Last week, First Lt. Ehren Watada faced a court martial trial that could result in several years in Prison for the courageous and principled young soldier. On February 2nd, Not in Our Name New York was among the organizations that held a Citizen’s Tribunal on the legality of the war. Witness after witness testified about the war. The same thing kept surfacing, the Bush Administration has committed repeated war crimes.

The use of white phosphorous and depleted uranium on civilian populations is a war crime. Targeting entire cities such as Fallujah for collective punishment is a war crime. Shooting at clearly marked ambulances and detaining and abusing medical personnel is a war crime. The list goes on.

Despite the clear voice of the American People in November’s elections, it is clear that the new congress is not going to put an end to the illegal war and occupation in Iraq. In fact, more troops have been deployed, politicians are lining up to “get tough” on Iran, and more ships and equipment have been sent to the volatile Gulf region.

(The Nation) - WASHINGTON, DC-- A dazzling sun beamed down on peace activists from around the countrywho gathered on the National Mall Saturday to demand an end to the Iraq War. Beneath this benevolent sky, the event read as much like a victory parade as a protest march. These were not the angry demonstrators who took to the streets of New York City in February 2003 in an attempt to avert a war, or the beaten-down and beleaguered ones who marched through US cities in March 2005 to protest US occupation of Iraq, or the slightly bedraggled group who last Spring tied US spending on the Iraq occupation to mismanagment of the crisis as they traced Hurricane Katrina's path in a three-state "March to New Orleans".

Estimates of the crowd size vary--CNN put it at "tens of thousands" and event organizers insist nearly half a million showed, DC police declined to speculate--one thing is certain: Today's marchers were as satisfied as cats who stole the cream, cats who were almost...celebrating.

Jane Fonda, actress and Vietnam war activist, said that silence over Iraq is no longer an option [AP]

Chanting "bring our troops home," tens of thousands (sic) of anti-war protesters have rallied outside Congress to pressure the government to get out of Iraq. Veterans and military families joined some congressmen, peace groups and actors to urge Congress and George Bush, the US president, to stop funding the war and pull troops from Iraq.

"I thought I was serving honorably. Instead, I was sent to war ... for causes that have proved fraudulent," Garett Reppenhagen, an Iraq war veteran, said at Saturday's rally. "We need to put pressure on our elected government and force them to ... bring the troops home," the former sniper said.