Rising Call: No Strikes. No Troops. No War in Iraq.

As violence in Iraq escalates and hawks beat the drums of war, people on the ground in Iraq and across the U.S. are urging the Obama administration: don’t go down the same path of military intervention that created the current crisis.

According to a poll released Tuesday, 74 percent of people in the U.S. are against sending combat troops into Iraq. Rather than allowing that overwhelming opinion to shape the narrative, corporate media has given platform to the same hawkish voices who called for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Among the vocal proponents of using U.S. military might are Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.  The two issued a statement last week calling for “U.S. air strikes, among other military and intelligence actions and additional support for our Iraqi partners.”

“We reject US intervention and protest President Obama’s inappropriate speech in which he expressed concern over oil and not over people.”
—Falah Alwan, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq

In an op-ed published Tuesday, The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuval asked, “Can someone explain to me why the media still solicit advice about the crisis in Iraq from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)? Or Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)? How many times does the Beltway hawk caucus get to be wrong before we recognize that maybe, just maybe, its members don’t know what they’re talking about?”

Not receiving as much media attention are the calls to halt military intervention—by the U.S. or any party—that will claim further lives and further shred Iraqi society.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), who issued the only congressional vote against the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq War since before it started, issued a statement on Friday, which read, in part:

Speaking to Democracy Now! on Friday, Sami Rasouli, founder and director of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, stated:

Peace activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed while serving in the Iraq war, wrote:

Iraqi-American political analyst Raed Jarrar told Democracy Now! on Monday:

“The response must not be more military action, but a political process led by the Iraqis and representative of all Iraqis.”
—Congresswoman Barbara LeeFalah Alwan, President of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, wrote in an op-ed published at Jadaliyya that “the will of the Iraqi people remains ignored.” He continues:

As Sami Ramadani, a senior lecturer in sociology at London Metropolitan University, wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian, the U.S. played a key role in stoking the sectarian divides that are fueling the current conflict:

Iraqi civil society group Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) has put out call for donations to assist emergency efforts to relocate people residing in their women’s shelters. According to a statement by MADRE, which is partnering on the effort, the funds will go to efforts to “provide emergency relocation, food and shelter to the women in the safe houses.” Yanar Mohammed, president of OWFI, recently stated, “This sudden turn of events is devastating. What we need to do now is protect ourselves and our sisters.”

“Beyond security, well being comes from housing, healthcare, and vibrant community.” —War Resisters League

CODEPINK is urging people across the United States to contact President Obama and demand “no more weapons shipments, no airstrikes, no US troops.” Win Without War has put out a similar call urging supporters, “Tell President Obama: Don’t Bomb Iraq!” Numerous organizations are circulating petitions opposing another U.S. war in Iraq, including Credo and Just Foreign Policy.

Some have taken to the streets, joining CODE PINK in an emergency rally on Monday in front of the White House:

Organizations of military communities, including Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, and Military Families Speak Out, are planning a joint press conference and statement on Thursday.

IVAW released a statement Tuesday declaring:

A statement from the War Resisters League urges “NO to continued war in Iraq!”:

________________________________