NEW YORK - July 2 - With Iraqis celebrating the first symbolic benchmark of a U.S. troop withdrawal this week, United For Peace and Justice, the country's largest antiwar coalition, is encouraged by these first steps but calls for a rapid and total end to the U.S. war and occupation.

Michael McPhearson, the UFPJ National Co-Chair, says, "As a Gulf War veteran, I understand how the military works. U.S. military officials have described how combat troops will be 're-missioned' as 'trainers', so that they can continue operations in Iraq's cities and towns in a different guise."

The road for the U.S. military out of Iraq remains much too long, and UFPJ has urged its Member Groups and supporters to call the White House and the Congress to let them know that continued occupation cannot solve the problems facing Iraq -- and in fact, the presence of U.S. troops exacerbates the problems.

Army Times magazine has reported on the frantic construction and expansion of U.S. military bases just outside municipal borders, so that combat troops can sleep outside the major cities, thus fulfilling the SOFA's obligations, but still conduct combat operations during the day.

McPhearson continues, "The job of the peace movement is to keep Iraq in the public eye, maintain and strengthen our relationships with allies in the economic and social justice movements to build a broad front of resistance to war, and continue our call for the rapid and complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors, as each SOFA benchmark arrives."

With the latest poll of Iraqis finding that 73% want the U.S. to leave and with U.S. defense costs exploding because of the war and occupation, we look forward to the day when we can celebrate with Iraqis a true victory: a complete end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and the restoration of Iraq to Iraqis.