capitalism-driven environmental and social crisis.” Byrne condemned comments by Chevron CEO Mike Wirth during a shareholder call the previous Friday, where he called for peace while simultaneously uplifting energy extraction projects that have helped enable the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza.

A member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Dallas-Fort Worth, William Josef, called out the “energy apartheid” practices of the Israel Electric Corporation, which bans many Palestinians from accessing the electrical grid and charges higher prices for electrical services to Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank than to the illegal Israeli settlements nearby.

Speaking in solidarity with the local campaign launch, Jumana Saadeh of the Dallas-Fort Worth Anti-War Committee (DAWC) and Code Pink Dallas said, “Today, we say ‘no’ and stand against one of the many companies supporting and aiding in the oppression and genocide of the Palestinian people. Chevron has supplied and continues to supply energy and millions of dollars of tax revenue to a genocidal, apartheid racist state.”

During the protest, hundreds of cars passed by with many honking and waving in support. Simultaneously, many members of the organizations present, including the DFW Anti-War Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace, Code Pink, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation were assisting with a large protest in downtown Dallas against the Trump administration’s attacks against immigrants.

#PlanoTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Chevron #DSA #DFWAWC #JVP #CodePink

Portland, OR – On Saturday, January 25, about 200 people rallied at Terry Schrunk Plaza in Portland for a post-inauguration protest of Donald Trump. Many protesters held signs denouncing Trump and in defense of the people’s movements. After the rally, the protesters took the streets in a march through downtown.

Portland for Palestine organizer Kacey DeSantis welcomed the crowd, saying, “It is so good to see Portland standing against Trump and his reactionary, right-wing politics. As he repeals over 60 years of progressive legislation, we show up today to say that we will not go backwards. We must fight back against these attacks on our communities!”

Immediately after taking office, Trump greenlit action against immigrants, allowing raids to be conducted in churches, schools and hospitals. As a response, Mayor Keith Wilson reaffirmed Portland’s status as a sanctuary city and the importance of immigrants in our community. Despite this, local organizations and activists have become more vigilant due to the increased ICE presence across the country.

Omar Gil from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke to the crowd, “these attacks were not possible without the inaction of the Democrats. Under Biden, border militarization and deportations continued. Trump is not an isolated evil; he is the inheritor of a system that operates like this by design. He is a representation of the fetter that capitalism has on the progression of society!”

Mutaz Al-Shawa spoke of his own experience as a Palestinian with family in Gaza, the utter defeat of Israel in accepting a ceasefire, and the inevitability of Palestinian liberation. Elaine Armstrong of CODEPINK Portland spoke of her personal experience growing up during the northern Ireland conflict, drawing parallels to the immense trauma that the children of Gaza have endured during the past 68 weeks of genocide.

When asked about Gaza, Donald Trump’s reactionary rhetoric is one of “cleaning out” Gaza, forcing neighboring countries to take in Palestinians, in an attempt to end the Palestinian national liberation struggle.

Sky Reimer, a member of Students for a Democratic Society at Portland State University, spoke on student’s rights and the importance of putting pressure on Portland State University administration. Portland State is currently under federal investigation for violation of Title VI, a section of federal civil rights law that protects students from discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

Reimer stated, “Islamophobic posters, hate speech, and harassment are allowed on campus. Meanwhile, PSU administration reprimands and expels students for protesting PSU’s ties to the genocide of Palestinians. They've put pro-Palestine organizations on probation, threatening them with dissolution. But the truth is clear, the administration is scared of us. They're scared because by fighting for positive change alongside each other, by joining organizations like SDS, we can make positive change, both on campus, and in the world!”

Trump has voiced support for the police crackdowns on the student encampments of 2024. He has vowed to increase repression on students, threatening foreign students with deportation if they dare to struggle against their administrations’ties to Israel and war profiteers.

Other speakers included a Starbucks Workers United member on worker’s rights and the necessity for class struggle unionism, and an organizer from the People’s March on women’s rights and healthcare.

