Peace Of The Action Builds "Camp OUT NOW"

On March 15, 2010, an activist group called Peace of the Action began building a city of tents at the base of the iconic Washington Memorial, the first steps in a movement called Camp OUT NOW, in protest to the lack of media attention geared toward the ongoing war in Iraq.

After the construction of the small new city, participants, about 5,000, gathered for the week long seminars on the war and ways to protest it. A peace march on Saturday, March 20th, wrapped up the conference and prepared the participants for complete Civil Resistance, which began in full swing March 22nd. According to P.O.T.A.'s official website, the "goal is to clog Washington, D.C. every weekday through diffuse Civil Resistance (CR) actions to have the effect of tampering with 'business as usual'." P.O.T.A. wants: 1) Troops out of the Middle East, which includes drones, permanent bases, contractors, and torture/detention facilities, and; 2) Reparations for the peoples of these war-torn regions and the fully funded VA system to reintegrate our soldiers healthfully into our society. The organization is keeping quiet about just what this CR will consist of, but it could be a long wait.

Richard Rubenstein, a conflict resolution professor at Washington's George Mason University, and author of soon-to-be-released book Reasons to Kill: Why American's Choose War, says that the Camp OUT NOW movements are a pale imitation of the widespread, well-attended demonstrations that took place during the Vietnam War. P.O.T.A. hopes these demonstrations will rejuvinate America's feeble peace movement by reminding Americans that there are still two wars going on overseas, killing soldiers and innocent civilians. The protest was foremostly geared toward President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats, whom the activist group feels have abandoned the anti-war cause now that they have control over the White House and Congress.

It is the belief of P.O.T.A. that fear from 9/11 is keeping the nation convinced that war is "a necessary evil", and Obama has done nothing to alleviate these fears; he has no clear outline for withdrawl plans in the Middle East. Obama once voiced a plan to send one combat battalion (500 men) home every month, but so far no such action has been seen. Obama is, however, presiding over plans to send 30,000 more servicemembers into Afghanistan, as well as expanding missle strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan and Yemen. When questioned about long-term foreign policy goals, activity, and future plans for the troops overseas, military Generals and top officials frequently contradict one another.

Fortunately, P.O.T.A.'s outreach has not been in vain. The late Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick (Democratic Congressman of Rhode Island), has been railing against the lack of media attention to America's escalating military presence. A situation dealing with war and peace, $3 billion, thousands of lives, and no press is what he calls "despicable." The White House has declined comment on all speeches made by P.O.T.A.