Chicago, May 20, 2012: the American antiwar movement is back. And it's a glorious day.

The American antiwar movement has been weak & fractured for many years & protests have been small. During election years, when many activists invest their hopes in politicians, protests are especially weak. So it is an extraordinary event to see thousands of people gather from around the country in Chicago, demanding US out now, the end of drone attacks, the dissolution of NATO--during an election year & after years of relative quiescience. Many eschew marches as having no purpose but those involved in antiwar activism going back to the Vietnam antiwar movement remember well with what horror US presidents, the FBI, & other police agencies view massive, public opposition to war--and how significantly the Vietnamese, Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, Iraqis, Afghanis, regard such solidarity. If protests were not significant, the state would not array such massive police force against them.