As I predicted, I've been too busy to blog all week, but I wanted to let you know about a CODEPINK campaign that I helped craft. We will be putting this ad in Iraqi papers on Mother's Day:

From American Women to Iraqi Families on Mother's Day:
Let's Unite to Bring the US Troops Home and Put an End to the Bloodshed

In the United States, today is Mother's Day. But many mothers -- in the US and Iraq -- have little to celebrate. We've buried too many of our loved ones in this conflict. We've seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We've watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families' basic needs of food, shelter, education and healthcare go unmet. We've seen the growing plague of fear, hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.

This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. That's why we are marking this Mother's Day by holding a 24-hour protest outside the White House in Washington DC to call for an end to the occupation of Iraq, an occupation that has fueled an endless cycle of violence.

We have seen in poll after poll that the majority of Americans and Iraqis want the US troops to return home. Even the majority of US troops (72%) think they should return by the end of this year. It is time for the politicians in both countries to listen to us, the people.

We want you to know that we will continue to organize protests and pressure our government to end this illegal occupation of your country so that you, with the help of the international community, can begin to heal your wounded nation.

We have also been circulating a petition demanding an end to the occupation and an end to US permanent bases in Iraq; the petition also calls for money for rebuilding to go directly into the hands of Iraqis -- not US companies (http://www.womensaynotowar.org). We will be delivering these to George Bush, Iraqi officials, and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. You can read our petition here and join the call. You can also contact us at info@womensaynotowar.org with your ideas of how we can work together, family to family, to promote peace.

This Mother's Day, we extend our hand in friendship to Iraqi mothers and their families. We look forward to the day when we can work together in peace.

Sponsored by CODEPINK: Women for Peace