WE WILL NOT STAND IDLY BY

The Eleventh Hour for Peace group started demonstrating on Saturday, January 27, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. We picked our name because we felt that it was a critical time to end the Bush Administration’s war on Iraq. It was the “eleventh hour.” Instead of standing by during the American occupation of Iraq, and because the Iraq Study Group’s Report had been ignored, we stood at the corner of Livernois and Long Lake in Troy with our signs such as, “War Is Not the Answer” and “Support the Troops – End the War.”

To our surprise we had about a dozen people show up every Saturday morning. We started weekly emails to inform additional citizens. Then we decided to write a newspaper advertisement. We wanted the readers to call Representative Knollenberg and Senators Levin and Stabenow to tell them to wind-down the military occupation of Iraq. We gave four reasons for starting the withdrawal of our U.S. troops from Iraq in 2007 and completing the redeployment in 2008. 

1. The human cost of the occupation is unacceptable. 
2. The U.S. occupation creates the very insecurity and violence we want to eliminate.
3. Michigan’s economy and our families’ budgets cannot afford the billions of dollars
for the occupation every month.
4. Without deadlines for the redeployment of our forces from Iraq, there is no credible pressure on the Iraqi government to forge the necessary agreements for political reconciliation.

We recruited over 50 people to sign the advertisement and donate money to pay for it. So it appeared in the Troy Times, and we got most of the same information published in other newspapers as a letter to the editor.

During the summer we decided to switch our location to a busier intersection – Big Beaver and Rochester Roads. “We the People” from Rochester Hills and “The Iraq Summer Campaign” joined us thereby increasing our numbers.  We contributed people to the August rally against the war at Pontiac Central High School. So we have been extending our outreach and starting to work in coalitions.

Fifty of us marched in downtown Detroit with a flag-draped coffin in November to the offices of Senators Levin and Stabenow plus WDIV and the Detroit Free Press. We were thrilled to have people join us from as far away as Port Huron and as close as Wayne State University. 

We have started to distribute our brochure at public libraries including Troy and Sterling Heights.  We now have a website. – 11HOUR4PEACE.ORG.  We decided to join the “Iraq Moratorium” and their request to hold an event on the third Friday monthly.  Therefore… 

On December 21 we brought together over 140 people for our, “Peace on Earth, End the War,” walk through downtown Royal Oak.  We chose this location because of its geographical centrality, and it worked.  The First United Methodist Church hosted us, and Pax Christi is organizing the third Friday event for January. 

We have chosen, “Support the Troops, End the War,” as our main message because it demonstrates our purpose, and it has the best chance of recruiting the people in the middle to actively opposing the occupation. We continue to do our sign demonstrations every Saturday. And we believe that more drivers are giving us a thumbs up or peace sign, or honking their horn.