''Cindy Sheehan to Begin Week-long Vigil at White House''

"Civil Disobedience Planned for Day After 2000th US Death in Iraq is Announced--Sheehan and other peace activists will mourn the lives lost in Iraq and serve as a daily reminder to the Bush administration that the majority of Americans want the troops brought home from Iraq NOW.Cindy Sheehan and other peace activists will begin a week-long vigil in front of the White House on Tuesday, October 25 at 12 Noon to remind those responsible of the Iraq war that people throughout the country are mourning the loss of nearly 2000 US soldiers in Iraq and demanding that the US troops be brought home now. Sheehan will be joined by former US diplomat Ann Wright as well as members of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, and others.

Peace groups throughout the country have called for vigils, marches and other peace events to be held the day after the US announces the 2000th US soldier death in Iraq. Some 327 events are planned in 48 states. For a list of all events planned to mark the 2000th US soldier death in Iraq, click here.

Sheehan plans to engage on nonviolent civil disobedience in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. on the day after the US announces the 2000th US soldier death in Iraq, and is inviting people from throughout the country to join her.

“On the day of the 2000th US death, I will go to the White House, and I will sit on the sidewalk and demand that the war mongers who live and work there bring our troops home. I hope that every person who cares about ending the immoral war and occupation of Iraq either joins me at the White House or goes to their local Congressional offices to demand that each and every member of Congress do everything in his/her power to bring our precious sons, daughters, husbands and wives home from this nightmare,” Sheehan said.

“Our young people aren’t numbers.”

In addition to the 2,000 US troops who’ve been killed in Iraq, more than 28,000 troops have been wounded and many continue to suffer event when they come home. Troops returning to the US are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and are even turning up in homeless shelters in cities through the country. The risk for Iraqis is even more severe: Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been devastated, even according to the most conservative estimates."-from AfterDowningStreet.org. This act is also in the tradition of Rosa Parks.