During the march, protest chants like “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!” and “No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all!” echoed throughout the crowd. Cars drove past honking in support. Bystanders waved and raised fists in solidarity, some of them joined the march. People from a pro-immigrant demonstration also joined the march as it passed by Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The march ended with high energy and many people showed interest in how to get further involved. When asked about the event, Raea Dente replied, “What always has me coming back to events like these is community, uniting with others and passionately fighting for our collective future. It’s so empowering to see people show up and fight back together- this rally showed the heart and determination that Portland has.”

The organizers concluded the protest by urging attendees to organize and to continue building the mass movements necessary for the fight against Donald Trump and his right-wing reactionary agenda. The protest was organized by Portland for Palestine in coalition with SDS, FRSO and CODEPINK.

#PortlandOR #SDS #FRSO #CODEPINK #PortlandForPalestine #FreePalestine #SBWU #Trump #Inauguration #PSU

Garland, TX – Organizers and activists held a large teach-in and town hall meeting, December 1, just outside the gates of General Dynamics, one of the largest ordnance suppliers to the Israeli genocide in the United States. The facility and surrounding neighborhood are no stranger to controversy, with others having held protests, disruptions and rallies outside its gates before.

DFW Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Free Palestine Denton, Jewish Voice for Peace, Code Pink, and Palestinian Youth Movement organized the events.

The coalition engaged the community by canvassing the surrounding streets to bring the neighborhood into conversations about the roles of weapons manufacturers like General Dynamics across north Texas communities, taking into careful consideration the makeup of the neighborhood and preparing canvassers to meet residents where they were. Organizers who did not have experience knocking doors were trained by others who had prior experience and paired together. The community reception was warm.

Planners spent a month engaging the rest of their DFW communities for food, music, art and cultural workshops to share with the neighborhood, from embroidery and crafts for children to music workshops and a town hall to field questions from local residents. As the day moved on, community members of the neighborhood came from across the street to find an enthusiastic crowd.

Participants of all ages joined in to learn, chant and sing. Leaflets were handed out with information about local organizations’ campaigns, alongside songs and chants from the last 90 years. An activist from Jewish Voice for Peace shared a particularly impactful Yiddish song from the 1930s We Will Outlive Them featuring the line “The world will grow more beautiful, love greater, hatred smaller.”

The event shifted into a town hall meeting, fielding questions from participants and community members about the weapons manufacturer, and heard from the organizers about their groups’ campaigns against General Dynamics.

Organizers stressed the importance of working with a long strategy in mind against weapons manufacturers. Amid the many roles weapons manufacturers play in American life, from our education to our families’ careers, General Dynamics has held its place in this neighborhood for generations and family stories from these factories are not uncommon in north Texas. The fight against them is certainly not a short one.

Once a boat factory before 1952, this General Dynamics facility is a direct legacy of the United States’ long history of suppressing the labor movement by forcing communities to compromise for quality industrial jobs by pushing them into weapons production. General Dynamics supplies 80% of the MK-80 and BLU-109 bombs dropped in Gaza.

General Dynamics facility is tucked grimly between a community college and a high school football stadium, the surrounding area is a quiet, working-class neighborhood where you can sometimes hear the football games and marching bands on weeknights. Israel’s own Elbit Systems is similarly located across the street from another quiet suburb and high school in Fort Worth. Communities like Garland, Texas and others across the state send their children to school right next to bombs that kill children abroad.

#GarlandTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #DAWC #FRSO #PYM #CodePink #JVP

Chicago, IL - 7500 rallied in Chicago to protest the one-year anniversary of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, and the bombardment of Lebanon. The protest then marched a mile to the home of billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker, a well-known Zionist. The Coalition for Justice in Palestine went there to demand Illinois divest the $130 million in Israeli bonds held by the state.

This week, the movement in Chicago against the U.S./Israel war turned its attention to divestment as a tactic to escalate pressure on the Zionist regime. The Anti-War Committee-Chicago launched a petition and canvass campaign to pressure State Treasurer Michael Frerichs for divestment from Israeli bonds as well. Code Pink and other organizations also carried out protest actions aimed at Frerichs.

