United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

On Tuesday evening, the Olympian (Olympia, WA) reported that a march of "about 150" protesters demonstrating in response to the arrival at the Port of Olympia of the USNS Brittin bearing Stryker equipment back from Iraq "has ended without arrests or incident."[1] -- As usual, abundant commentary accompanied the Olympian article, with one reader writing: "Would someone explain to me exactly what the protest is about . . . because I'm probably every much as opposed to this 'war', and as fed up (way beyond fed up) with this current administration as all of you. But I do not understand why you are protesting stuff RETURNING. I don't get the logic. I'm one of the 'older' folk here and I take offense to all this non-sensical hippie bashing garbage going on here. Actually, it doesn't offend me as much as it disappoints me that so many of my peers are so stupid." -- Photographer Steven M. Herppich posted more photographs of the protest on the Olympian's web site. -- Both press and insider accounts anticipate that the effort to move the offloaded equipment will begin on the evening of Wed., Nov. 7. -- Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade back from Iraq are expected to be the drivers; escorts will be provided by military security as well as state and local law enforcement. -- As confrontation loomed, PMR activists redistributed a copy of the "Port Militarization Resistance Code/Statement of Non-Violence" agreed upon in February 2007.[2] -- PMR also issued a press release calling attention to the issue of depleted uranium: "The equipment being unloaded is likely to be contaminated with depleted uranium. Consequently, we are concerned about the health effects on our local port workers, and plan to reach out with information regarding the effects of DU. This material is hazardous to all people; if moved through Olympia it poses a threat to our community's safety as a whole as it already has to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and the Iraqi people."[3] -- The statement concludes: "We ask the people of Olympia to join us in opposing and resisting this war and the militarization of our community." ...

[PHOTO CAPTION: After marching through the streets of downtown Olympia a group of roughly 200 people gather at the Port Plaza for a rally Tuesday afternoon, November 6, 2007. The USNS Brittin is docked in the background as military equipment continues to be unloaded at the Port of Olympia.]

A march protesting the use of the Port of Olympia as a place for the military ship USNS Brittin to unload has ended without arrests or incident.

About 150 protesters had marched down Fourth Avenue and on other downtown Olympia streets between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Traffic was temporarily backed up on Fourth.

Meanwile, soldiers will begin convoying Stryker vehicles and other equipment from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis starting Wednesday night.

The military convoys will occur at night during non-peak travel periods. The vehicles will travel north along Interstate-5 from the port to Fort Lewis. The effort will continue for several days, a news release from the base says.

The vehicles will travel in small groups and will be escorted by Fort Lewis Military Police and state and local law enforcement.

Motorists are asked to drive carefully when approaching or passing the convoys, the news release says.

Driving the equipment will be soldiers of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, which recently returned from a 15-month deployment to Iraq.

The Olympia Port Military Resistance campaign has vowed not to let the equipment return to the base, although it has not said how it plans to stop the effort.

For more information, check back at www.theolympian.com and see Wednesday's *Olympian*.

We, the members of Port Militarization Resistance (PMR), believe that non-violent social change is a means for people to discover their own power through the peaceful resolution of conflicts, the creation of democratic structures, and the realization of justice -- not mere victory. While working in this group we commit ourselves to the following principles:

1) We seek to win over our opposition by changing their minds rather than through degradation and humiliation.

2) We are willing to make personal sacrifices in order ensure freedom and justice for all people –- even our opponents.

3) We shall refrain from physical assaults, verbal harassment, and malicious sabotage.

4) We remember the need for forgiveness and humility, and always seek to understand each other’s actions, and the actions of our opposition.

5) We shall ensure that all our events and meetings are transparent, inclusive, and democratic.

Olympia Port Militarization Resistance: We oppose Olympia's complicity in a war whose disastrous effects have been felt worldwide and we will actively resist the use of Olympia's port to further that war.

November, 6, 2007 -- On Monday, November 5, the USNS Brittin arrived at the Port of Olympia, transporting the damaged remains of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Combat Team's equipment. We, Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) realize our obligation to respond.

The goal of OlyPMR is to end our community's participation in the illegal occupation of Iraq and to contribute to ending this immoral U.S.-waged war by stopping the military's use of our port. In May of 2006, we attempted to block the outgoing shipment of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. That same brigade recently returned with 48 fewer soldiers, who died from injuries sustained in Iraq, along with hundreds who have been wounded. Many of the weapons and military equipment from this brigade will be unloaded at the port this week.

Through nonviolent actions we intend to stop the Port of Olympia from becoming a revolving door of military machinery furthering illegal war. This war has taken the lives of 3,845 U.S. soldiers, over one million Iraqis, and has displaced millions more. These weapons are returning to be repaired and refitted for further combat. We see this as a continuation of the war despite our nation's and the Iraqi people's overwhelming opposition to the war.

We advocate for a port that provides livable wage jobs without relying on revenue from war and occupation in the Middle East. The equipment being unloaded is likely to be contaminated with depleted uranium. Consequently, we are concerned about the health effects on our local port workers, and plan to reach out with information regarding the effects of DU. This material is hazardous to all people; if moved through Olympia it poses a threat to our community's safety as a whole as it already has to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and the Iraqi people.

The best support for the troops is to end this war, avoid a war in Iran, and build a just society at home where troops and their families can have livable wage jobs, affordable and quality education and health care, and a healthy environment.

We oppose Olympia's complicity in a war whose disastrous effects have been felt worldwide and we will actively resist the use of Olympia's port to further that war. We ask the people of Olympia to join us in opposing and resisting this war and the militarization of our community.