The Anti-War Committee (AWC) is a grassroots political organization based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

that wants to end U.S. intervention.

Organizational history

The Anti-War Committee began in December 1998, with 13 people who committed

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

to protest the bombing of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. The Anti-War Committee grew out of the Twin Cities chapter of the

Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, based in Washington, D.C., is a national activist organization with chapters in various cities in the United States. CISPES supports the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) ...

(CISPES), which had been active since the early 1980s.

Mission and focus

The mission of the Anti-War Committee is to organize a broad-based movement which stands in solidarity with those communities, here and abroad who are adversely affected by U.S. foreign policies. Its members believe that the U.S. government has no right to intervene, militarily, economically or politically, in the affairs of independent nations. The Anti-War Committee calls for immediate withdrawal of all coalition troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and has collaborated with other groups to organize protests toward that goal. The Anti-War Committee was the first organization to apply for permits and announce plans to protest at the

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's convention fell on Labo ...

, which was held in

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. On September 24, 2010, the Anti-War Committee's office was raided by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. Several of its leading members also had their homes raided by the FBI. The Anti-War Committee is being investigated for " material support for

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

". The AWC feels they are being targeted by the FBI for their solidarity work with Palestine and Colombia and were a part of founding the Committee to Stop FBI Repression nationally to defend their right to organize and protest.

Coalitions and other issues

The Anti-War Committee participates in the

Iraq Peace Action Coalition The Iraq Peace Action Coalition (IPAC) is an antiwar organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The coalition was created in order to coordinate activities by local activists in opposition to the U.S. war against Iraq. IPAC also sponsors protes ...

(IPAC) now called the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition. The AWC also concerns itself with other issues, such as supporting striking unions, such as during the

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

Mechanics strike in 2005-2006; and participating in the immigrant rights protests of 2006.

Media coverage

Anti-war march challenges McCain on last day of RNC: Crowd repeatedly tear gassed, 396 arrested as police pull out all stops to prevent anti-war march from reaching Xcel Center
Fight Back! News (retrieved September 16, 2008)
Anti-war protesters already planning for GOP convention
KARE11.com (retrieved November 28, 2006)
One year later, peace activists not giving up
Minnesota Public Radio, dated March 19, 2004 (retrieved November 28, 2006)
25 protesters plead not guilty
Minnesota Daily, dated April 4, 2003 (retrieved November 28, 2006)
Anti-war protesters ramp up opposition
Minnesota Public Radio, dated March 20, 2003 (retrieved November 28, 2006)

(Star Tribune, March 19, 2003 - retrieved November 28, 2006)

References

External links