New York Times joins the peace movement with powerful editorial
EDITORIAL
The Road Home

Published: July 8, 2007

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

Like many Americans, we have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign that President Bush was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition, and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward.

At first, we believed that after destroying Iraq’s government, army, police and economic structures, the United States was obliged to try to accomplish some of the goals Mr. Bush claimed to be pursuing, chiefly building a stable, unified Iraq. When it became clear that the president had neither the vision nor the means to do that, we argued against setting a withdrawal date while there was still some chance to mitigate the chaos that would most likely follow.

While Mr. Bush scorns deadlines, he kept promising breakthroughs — after elections, after a constitution, after sending in thousands more troops. But those milestones came and went without any progress toward a stable, democratic Iraq or a path for withdrawal. It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost.  (...continued (subscription)...)

Good bye, Cindy Sheehan
We love you ...
by Websteward Roger Straw, May 30, 2007

USWarWatch is produced here in in Benicia, California, just down the road from Cindy Sheehan's home. While all of us in the peace movement have been inspired and challenged by Cindy's witness, we feel especially close to her, blessed by her .. and solid in our support of her.

If you haven't heard about her recent resignation from the peace movement, check out her diary entry, "Good Riddance Attention Whore" on the Daily Kos.We join in the huge chorus of voices, the tremendous outpouring of thanks and admiration being sent Cindy's way. And more, we understand in a very personal way the burden of being an everyday peace activist, the need to pull away from time to time, and the tendency to burn out completely. We who log death on a daily basis are challenged and burned by the unending violence - AND by the refusal of "our" governmental leaders to put an end to the bloody occupations.In fact, Cindy's departure raises in our own minds the possibility of quitting this work.USWarWatch was conceived and begun on Memorial Day, 2006, just one year ago. What if we just said "enough"? What if any number of passionate peace advocates just went away, closed up shop, in an "ultimate protest"?It has been said that "The opposite of love isn't hate. It's to ignore someone...." [Rollo May] What if we all walked away from the killer government and the wasting of our lives on trying and trying and trying - and failing - to create a constructive future in this good land?To take our friend Cindy seriously right now is to challenge ourselves with such questions. For the moment, I've not finished with the question. Maybe Cindy's right, that both Republicans and Democrats are so culpable as to warrant no support for either side of our two-party system. Maybe she's right that the peace movement's egoism and ugly streaks make it unworthy of further support.Surely she is right that both parties and the peace activists on the left deserve open and constructive criticism. But my guess is that Cindy, like me just two years ago, has simply burned out on a personal level. I left my work, my profession of 30 years, rested from the heavy burdens for a long while, licked my wounds, and waited, to see if I would be inclined to return to that work. So far, no such inclination. I'm happy working in a completely different garden, developing websites and witnessing for peace. I expect Cindy's "resignation" is a bit like mine. There is more than one calling for a caring person in a lifetime.So for today at least, USWarWatch will remain active and I will probably continue to support a democrat next November. But my gratitude and admiration for Cindy Sheehan will never be less heartfelt and genuine than it is today.I hope she grows a great garden at home.

Roger Straw
USWarWatch websteward
Here's my thoughts from yesterday on Cindy's decision.