YEAR 5 OF THE IRAQ WAR BEGINS

Along with people around the country and the world, we marked the beginning of the fifth year of the Iraq war on Sunday, March 18, 2007.

Here we are setting up the panels--on walls and on the floor.








Here is how 3300 dead faces appeared to those who saw them in the Southold Recreation Center.





We welcomed three Veterans--from WWII and Vietnam--who spoke about their sadness and frustration as they looked at all the people who they felt had given their lives for no good reason.

NFPOC wonders if we are witnessing a change in feelings about the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. Many organizers this year have reported lower participation at rallies, vigils and demonstrations. This year we too saw considerably fewer people than those that crowded the events we held in 2006 and 2005. We speculate on the reasons: the weather is of course always a factor and Sunday was a very cold and windy day. Are some people waiting to see if the "surge" works, withholding their protest in case it does? (We are not sure what "works" means!) There were so many gatherings scheduled this year--protesting not only war but immigration and the environment. Too many protests, not enough time? Or, perhaps people feel their protests of the past four years have worked:with a new Congress in place, it's time to turn over the work to them. After all, that's what we elected them for?

Tell us what you think.