On Dec. 10, the Pledge of Resistance has called for nonviolent civil disobedience actions across the country against war on Iraq. A large civil disobedience action is planned in downtown Denver on Tuesday, December 10.  On December 10, people will meet at the AFSC, 901 W. 14th Avenue at 9 a.m. for a legal training. After the training, participants in the action will walk over to the location of the action. The exact location of the action will not be disclosed until the morning of the action.

People who are planning to participate in the action, and who have not recently taken a nonviolence training, are asked to take one of the following trainings:

Saturday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the American Friends Service Committee in Denver 901 W. 14th Avenue, 303-623-3464; Sunday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Humanities 125, CU Boulder, Call the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center for more information.  303-444-6981x5.

Rationale for Nonviolent Direct Action on December 10:
1) Bush and the U.S. Congress have proceeded with plans for war in spite of widespread opposition by the populace. We must try to stop the war before it starts. 2) Rallies and other actions by themselves do not send a strong enough message to the Administration and will not stop the war. 3) Nonviolent Civil Disobedience on December 10 may encourage larger numbers of people to do nonviolent civil disobedience in the weeks ahead. It may also encourage and galvanize more people to take less risky steps (like going to rallies) to make their voices heard. 4)  We must show our
determination and willingness to take personal suffering upon ourselves to stop this immoral war. We are willing to break the law to try to prevent a greater evil and to prevent massive suffering. 5) The press will cover C.D.

Goals of the Dec. 10 Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Action:
1) Our key goal is to stop the war against Iraq. Other goals:
2) To send a strong message to Washington about opposition to the war on Iraq.
3) To demand that the U.S. stop instigating wars in order to impose our will on other countries.
4) To raise the social cost of the war.
5) To encourage others to get involved and to protest U.S. policies against Iraq.
6) To get press coverage for opposition to the war, and to get sympathetic coverage of our position.
7) To build momentum for the December 14 rally in Denver.

Key message of Dec. 10:
We are here to show our opposition to the war being planned and carried out against Iraq and its people. We are willing to take nonviolent direct action and endure the suffering it entails in order to stop the war. When a government refuses to listen to the populace and when it acts in a tyrannical and immoral fashion, the people have an obligation and right to nonviolently resist.

U.S. citizens are not under any threat from Iraq. Even the CIA verified this in its October 2002 report, and furthermore stated that an attack on Iraq will increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks on the U.S.  Rather, the Administration's purposes for war are:  1) to demonstrate the right and willingness of the U.S. to militarily dominate the rest of the planet for unlimited access to the human and natural resources; and 2) to gain access to Iraqi oil,  the second largest known reserve of oil on the planet. Waging war against Iraq is unjustified and immoral, and is a form of state terrorism and imperialism by the United States government.

A massive attack on Iraq, after twelve years of sanctions and regular bombings on a weekly basis, will cause untold suffering to the people of Iraq, killing up to a half million people. We reject this needless loss of life, as well as the destruction of infrastructure necessary to life.

Violence only increases violence. As Martin Luther King stated, the choice is no longer between violence and nonviolence, but between nonviolence and nonexistence