Salem rally against Iraq war draws 300

Lower-than-expected turnout disappoints organizers

by Bette Lee
About 300 protestors turned out for the sixth anniversary protest of the illegal and brutal war and occupation in Iraq. Despite the chilly weather, the protestors marched in Salem, and demanded an end to wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza and the West Bank, money for schools, jobs and single payer health care, keeping the Oregon National Guard at home, justice and peace for the Iraqis and Palestinians, and an end to attacks on immigrants in the United States. Sixty groups sponsored/supported the march, including Veterans for Peace, Chp. 72, JWJ, CAUSA, PCUN, ROP, and Military Families Speak Out. Many demonstrators were disheartened by the low turnout. Previous anniversary protests against the war in Iraq turned out thousands of protestors.
Several blamed the weather and holding the protest in Salem instead of Portland. Others thought that many people think they’ve done enough by voting for Obama, and that he’ll end the war soon. Many were discouraged that all the protests against the war have been futile; the war continues to rage on in its sixth year in Iraq, and will soon expand in Afghanistan. Others think there is no viable peace movement in the United States, and that the protests themselves are symbolic and often boring actions that have been ineffective because they haven’t really challenged the powers-that-be or “business as usual.” Hopefully, this will spark an open debate to address these issues and the coming challenges we face as our country verges on implosion.

Bette Lee is a longtime activist for justice, and volunteer for the Portland Alliance and Indymedia.
photos courtesy of Bette Lee
Demonstrators protest at the rally against the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Roughly 300 showed up at the rally at Oregon’s capital, which wove around the streets of Salem.