#ChicagoIL #FreePalestine #HandsOffLebanon #CoalitionForJusticeInPalestine #AntiWarCommitteeChicago #CodePink

New York, NY – Several hundred people gathered in midtown Manhattan at The People’s Forum to launch Nodutdol’s U.S. Out of Korea campaign. Hundreds more gathered at events in Oakland and Los Angeles for similar launch events.

The event began with Nodutdol organizers presenting the background of the organization. Nodutdol (노듯돌, meaning stepping-stone) has roots in the 1990s when members of the Korean movement would travel to Korea to learn from the people in the South and North of the peninsula about their organizing against U.S. domination. They became fully established in 1999 in Queens, New York and in the early 2000s pivoted their focus to anti-war efforts in the Middle East. They continued their delegation trips to Korea and deepened their anti-imperialist resolve.

The organizers also gave a brief but in-depth review of the history of the Korean war. They began from when the Japan imperial flag was lowered in 1945 to how the U.S. military swept in immediately to quell any rising socialist sentiments. The Korean people were forced to trade from one brutal, imperialist force to another. The U.S. helped lead a murderous campaign against the Korean people to eliminate any opposition. At the time, it was estimated that 70% of the people of Korea were interested in socialism and the U.S. effectively eliminated close to 3 million of them.

With the U.S. still present in the peninsula, this makes it the longest running war in U.S. history.

In the last few years, the U.S. military activity has sharply increased in recent years. In 2023, U.S. forces conducted 200 days of military exercises. In mid-August, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold nuclear war exercises in Korea in joint military drills. These drills will occur during the Democratic National Convention in the U.S.

The escalation on behalf of the U.S. and the ROK has increased tensions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This led to the DPRK’s announcement earlier this year that they can’t see a future where peaceful reunification is possible with the ROK. As long as the ROK is not just under U.S. influence, but actively seeks to ally themselves with them, there can’t be a peaceful process.

Additionally, under President Biden's administration, the U.S., ROK and Japan have joined in an alliance called JAROKUS and are on the way to build the new “Asian NATO.”

Ju-Hyun Park, the Nodutdol lead organizer for the U.S. Out of Korea campaign, stated “We are just weeks away from the U.S. conduction nuclear war exercises in Korea. These drills do not keep Koreans safe—in fact, they are pushing the Korean Peninsula towards open warfare. For more than 70 years the U.S. government has pursued a failed strategy of aggression against North Korea. Now, the U.S. is escalating its aggression to try to turn Korea into a battlefield for the New Cold War.”

Once the attendees understood the history of the region, Nodutdol organizers presented the campaign demands to an enthusiastic crowd. The demands, reprinted here are:

• US OUT OF KOREA: the full and permanent withdrawal of US troops and weapons systems from Korea. We demand all Korean land, water, and airspace appropriated for the US military be returned to the Korean people.
• END THE U.S.-SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE: an end to ALL US-South Korea alliances, including the JAKUS trilateral security cooperation. We demand an end to ALL US-South Korea joint command structures—the Combined Forces Command, and the UN Command. 
• END ALL AGGRESSION AGAINST NORTH KOREA: We demand an end to ALL US military exercises in Korea. We demand ALL sanctions against North Korea be lifted.
• END THE WAR ECONOMY: We demand the US government divert spending from war, prisons, and policing. We demand housing, education, healthcare, and climate justice for working people.

The crowd clapped as each demand was listed.

Park continued, “As Koreans in the diaspora, we refuse to stand by as the U.S. foments war in our homeland. We believe standing up to U.S. imperialism in Korea is not just in our interests as Korean people, but in the interests of the majority of people in the U.S. as well. It’s time to work together to stop U.S. warmongering in Korea and around the world.”

Over 30 organizations have endorsed the campaign, including: Black Alliance for Peace, Codepink, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Bayan USA.

The next event will be a rally on August 18 to protest the U.S. and ROK war games.

