Code Pink http://www.codepink4peace.org/  is a women led grass roots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq and stop new wars. Code Pink calls for policies based on compassion, kindness and commitment to international law. The group was founded in 2002 and now has 250 active local groups across the country and around the world. Those are the facts despite what lies you may have heard in the media.

Code Pink members attended a House Foreign Affairs committee meeting this week, greeting Secretary of State Condolezza Rice with cries of “war criminal.” The ladies were dragged out of the committee room by security. Later White House press secretary Dana Perino had this to say about the incident,” I saw a picture from that hearing where a lady in Code Pink with red painted on her hands disrupted the hearing, and I think it’s despicable, and unfortunately, it seems that increasingly Congress is being run by Code Pink.”

Ms. Perino may not be aware of the fact that the war continues unabated so it would seem that Code Pink’s message is not even resonating among congress, much less leading their agenda. Ms. Perino also may want to be advised that congress is supposed to represent the majority of Americans and that’s not the case either. There has been a concerted effort by conservatives to portray Code Pink and any anti-war group has fringe, or far left, not representative of mainstream Americans. I would contend that Code Pink reflects the views of the vast majority of  Americans.

A CBS News Poll taken Oct. 12-16^th of 1,282 adults nationwide found that 67% of all adults surveyed disapprove of President Bush’s handling of the situation in Iraq. 51% of those surveyed think that the United States should have stayed out of Iraq in the first place. A CNN poll of 1,212 adults taken October 12-14^th found that 65% oppose the war in Iraq. That number is up from 63% in September of this year. A growing majority of Americans oppose the Iraq War and disapprove of George W. Bush’s leadership of the war. That fact doesn’t seem to be resonating at the White House or among conservative Republicans.

I applaud the efforts of the members of Code Pink to confront the war criminals at every opportunity. The Bush administration has kept itself so walled off from the American public that it is nearly impossible to publicly protest their conduct without risking arrest and physical abuse. It’s a sad day in America where the majority view on a subject as important as ongoing war is stifled and dismissed. We all must stand up and shout the war must end and perhaps if the volume is loud enough our voices will finally be heard by those who have the power to bring an end to this endless war.