OneWorld.net (U.S.)

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (OneWorld) - Hundreds of citizens from across the United States descended on Capitol Hill Monday to follow up on the weekend's mass demonstration calling for the reduction and ultimate end of U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

The peace movement's lobby day came after tens of thousands of activists--and by some estimates even more--circled the Capitol building Saturday in what organizers said was the largest demonstration to date in opposition to the Iraq war.

"It's important to remember that we are in a new moment. Do not allow your thinking to go back to before the election," Michael McPherson, the executive director of Veterans for Peace, told an activist-preparation meeting Sunday at Chevy Chase High School in suburban Maryland.

"Do not be timid," he said. "Do not think that we cannot make a change because we can. Do not think that Congress will not listen--because they won't listen if you don't make them and you don't believe they will listen."

McPherson noted that, since November's elections, Washington law-makers have introduced numerous bills in opposition to the war in Iraq.

One bill, HR 508, introduced by Representatives Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, and Maxine Waters--all Democrats from California--would withdraw all U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq within 6 months, prohibit the construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, and repeal the 2002 law passed by Congress authorizing the president to wage war in the country.

Another bill, sponsored by Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, would begin the "safe and orderly" withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq over 180 days, with exceptions for the members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--who would help with reconstruction--as well as military personnel assigned to ensure the security of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and American diplomats.

In the Senate, Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has introduced a measure--S 121--that calls for a redeployment of U.S. forces out of Iraq no later than 60 days after the enactment of the law, while leaving minimal forces there to "engage in targeted counter-terrorism activities, [and] train Iraqi forces."

Peace activists have also been heartened by bills introduced in both houses of Congress that would investigate waste, fraud in contracting in Iraq, the misuse of intelligence that lead to the Iraq war, and war crimes such as torture.

Of most interest to many activists, however, is a proposal from President Bush himself. Next month, the president is expected to ask Congress for an additional $100 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing total spending on the war to almost $480 billion, according to a report from the Washington, DC-based Institute for Policy Studies, a non-profit think tank specializing in issues of peace, justice, and the environment.

The Institute says if that money had not been spent on the war, it could have paid to construct 2.9 million units of affordable housing in the United States or offered 62 million scholarships to university students.

During their lobby day, peace activists set their sights on trying to convince members of Congress to use their "power of the purse" to cut the war's funding.

"We are looking at a lot of things that are happening in the Congress right now, from a Senate resolution that [opposes] an escalation (sending more troops to Iraq) but will allow a war to continue to other bills out there that talk about bringing the troops home and de-funding the war, but [which] George Bush can veto," said Nancy Lessing of the group Military Families Speak Out.

"The one thing that we see that can end this war is if Congress votes no money on the appropriation that's going to come before them," she added.

Despite the peace movement's activism, it's likely Bush's request will be approved. Both the new House Speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid of Nevada have said they will continue to fund the war effort.

Previous votes have been extremely lop-sided, with the vast majority of the House and almost every member of the Senate supporting continued funding.

Dr. Rusti Eisenstadt, a professor of American History at Hofstra University, doubts the peace movement can turn that around this year, but says any increase in members voting against funding the war will make an impact.

"People forget that Congress did not vote to stop funding the war in Vietnam until after all the American troops had already left," Dr. Eisenstadt told OneWorld. "Instead what happened was that every year more and more members of Congress voted against the war and that pressured President Richard Nixon to pull more and more troops out every year."

"When President Nixon took office, there were half a million U.S. troops in Vietnam," she said. "By the end of his first term it was down to 35,000."

According to Eisenstadt, a similar trend appears to be occurring in Congress today.

"Two years ago, it seemed pretty lonely. Now every politician wants to be seen on television saying something bad about President Bush's handling of the war," she said. "The key [for activists] now is to get [Congress] to do something instead of hiding behind non-binding resolutions."

Long-time social activist Tom Hayden told OneWorld President Bush's ability to wage war is increasingly tenuous.

"Wars are based on pillars," Hayden said. "You need available soldiers; you need bipartisan support. You need recruitment of more soldiers, you need money, you need your moral reputation to be preserved, and you need allies. By any of those measures the pillars are being undermined."

Hayden noted that more than 1,000 active duty American soldiers have signed a petition calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Unhappiness with the war is also growing among veterans, with the group Iraq Veterans Against the War estimating their organization has quadrupled in size over the last year.

"Supporting the troops that have signed these petitions and supporting efforts to stop military recruitment at our high schools and at community colleges are absolutely vital," Hayden added. "But people every day can do something. You want to convince your undecided neighbor to go against. You want to convince your kid not to go. You want to take a picket sign to the military recruiting office. You want to link up with the poor peoples and labor organizations and say this war costs $287 million an hour."

"If you put your energies toward a pillar they will eventually tip," he said, "and they cannot fight a war without these resources."