 #NewYorkNY #NYC #DPRK #USOutOfKorea #BlackAllianceforPeace #BAP #Codepink #FRSO #BayanUSA #ROK #RepublicOfKorea #Korea #Nudutdol #JAROKUS #Japan #ThePeoplesForum

Miami FL – On February 11, over 60 people gathered at the Torch of Freedom in Miami during the Miami Heat basketball game to protest a bill up for a vote in the U.S. Senate that would send more than $14 billion to aid in Israel’s genocidal occupation of Palestine.

Laid at the feet of demonstrators were dozens of white cloth bundles, stained red to symbolize the infants killed by the IDF bombing of Gaza. Chants of “From Florida to Palestine, stop the U.S. war machine” and “Money for jobs and education not for war and occupation” rang out to the beat of drums drawing honks, photographs, live streams and support from passersby. Activists distributed informational pamphlets to those exiting the Sunday game and succeeded in distributing every copy they brought.

A speaker gave the reason for the genocide and the necessity of staying the streets, stating, “The genocide in Gaza, why? Because they are trying to resist, they are trying to live!” and quoted Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “We also deserve to live and we love life,” and for that reason the activist said, “We need to stop this genocide and will not be quite until justice is served!”

Despite slowly escalating police presence, the rally concluded without arrests.

Organizations endorsing the rally of the rally included Freedom Road Socialist Organization in SoFlo, The People for Palestine, Food Not Bombs FtL, SoFlo Antifa, Code Pink SoFlo, Black Rose Miami, Palestine Car Rally, Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network, Samidoun Network, Broward County Democratic Socialist of America, and the SoFlo Working Group to Shut Down Elbit.

#MiamiFL #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #FRSO #Samidoun #CodePink #DSA

Doral, FL – Over 100 protesters rallied near U.S. Southern Command here, Jan. 11, to demand an end to the torture and abuse being carried out in Guantanamo Bay. Many of the protesters came from nearby cities like Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and some came from as far away as California and Michigan to demand that President Obama close down Guantanamo Bay for good.

The rally was organized by South Florida-based POWIR – People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism. The anti-war group formed a coalition with several groups to lead the protest, including Code Pink, Students for a Democratic Society and Veterans for Peace. The protest marked 12 years of the U.S. sending prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, a trend which started shortly after the ‘war on terror’ began.

Protesters began by assembling near a busy intersection approximately one mile from U.S. Southern Command. As people gathered, they brought signs that read “12 years too many” and “Stop the torture now! Close Guantanamo!” Protest organizers led militant chants such as, “Obama we don’t want your shame, no more torture in our name!” and “I don’t know what I’ve been told, we’ll keep marching till its closed! We are marching here to say: Obama close Guantanamo Bay!” The chants won a lot of support and honks from nearby cars. From there, protest organizers began the march to SouthCom by leading the people into the streets, even though the police denied that their permit protected the rights of the protesters to march in the streets. But the organizers were experienced and knew that the cops weren’t worth being worried about and marched into the streets anyways.

The march took up a full lane of traffic on the way to SouthCom. The lead banner read “Close Guantanamo now!” and listed the demands of the protesters. Once the march reached SouthCom, protesters dressed in the signature orange jumpsuits that prisoners at Guantanamo are forced to wear knelt down, blocking the entrance to SouthCom. The rest of the activists gathered behind the orange jumpsuits and also blocked the entrance. Speakers from Code Pink, Students for a Democratic Society, Progressive Democrats of America, Students for Justice in Palestine, POWIR, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression condemned the U.S. for keeping Guantanamo open and demanded it be closed and the prisoners released.

POWIR founder and protest organizer Cassia Laham told the crowd, “For half of my life, 12 years, Guantanamo has been allowed to exist – all as part of some warped strategy to win some ill-defined U.S.-fabricated war on terror. A war that knows no boundaries, no rules and no end. But who knows better than the U.S. what terror really means? Terror is the nearly 100,000 Iraqis who have been slaughtered by American bombs, terror is the thousands of Afghan children who have been murdered and raped and tortured… We stand here to today to say no to war, no to political repression, no to indefinite detention, no to torture and no to Guantanamo!”

#DoralFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #GuantanamoBay #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #USSouthernCommand #antiwar #USImperialism #InjusticeSystem #CodePink #POWIR

While the speech did offer criticism of how the U.S. had conducted the ‘war on terrorism,’ it did not give any concrete insight into how the U.S. prison in Guantanamo will be closed. Additionally, Obama said he was saddened by the occasional deaths of innocent people by U.S. drone strikes, but then argued for the effectiveness, legality and the moral justification for continuing U.S. drone attacks. Instead of offering a change to U.S. policy, Obama announced the continuation of the status quo.

Medea Benjamin, the founder of Code Pink and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, was in the audience and could not keep quiet. Benjamin challenged the president’s portrayal of the continuation of Guantanamo as Congress’ fault. She told The Daily Beast, “If he had indeed made significant policy changes, I wasn’t going to say anything. I would have preferred that option, but given that he didn’t make those kind of changes I was looking for, I was glad to be given the opportunity to speak out.”

Many other voices of the anti-war movement were not as fortunate as Benjamin, so Fight Back! interviewed an array of anti-war leaders to add to Benjamin’s reaction:

Alan Dale, an organizer with the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, told Fight Back! that he did not see the speech as a shift in policy. “Obama did not say that the U.S. was going to end its decade long orgy of militarism around the world. The Obama speech attempts to put a humane face on the continuing U.S. wars and interventions. The U.S. is not ending the war in Afghanistan; the U.S. government knows the war is unpopular, so it is adjusting. The U.S. plans to leave thousands of troops and drones behind. The drone strikes and night raids on Afghan villages will continue. The anti-war movement must continue to do everything possible to mobilize and end the wars and interventions.”

Joe Iosbaker, an activist with the Chicago Antiwar Committee, which is leading protests against Boeing’s production of drones, told Fight Back!, “Our protests against drone warfare have helped make it controversial. As a result of all the public pressure, both in the U.S. and abroad, President Obama could not remain silent. He responded by justifying their use and declaring that they will continue to be used. Since the U.S. will continue to carry out targeted killings and assassinations, we will continue to build a movement against U.S. wars and against the Boeing Company, for example, to stop them from making the next killer drone.”

Jess Sundin, an activist with the Minnesota Anti-War Committee who was targeted by the FBI for her activism, reacted to Obama’s attempt to show concern for civil liberties during the war on terror: “At every opportunity, the Obama administration has bolstered the war effort at the expense of civil liberties and civil rights. His terms in office have been a lesson in constitutional law, as his Department of Justice strikes down the Bill of Rights in every case of so-called terrorism. Freedom of speech and assembly, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, the right to due process, including a speedy and public trial with a jury of one's peers, the prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment – these are things for crime novels and TV dramas, but not for real life.

“When the FBI burst through my front door, and a federal prosecutor ordered me to Chicago to testify against anti-war and international solidarity activists, I had my first taste of the political repression that has long besieged freedom fighters in this country and around the world. The CSFR [Committee to Stop FBI Repression] stands with all those who have been targets of this repression – from Arab and Muslim charities to the Occupy movement. By building a united movement, we can make it impossible for the Obama administration, or any other, to silence us and clear the way for their cruel agenda of war and poverty.” Sundin also organizes with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression to demand policy changes from the federal government on civil liberties.

Lucia Wilkes-Smith is a board member of Women Against Military Madness and her reaction to Obama’s speech was, “Sometimes I agreed with Obama's general statements, and then I am outraged by his seemingly logical inferences. For example, he said, ‘Force alone cannot make us safe. We cannot use force everywhere...a perpetual war – through drones or Special Forces or troop deployments – will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways.’ But, then I realize that his alternative to force and perpetual war is economic manipulation of other nations and peoples, to bring them into compliance with supposed U.S. interests and goals. Obama calls it ‘patiently supporting transitions to democracy.’ When Obama states, ‘For the record, I do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any U.S. citizen – with a drone, or with a shotgun – without due process’, he continues to separate the elites from the others (non-U.S. citizens) who are assassinated or mowed down as ‘collateral damage.’ That's disgusting.”

