March 16-21st: We Demand “Fund Education, Not Occupations!”

SDS Anti-War Working Group

sdsantiwar.wordpress.com | sdsantiwar.wg@gmail.com

The SDS Anti-War working group is calling for protests against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the occupation of Palestine on the week of March 16th-21st, during the 6th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We are demanding troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Organize sit-ins, walk-outs, teach-ins, banner drops, die-ins, building occupations, film screenings - whatever your campus can do to protest U.S. foreign policy. Or join the March 19th Funk the War and the national protest marches in Washington DC, where on March 21st we will have a SDS meet-up. Together we will build a mass movement to end the occupations now and put the people’s needs first.

March 20, 2009 will mark the 6th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. 150,000 U.S. troops continue to occupy Iraq, bringing misery and suffering to the Iraqi people. The Pentagon and President Obama are escalating the ‘good war’ in Afghanistan, where thousands of civilians are killed every year by U.S. air strikes and gunshots. U.S. aid to Israel, at over $3 billion a year, continues unabated while 1,335 Palestinians were killed by a U.S.-Israeli assault on Gaza in January.

We as students should not – and cannot – sit idly by as the country that we live in either supports or is directly involved with the occupations of these lands. While we at home face an unprecedented economic crisis with local and state budgets slashed and workers losing jobs and their homes, with our tuition skyrocketing and our universities losing funding, the United States government is escalating the war in Afghanistan, continuing the occupation of Iraq, and supporting the massacre of Palestinians by Israel’s occupying forces.

This is not the change that we need or voted for. At the same time, we know that the people make history, and that politicians will respond when our movements are vocal and strong. That’s why we need to take action now to support the Iraqis, Afghans, and Palestinians and demand U.S. out NOW, and end all occupations! We don’t want our money going to bailout rich bankers and pay for occupations - we need it for schools, jobs, health, and people’s needs.

End the Occupations Now: Iraq! Afghanistan! Palestine!
Money for Jobs and Education, Not for Wars and Occupations!