This began with the build-up to Lt. Ehren Watada’s trial for being the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to a war he considered illegal.

Before the trial, a widely publicized Citizens’ Hearing on the Legality of the Iraq War (wartribunal.org) took in testimony from Iraq veterans and figures such as Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. (In these papers, the brass admitted that they had no plan for winning the Vietnam War). During the trial, a large demonstration outside Ft. Lewis, WA ensured that the media spotlight remained on the proceedings, and that Watada had popular support for his war resistance. Things ended with the judge declaring a mistrial just before Watada was to beginning testifying as to the illegality of the war.

Resistance continued to build when the 4th Stryker brigade was due to be shipped from Ft. Lewis to Iraq. Port Militarization Resistance (PMR), a campaign organized first in Olympia, WA ended up in the Port of Tacoma attempting to support the troops by keeping them home. The intention was to commit civil disobedience in blocking the shipping of the Stryker vehicles to Iraq. While the shipment eventually left port, the tactic significantly raised the political and financial costs of the deployment for the U.S. war-mongers. Many soldiers gave war-resisters the thumbs-up.

Subsequent PMR actions have resisted military movements in the ports of Aberdeen and Olympia again. Over 120 individuals have been arrested in PMR actions. At this time, only three have been ruled guilty. Even this ruling is under appeal.

Last year in March, 4th anniversary of the war events held events up and down the NW, garnering significant media coverage. With the 5th anniversary of the war, war-resisters are again at work in an angry commemoration of this terrible lost of life of soldiers and Iraqis that only serves to line the pockets of war-profiteers and the gas companies.

It should be noted that veterans of today’s wars are playing an increasingly important role in the anti-war movement. Iraq Veterans Against the War (ivaw.org) organized a Soldier You’re Not Alone concert in Tacoma last February. Veterans are also playing a significant leadership role in organizing the GI Rights Support Rally taking place on Saturday, March 22nd outside the gates of Ft. Lewis. A new website for soldiers have been created called the givoice.org, well worth checking out and supporting.

We know that we are hurting the war machine that is making money off the blood of our troops. That war machine is starting to organize a backlash, which shows that we’re having an impact. Increased repression from police has been noted, both in terms of violence and arrests. Pro-war yukyuks are mobilized by right-wing radio to events, along with others who mistakenly believe that keeping the troops in Iraq is somehow supporting them. These groups have been told that every protest comes from the students of Evergreen State College, and come primed to threaten and disrupt. As Ghandi said, “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they attack you, then you win.”