This is definitely encouraging news. At last, and at least, I see some brave Americans in action. More power to them. Please join them if you can.

Too bad MoveOn won't take on the Democratic leadership. Its the Democratic leadership that's keeping funding for the war going and which is blocking any moves towards impeachment.

I'm kinda at the point where I wish MoveOn would just move on.

I agree that the democratic leadership is also in need of attention. I think the leadership of both parties agrees with the imperial aims of establishing American power in the Middle East. The leadership of both parties, along with the military, see control of the region as the best way to avoid the rise of another "great power" such as China or Russia (the stated goal of American foreign policy). Controlling access to most of the world's oil resources is central to the strategy of keeping sole superpower status along with huge military expenditures.

This being said, I think we can talk all day about withdrawal, but we need to understand that the United States has no intention of leaving Iraq. Have you seen the embassy being built? Have you heard about the very large military bases being built?

So we will either have the Republican strategy of a large American presence with mounting costs and casualties or we will get the Democratic plan that will keep a smaller force in Iraq while transferring some of the control to local and regional forces. We will then see (or not see) more covert action to maintain American interests while seeing possibly more violence as funding and weapons flow in from various sources to various groups.

Overall, I think we need to focus on making sure the Bush and Cheney types are never elected into office again. The Democrats are better in many ways, but they still have the same goal of projecting imperial American power into the Middle East and South East Asian regions. We need a global peace movement to counter the geopolitics being exercised by all sides. We need to come together as a global community to insist on legitimate governments, fair markets, and healthy environments.

We have the ability to live in peace and we can get there without using "shock and awe" as our strategy.

I have to agree with COMarc:
"I'm kinda at the point where I wish MoveOn would just move on."

MoveOn is nothing but a financial funnel and progressive holding tank for the Democratic Party which has proven spineless towards the culprits of the Iraq Invasion and Occupation. Their (MoveOn) lip service to the progressive antiwar and peace movement in this country is nothing short of condescending.

I admire anyone who takes it upon themselves to do something, anything to bring peace to a war-torn area of the world. But these good folks are missing the whole dark secret. It doesn't matter how many congressional offices they picket or senators they confront, the whole reason we are in Iraq has to do with this country's suckling to corporatists' teets. And until a complete overhaul of our political system takes place by non-corporatist political parties will we see lasting peace.

my question is this, when are we going to see the same type of organized movement of protest for the direct action of impeachment of both Bush and Chaney for the national and international crimes they have committed with this government? until the people of this country unite to let the politicians, lobbyists, and corporations know that what they do is unacceptable and that the people of this nation will no longer be led by greed, corruption, and war mongering it will never end.

cyrano:
You are completely correct in the observation of how weak the impeachment movement is both in congress as well as outside. Sad, isn't it?

And you are right also about how the people of this nation will need to be the ones who break the stranglehold that the corrupt and inept politicians and their corporate buddies have on us.

That's why it is so important to make a loud, clear decisive voice at the polls in 2008 by voting outside the duopoly for parties or independents not serving those interests that live off of greed, corruption and war!

Well, as the (civil) war in Iraq grinds on and the election fast approaches, more Republicans will want to politically amputate themselves from the President for their own political survival, but will still carry a monkey on their back for their dogmatic support of the President's domestic and international policies.

This will leave the Republicans most vulnerable for use of political pressure for change in government policies. Timing is everything

Crisis or no crisis, we will never leave Iraq. And, like Israel, there will never be peace there. Political and Corporate power has determined the only way for the US to survive as a super power is to control the oil flow from Iraq. Our dollar is based on it, we have already sold off most of America, outsourced literally everything, closed our manufacturing plants, borrowed to the hilt to keep our government running, so where is the end without our oil security? Americans United for Change can target all the Senators they want, (more power to them) but it won't bring us out of Iraq.

Nothing much to say today except to say how much I enjoy the cyber-name of "cyrano" presumably after Cyrano de Bergerac , the feisty but romantic,iconoclastic poet from Gascony , France, made famous by his creator-playwright Edmond Rostand and of course Jose Ferrer in the vintage black and white movie.

For a generous dollop of slightly-schmaltzy altruism to cure the cynical-shoot-em-up-dumbed-down-dialogue-block-buster-blues , see if you can find and watch Cyrano...from a video-rental outlet near you this weekend.

It's not surprising that Steve Martin and Darryl Hannah "copied" it in " Roxanne"

Nathan Andover is exactly right. As I keep quoting Bacevich in parrot fashion, "none of the Democrats vying to replace President Bush is doing so with the promise of reviving the system of checks and balances. In this regard, the views of Republicans and Democrats align precisely. The aim of the party out of power is not to cut the presidency down to size but to seize it, not to reduce the prerogatives of the executive branch but to regain them." The primary reason for the Dems cave-in on the funding of the war is almost certainly because they were convinced that the four huge bases and 10 smaller ones needed to get finished, if the empire is to salvage anything from this Iraq caper. With this back-down, BushCo has won the war: they have extended their empire of bases quite beautifully -- just as they planned. I'm not exactly sure where the oil bill is in the Iraqi parliament, but Malaki has promised it will be passed, as it's the only "benchmark" BushCo is really interested in. With these 2 triumphs -- the bases and the oil deal -- Bush will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents.

Zoya, I have to agree. And furthermore I think the campaign mentioned in this article is a waste of time and effort. Liberals continue to think that last election which changed leaderships in Congress was a mandate against the war. Liberals also think that Bush's popularity ratings is a mandate against the war. The people I talk to are indeed pissed at Bush but for not winning the war in this time-frame. They still think the war is a just adventure they just want it over with and not have it turn into a Vietnam like long term issue. Americans dont have the focus for a long term anything

Good! something like this needs to be done! The war needs to be stopped at all costs, the bases will be finished and in A few years after Irak returns to some dictatorship and back to"normal" they will demand that we leave and that will be that, just and enormous waste of blood and money like Vietnam, when will we learn?

Hey Pelosi! We put you Democrats in to impeach. Get it on the front burner, or forget ever being in control of the House again. It's your last chance.

Isolate Bu$h the inferior - He is already completely separated from the reality based universe.

The argument for the reasons for the bad outcome in Iraq is being test run daily. Iraq incompetence, cut and run Democrats, terrorist sympathizers, lack of funding, Iran interference, Syrian interference, unwillingness to use NUKES .........

As Hillary Clinton gets closer to being the likely nominee we must ALL -from the center, center left, & far left alike, take a stand for saving our almost lost Republic. We must DEMAND of her-that before any of us would dream of giving her our vote-she renounce for all time her recent indulgence in highly questionable 'earmarks' on Pentagon appropriations -a practice that is dangerous to the future of our democratic Republic. & denounce others on the hill who have been pigging-out at the porkers trough This is not a democratic use of taxpayers money & 'We the people' must insist in future on fair representation for a say in how our taxes are spent! OR refuse en masse to pay 'em! NO MORE EARMARKS!!!