By Sean J. Miller .... sean@dmcityview.com

Peace groups divided

Some want Congress to take a stronger stand against the war

Several rallies were held in Central Iowa May 2 to protest President Bush’s veto of a war funding bill that would have set a timeline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraq. While Democratic congressional leaders and the White House are reportedly negotiating compromise legislation in Washington, Iowa progressive groups are divided on how quickly Congress should press for a troop withdrawal.

The Rev. Vern Naffier, the chairman of the Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa (PCCI), says that Congress isn’t going far enough by simply setting a timeline for troop withdrawal. Also, President Bush is at fault for ordering the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.

PCCI held a rally May 2, which drew about 50 people to Nollen Plaza in downtown Des Moines to protest Bush’s veto of the withdrawal bill, which demanded troops start leaving by Oct. 1. Naffier called on Congress to press for a quicker withdrawal date.

“We’re calling for total withdrawal of U.S. troops by a set date,” Naffier says. “The [vetoed] bill allows for a continuing presence of U.S. troops — it is not a total withdrawal. So, for that reason, we’re opposed to the bill.” Congress should instead push for “an orderly and gradual withdrawal,” starting immediately, he says.

PCCI is also considering other direct action to get its message heard, Naffier says.

Rallies, he says, “rarely, rarely, accomplish very much.” PCCI has organized a campaign to lobby members of the Iowa congressional delegation, asking them to press for withdrawal of U.S. forces. Members of the group will also continue to meet regularly, he says. “This is not just a one-time event.”

Other liberal organizations, such as MoveOn.org, have accepted the bill as a “first step,” Naffier says. “They’re not pushing as hard. We want to deliver a stronger statement than what the bill calls for.”

Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN), which has teamed with Iowa members of MoveOn.org, a national liberal advocacy organization, also held a May 2 rally at the veterans memorial in downtown Ames that drew 40 people. ICAN calls the timeline bill “a step forward.”

“The main thing right now is to make sure Congress comes back to the president with something that’s at least as strong as [the bill] he just vetoed,” says Phillip Cryan, ICAN’s program director. “It’s not a time for Congress to back down.”

The timeline bill does have its shortcomings, he says. “However, we understand that we don’t have enough progressive members of Congress to get a [complete withdrawal bill] through right now. Strategically, we get further by having this bill passed.” ICAN will continue to organize public protests, Cryan says.

“We will not stop demonstrating. We need to keep getting out there in public to make it crystal clear that people are opposed to this, that opposition to this war has gone mainstream,” he says.

“People really felt after last November’s election they sent the message pretty clearly,” Cryan says. “The message for us is to set a date to bring the troops home. We believe it’s politically possible to set a date to end the war.” Allowing the war to continue indefinitely, he says, “is clearly not acceptable.”

A protest on March 20, which coincided with the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, drew close to 400 people, Cryan says. “We definitely see a lot of support from the public to push on this issue.”

Other progressive groups want Congress to get even tougher with the Bush administration.

“The parties responsible [for starting the war] need to be indicted,” says Frank Cordaro, a member of the Des Moines Catholic Worker Community, a leftist advocacy group. A timeline for withdrawal “doesn’t go near where we need to get to.” Catholic Worker, which has more than a dozen full-time members, will continue to press for an end to the war, he says.

“Now is the time to protest,” Cordaro says. “They’re listening — these opportunities don’t always happen.” CV

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