In Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, and cities and towns all across the country, one of the largest antiwar mobilizations in U.S. history demanded an end to the war against Iraq

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500,000 say U.S. Out Now!

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Led by a contingent of 3000 veterans of Vietnam, Korea, World War II, and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade of the Spanish Civil War, an antiwar crowd estimated at 250,000 marched on Jan. 26 from near the Capitol, past the White House, and to the Ellipse.

The Washington demonstration, happening on the same day as a huge San Francisco march, resulted from a call by the National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East, issued at a broadly attended Dec. 1 conference in New York City. That conference, attended by representatives from 350 organizations, endorsed three demands for the march: Bring the Troops Home Now! No War for Oil! Money for Human Needs, Not War!

Participants in the D.C. demonstration came from all parts of the United States, from Canada, and from several European and Latin American countries. "Operation Safe Return" of Asheville, North Carolina, brought 130 people. An organization called "Peace and Justice" filled two buses from Manhattan, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, a trip of over 24 hours.

Banners flew from Chicago Area High Schools for Peace, Tennesseans for Peace, Bay Ridge (New York City) Coalition for Peace, the University of Wisconsin, the Smedley Butler Brigade of Veterans for Peace (Boston), groups in Detroit, Kentucky, Georgia, and hundreds of other local groups.

Several trade unions were represented. Dozens of church groups marched. It was obvious that the organized movement against the U.S. war in the Gulf is deeper and wider than the false picture given by the capitalist news media.

One woman carried a banner that read "Alaskans for Peace." She told Socialist Action that while she was only a contingent and a variety of speakers addressed the crowd. One speaker made it clear that "this war is about U.S. imperialism."

Much of the crowd was just leaving the initial rally site when the front of the march arrived at the Ellipse. Once the front reached the Ellipse, the main rally began, although marchers were still streaming in for at least another hour.

Speaker after speaker blasted U.S. policy in the Gulf while representing a variety of views, including those for letting sanctions and negotiations work. But the clearest voices from the stage were for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Dave Klein, head of the Veterans for Peace in New Jersey, told the crowd, "We are not fighting in the Middle East for international law. If that were so, the first thing we'd do (continued on page 10) Eva Akesson

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scene of largest Vietnam War

TROOPS! HOME!