Week of Actions 

September 15 - Join Thousands to Turn Up the Heat
Schedule of September Days of Action

A broad spectrum of national groups have united to mobilize for a massive fall anti-war mobilization called the Days of Action. September 15-21 will be a major showdown in Washington, DC at the very moment that the Petraeus Report is released and Congress takes up spending over $100 billion to prolong the war. Launched with a huge March on Washington on September 15, led by veterans who have returned from Iraq, there will be seven days of actions to send a shockwave through Washington and the nation with the reverberating demand: End the War Now! 

Friday, September 14
Release Show/Party of "Line in the Sand" benefit CD for Iraq Veterans Against the War!
At Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave E., Vienna, VA (right outside DC); 7:00 Doors open, 7:30 Show Time! $10 cover includes $2 coupon off CD purchase, $6 cover with military ID

Saturday, September 15
Mass March on Washington & Die-In Led by Iraq Veterans

  • People will begin assembling at the White House in the late morning. A march will form with the front contingent of Iraq war veterans, family members of soldiers and marines and other veterans. When the march arrives at Congress, the Iraq War Veterans and family members will be the leadership of a mass die-in symbolizing the deaths of an estimated 4,000 U.S. servicemembers. A powerful representation of the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis will be the other central component of this dramatic confrontation with Congress at the time that they will be debating spending another $100 billion to sustain the criminal occupation of Iraq. Click here for more information

  • The Die-In is a civil disobedience action that will involve at least 4,000 people who are able to risk arrest. Click here to sign up for the die-in.

  • There will be a permitted rally taking place simultaneously with the Die-In. All those who cannot afford to risk arrest will be able to participate in the permitted rally that will take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building.

Sunday, September 16
National Training Session for the other Days of Action
This will be a national meeting that will take place in Washington DC for all those who can remain in DC following the September 15 Mass March and Die-In. The meeting will take place at the Media & Public Affairs Building at George Washington University from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm (21st and H Sts. NW). This will be a practical preparation for the actions on Monday, September 17 through Friday, September 21. This will be for everyone who can participate in one or more of the follow-up Days of Action. Click here for more information.

Monday, September 17
People's March Inside Congress
Assemble at 12 noon in the cafeteria of the Rayburn House Office Building (House of Representatives). The lead organizing group for this action is CODEPINK. Click here for more information

Monday, September 17
National Truth in Recruiting Day
In Washington DC, people will dispatch in teams to recruitment centers to tell the truth and counter the lies of the recruiters. Teams will dispatch from 7 am to 1 pm at Union Station in Washington DC. For those who have had to return to their cities, actions will take place all day long at local recruitment centers.  The lead organizing group for this action will be Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). Click here for more information. [Read a letter from Adam Kokesh of Iraq Veterans Against the War about the National Truth in Recruiting Day.]

Tuesday, September 18
Congressional Occupation Day
A broad spectrum of people from around the country will fill the halls and offices of Congress to tell members of Congress to stop funding the war right now. The lead organizing group for this action is Grassroots America. Tina Richards, mother of Iraq war veteran Cloy Richards and CEO of Grassroots America, writes that September 18 "is the day we throw the gauntlet down. We will challenge our government to fulfill the mandate of the people. We do not want a new direction into Iraq as Senate Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi is fond of saying. We will tell them: 'End the War NOW!' So join me on September 18, 2007, as we challenge our leaders to do the will of the American people." Click here for more information. [Read a letter from Tina Richards, CEO of Grassroots America, about the Congressional Challenge Day.]

Wednesday, September 19
Direct Action
More details coming soon.

Thursday, September 20
Veterans lobbying day
More details coming soon. The lead organizing groups for this action will be Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

Friday, September 21
National Moratorium Day
Actions will take place around the country. Information: IraqMoratorium.org.

Endorsers

Many organizations and individuals are joining together to sponsor a large protest in Washington DC timed to coincide with the report by General Petraeus on the "Surge" in Iraq, including the ANSWER Coalition; Ramsey Clark; Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation; Mounzer Sleiman, Vice Chair, National Council of Arab Americans; Cindy Sheehan; Camp Casey Peace Institute; Cynthia McKinney; Veterans for Peace (National); Garett Reppenhagen, Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War; Tina Richards, CEO of Grassroots America; Rev. Lenox Yearwood, CEO of Hip Hop Caucus; Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Code Pink; Father Roy Bourgeois and Eric LeCompte, School of Americas Watch; George Washington University College Democrats; Campus Anti-War Network; Chelsea Uniting Against the War; Sarah "echo" Steiner, Co-Chair, Green Party of the United States; Kevin Zeese, Democracy Rising; Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Hutto, co-founder Appeal for Redress; Liam Madden, Pres., Boston Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War and co-founder of Appeal for Redress; Malik Rahim, founder of Common Ground Collective, New Orleans; Howard Zinn, Author and Historian; Carlos & Melida Arredondo, Gold Star Families for Peace; Rev. Graylan Hagler, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice; Latino Movement USA; Hermandad Mexicana Nacional; Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran, author, Born on the 4th of July; Leonard Weinglass, Cuban 5 attorney; Michael Berg; National Lawyers Guild; Father Luis Barrios, Iglesia de San Romero de las Americas - UCC; World Can't Wait; Frank Velgara, ProLibertad Freedom Campaign; Empower DC; Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; the Latin America Solidarity Coalition; Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition; and many others.

We urge every organization to join in this effort. To register your support for the September 15 march and the actions scheduled in the days following September 15, click on this link.

Please make a donation today

Please make an urgently needed donation today. We must immediately raise funds to pay for buses, posters, leaflets, stickers, sound, stage and the many other expenses associated with a mass, grassroots organizing campaign. We have succeeded in making this movement grow because of the financial donations from you and thousands of others. Please make a much needed online donation, or learn how you can contribute by check, by clicking this link.

Results of the July 18 planning meeting

At the July 18 planning meeting held in Washington DC, representatives from Veterans for Peace (VFP), DC Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, National Council of Arab Americans, CODEPINK, Grassroots America, Democracy Rising, Howard University student leaders, ImpeachBush.org, National Lawyers Guild, ANSWER Coalition and others came together to plan a powerful mobilization at this critical moment to bring the war to an end. The groups have all agreed to bring their respective constituencies together and at the meeting made plans for the September 15 March on Washington DC. The march will be led by veterans returned from Iraq and their families, and will include a major and dramatic die-in of thousands. It will be followed by days of protest and direct action which will take place in Washington DC and elsewhere from September 16-21.

On July 18, Cindy Sheehan was on the road in the middle of her Journey for Humanity March but she too will be with us in Washington DC on September 15. U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) and others in the labor movement are also supporting the September 15 action. Malik Rahim of the Common Ground Collective in New Orleans, Ramsey Clark, Howard Zinn, and hundreds of other organizations and prominent leaders are also involved in the September 15 March on Washington.

It was decided at the July 18 planning meeting that all organizations would work within a unified structure and framework, and that different organizations would provide leadership and act as the anchor for different parts of the September 15-21 actions. A web site has been created to promote the September 15 March and all the other activities that will be organized in Washington DC between September 15-21: www.Sept15.org. An invitation is also open to all other organizations to join in this coalition or to endorse the activities.