How to support Cindy Sheehan: Operation Homecoming

More than 1600 vigils took place in every region of the U.S. last week in support of Cindy Sheehan and the other mothers camped outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Many quoted Cindy, calling for an end to the violence in Iraq "before one more mother's child is lost."

But how do we end this war? What is a responsible way for the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq?

In the fall issue of YES! you'll find a six-part plan to bring home our troops and end the killing -- or at least as much of the killing as the U.S. is directly involved in. In an article entitled Operation Homecoming: How to End the War in Iraq, Erik Leaver of the Institute for Policy Studies shows how the U.S. can withdraw from Iraq and return sovereignty to the Iraqi people. No permanent U.S. bases; no puppet governments. Real peace will only result when the people of Iraq are in charge of their own future. Leaver warns that the transition may be a rocky one, and we in the U.S. can't control the outcome, nor can we control the oil resources and economy of Iraq. But U.S. withdrawal is a first step down the road to healing and ending an unwinnable cycle of killing.

Cindy Sheehan is right. No more mothers should have to go through what she has gone through for this war -- and no more wives or husbands, daughters or sons, or fathers should either.

What can you do to help? Join thousands of Americans September 24 through 26 in Washington, DC, for a non-violent mobilization to end the war. Keep up with the latest from Cindy Sheehan and supporters at Camp Casey, and read about other efforts to investigate and end the war. CodePink for Peace is compiling one million reasons to end the war; you can add yours at the onemillionreasons website.

Make your voice heard, whether at a local vigil, in a letter to the editor of your paper or to your member of Congress, or by standing on a street corner with a sign supporting Cindy. Across the U.S., the tide of opinion is turning. Cindy is showing us the way; now is the time when each voice counts.