Pete Shell, with the United National Antiwar Coalition and the Merton Center Anti-War Committee gave his reaction to Fight Back!, “Despite Obama's attempt to put progressive dressing on U.S. foreign policy, the fact remains that drone warfare and targeted assassination and the continuing torture of Guantanamo Bay detainees violate international law and create hatred against the U.S. In Pittsburgh, the Thomas Merton Center-AWC and Code Pink have recently started a coalition against drone warfare, together with representatives of Veterans for Peace, WILPF [Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom], the Green Party and AFSC [American Friends Service Committee]. CMU [Carnegie Mellon University] and Pitt [University of Pittsburgh] get millions of dollars a year in military funding, much of it for drone and robotic warfare research and development. It's time to transform this military-oriented economy into a true peace-time economy.”

Coleen Rowley, who left the FBI as a whistleblower and is an activist with Tackling Torture at the Top with WAMM, gave her reaction: “I agree with what Ray McGovern wrote in Doubting Obama’s Resolve to Do Right, ‘In his counterterrorism speech, President Obama ruminated about the moral and legal dilemma of balancing the safety of the American people against the use of targeted killings abroad.’ Those who want the war killing under a deluded notion of Pax Americana to continue, like the Chicago Tribune editors who assess nothing will change, will see an endorsement of the ‘long war’ status quo. If only a certain portion of the people, however, would seize the moment and emulate Medea – instead of criticizing her rudeness in telling some truth about their political leader to whom they have lazily abdicated their responsibility and morals – we could actually see the tide turn.”

In conclusion, President Obama’s message to the anti-war movement was not that their work was done, but rather that anti-war leaders and activists across the country need to continue to develop a movement for peace and justice. Anti-war activists will continue to organize to ground the drones, close Guantanamo, and to say no to U.S. warfare and militarism!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee #USImperialism #drones #FBIRepression #CodePink

Washington, DC – On May 23, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the National Defense University, supposedly outlining changes to the ‘counter-terrorism’ policy of the U.S. While the U.S. media hailed the speech as a significant change from the War on Terror policies of the Bush administration that carried into Obama’s first term, the president’s speech mostly doubled-down on the drone strikes and military actions that have brought death and destruction to people in the Middle East.

The Boston Marathon bombing last month, along with the Congressional Republicans’ probe into the U.S. Embassy attack in Benghazi, Libya last year, almost certainly motivated the president’s speech. More pressing was the May 22 admission by Attorney General Eric Holder that drone strikes killed four U.S. citizens, including three civilians, since Obama took office in 2009.

Putting Obama’s speech in this context is important because it reveals an administration desperate to justify its violent military actions to the U.S. people, who overwhelmingly oppose the government’s policy of perpetual war and occupation. Despite saber-rattling against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Syrian Arab Republic, a New York Times/CBS poll found nearly 77% of people in the U.S. oppose U.S. military action against the DPRK and about 62% feel the U.S. should not intervene in Syria.

The Obama Doctrine

Obama’s speech included a full-throated defense of drone strikes. Disturbingly, the speech all but wrote off the hundreds – if not thousands – of civilians who died from U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and other nations. Obama claimed that as president, he “must weigh these heartbreaking tragedies [civilian causalities from drone strikes] against the alternatives.” He followed this assertion with the equally bizarre justification, “Let us remember that the terrorists we are after target civilians.” This is the Barack Doctrine: To save the civilians who would die in terrorist attacks, we need to kill them before the terrorists do.

Although the U.S. media already clamors over the very minor changes to the president’s drone program – the Los Angeles Times called it “throttling back on drones” – these changes will do little to nothing in reducing civilian casualties. The president calls for tougher standards when deciding to launch drone strikes. This requires “a near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured,” according to White House staff.

However, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) classifies all military-age male casualties of drone strikes as ‘militants’ unless they find evidence to the contrary after their death, according to a 2012 report by the Stanford International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic called Living With Drones. The Brookings Institution estimated in a 2009 report that drone strikes killed nearly ten civilians for every one militant, but the CIA’s deceptive method of reporting deaths masks the real horrors committed on everyday people in countries like Pakistan. By not acknowledging the full scope of civilian death or the bad reporting methods on drone casualties, Obama implies no reason to expect an end to the slaughter of innocent people.

For his part, Obama suggested a return to the pre-9/11 counter-terrorism policies that marked Bill Clinton’s administration. This should provide scant comfort for anyone who opposes the U.S. policy of war and occupation. President Clinton’s foreign policy was marked with the death of nearly a million Iraqi children as a result of the brutal sanctions infamously defended by then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Under Clinton, the U.S. launched military strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan and sent U.S. troops into Somalia. Clinton’s administration oversaw the dismemberment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, culminating in the 1999 NATO bombing of Bosnia with civilian deaths mounting to 5700, according to Human Rights Watch. Clinton worked with the brutal monarchy in Saudi Arabia to place more military bases in the Persian Gulf and tighten the U.S. grip on the Middle East’s oil. Despite tactical differences, the Clinton and Bush presidencies oversaw the deaths of nearly a million Iraqis each.

Obama’s speech included support for the French invasion and occupation of Mali, but it made no mention of the U.S.-orchestrated NATO bombing of Libya in 2011. Facing continued investigation by the House Republicans for the U.S. Embassy attack in Benghazi, the president wants to avoid touting his full-fledged support for the so-called Libyan ‘rebellion,’ which was led largely by al-Qaeda affiliates who later carried out the embassy attack.

With the stroke of a speechwriter’s pen, the President revised history on national television with his claim, “unrest in the Arab World has also allowed extremists to gain a foothold in countries like Libya and Syria.” Of course, he avoids mentioning the most damning fact of all: the U.S. funded and armed this ‘unrest’ in Libya and continues supporting the ‘rebels’ in Syria, in alliance with the Israeli government and the Saudi monarchy.

Code Pink interrupts Obama’s speech

Near the end of his speech, the president attempted to blame Congress for his broken campaign promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. At this point, Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the anti-war organization Code Pink, interrupted President Obama and pointed out his broken campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay. Benjamin also criticized his administration’s use of drone strikes. The U.S. media lashed out at Benjamin for interrupting Obama and ignored the fact that her points were correct.

While Congress has blocked the president’s ability to transfer prisoners to the U.S. – a move that Obama supported by signing the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – Obama has the ability to release the 86 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, which effectively closes the facility. Of course, prior to the NDAA, Obama could have closed Guantanamo Bay like he pledged to do early in his first term. As Benjamin pointed out during her pointed exchange with the president, Obama has shown a willingness and enthusiasm for the indefinite detention policies of the Bush administration – the same policies he decried during his run for the White House in 2008.

After the speech, Benjamin said this in an interview with Common Dreams: “While I have received a deluge of support, there are others, including journalists, who have called me ‘rude.’ But terrorizing villages with Hellfire missiles that vaporize innocent people is rude.” She continued, “Violating the sovereignty of nations like Pakistan is rude. Keeping 86 prisoners in Guantanamo long after they have been cleared for release is rude. Shoving feeding tubes down prisoners' throats instead of giving them justice is certainly rude.” The latter is a reference to the Obama administration’s forced end to a hunger strike launched by Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

Plenty of commentators in the U.S. corporate media praised Obama’s speech and blasted Benjamin’s courageous stand against drone strikes. However, all of the president’s rhetoric does not change the fundamentally violent nature of the U.S. imperialist system. Well into his second term, Obama has no excuses remaining to explain his full-embrace of the Bush era policies, and the anti-war movement is beckoning for answers.

#WashingtonDC #AntiwarMovement #GuantanamoBay #WarOnTerrorism #drones #CodePink