U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome Italy anti-war demonstration in Rome

Past Events


Solidarity with Bradley Manning
December 17, 2011

No to "war as usual"
March 19, 2010

Winter Soldier Europe
March 14, 2009

Palestinian Flags Flutter
Alongside Peace Banners

January 17, 2009

Close Guantanamo Now!
January 17, 1009

10-Day Vigil for Gaza
January 8-18, 2009

Supporting La'Onf
October 29, 2008

Free the Cuban 5
Sept 13, 2008

Cheney in Chains
Sept 8, 2008

No Bush, No War
June 11, 2008

May Day ILWU Solidarity Action
May 1, 2008

War Tax Day
April 15, 2008

World Social Forum Global Day of Action
Jan 26, 2008

Shut Down Guantánamo Now!
Jan 11, 2008

No U.S. Military Base in Vicenza
Dec 15, 2007

Meeting Iranian Artists
Dec 05, 2007

End the War in Iraq, No War on Iran
Oct 27, 2007

Report on Final Days of No Dal Molin Festival in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 16, 2007

Camping for Peace in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 12, 2007

Impeach Them Both +
Judiciary Fax Blast

July 23, 2007

I-M-P-E-A-C-H !
April 28, 2007

4th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
March 20, 2007

No Dal Molin, Vicenza, Italy
Feb 17, 2007

Congress: Act Now to End the War
Jan 27, 2007

No Military Bases, Vicenza, Italy
Dec 2, 2006

No War, No Cluster Bombs
Sept 23, 2006

Protest Calling for Cease-fire in Lebanon
July 26, 2006

Military Spending
Bean Poll

July 18, 2006

Stop the Escalation
in the Middle East

July 17, 2006

Refusing to Kill
July 06, 2006

Shailja Patel:
Poetry in Times
of War

July 05, 2006

Troops Home Fast
July 04, 2006

Italian Vote on
Military Missions

June 27, 2006

Peace Parade
June 02, 2006

Michael Uhl of
Veterans for Peace

April 29, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden in Plain Sight

April 26, 2006

War Tax Day
April 15, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness

April 12, 2006

National Anti-war Protest in Rome
March 18, 2006

Soldiers Against War
March 18, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Aristide and the Endless Revolution

March 15, 2006

Women (and men!) Say No To War
March 8, 2006

An Eyewitness Account of Post Katrina New Orleans
March 2, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Life and Debt

February 09, 2006

Vote to Renew Italian Mission in Iraq
February 09, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
February 06, 2006

NBC Today
Show Blitz

February 06, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Revolution Will
Not Be Televised

January 26, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
In Rome

January 18, 2006

Crimes & Lies:
with Dave Lindorff
and Maurizio Torrealta

January 13, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Peace Propaganda and
the Promised Land

January 12, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Oil Factor

December 15, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Plan Colombia

December 01, 2005

Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre
November 30, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Wal-Mart

November 17, 2005

Protest at U.S. Embassy: White Phosphorus in Fallujah
November 14, 2005

Control Arms Petition
at Piazza Chiesa Nuova

November 12, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Invisible Ballots

November 10, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Corporation

October 27, 2005

Movie Night:
Viva Zapatero

October 25, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden Wars of
Desert Storm

October 13, 2005

Anti-war rally
at U.S. Embassy

Sept 24, 2005

USC4P&J Social
at the Beehive

June 22, 2005

Die-In with
Articolo 11
at Palazzo Chigi

June 21, 2005

Collecting Photos
with Control Arms

June 18, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Unconstitutional

June 16, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Outfoxed

June 09, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Weapons of
Mass Deception

May 19, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
May 05, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 28, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 21, 2005

International Day of Protest
March 19, 2005

Versione italiana

Cindy Sheehan in Rome
Provincia di Roma, Sala della Pace

On Wednesday, January 18th, Cindy Sheehan was hosted by the Rome Province in their Sala della Pace. Sheehan is on tour in Italy with her organization, Gold Star Families for Peace, calling for the removal of troops from Iraq. At the same time, she is sharing her personal story about the loss of her son Casey in the war and her subsequent efforts to speak with President George W. Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas in August 2005.

Sheehan was welcomed by Enrico Gasbarra, President of the Provincia di Roma, who asked how anyone could consider asking for peace a provocation. He commended her for her work and presented her gifts. Vice-president Rosa Rinaldi commented on Sheehan's simple question, "'For what noble cause did my son die?' Perhaps she has received no answer because there simply is none."

Cindy Sheehan thanked those present for her warm welcome to Italy and began her address by discussing the meaning of “peace”. She stated that “peace is a way of life” not something that can be obtained by bombing and killing and maiming people. She suggested that one spreads peace by using words and not weapons. She went on to say that being anti-war was not enough but rather for peace was what was needed. She asked that everyone examine their “moral center” to act against this war. She shared that by being actively opposed to war was the only way she could live with herself and wondered how people like Bush and Berlusconi were able to live with themselves.

She described her efforts as, “a woman’s pain turned into a peace effort.” Sheehan thought that it was women’s role to promote peace and non-violence. Her suggestion for countering the governmental exploitative call for “patriotism” was by using a different call, a call for “matriotism” defined as bringing out the “mother” in all of us. Men can do this as well because, “we have all had mothers.” If this were the case, Sheehan posited, “we would all fight to preserve life, not kill it”. She has heard this concept called “mother courage” in other cultures.

Sheehan talked about a play written by Italian playwright and Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature Dario Fo titled, “Peace Mom”, which is her story of attempting to speak with President Bush, the setting up of Camp Casey and then the formation of Gold Star Families for Peace. The message she wanted us to take away from her talk was that an individual canmake a difference. It requires stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and engaging in activities that will effect positive change.

She called on us as world citizens (U.S., Italy…) to hold our leaders accountable; their lies and deception must be exposed. She illustrated this by asking Bush the question, “For what noble cause was worth killing my son for? For what noble cause was worth killing thousands of Iraqis for? Not only do we have a right to question our government, we have the responsibility to.”

Sheehan expressed the view that the war in Iraq was not only about politics, but that it was a matter of right versus wrong. She called Bush a coward and a criminal. She harkened back to his being an illegitimate President, by stealing the elections in 2000 and again in 2004. He is a war criminal for having started an illegal war. She stated that, “Bush should be impeached, (or resign in disgrace) for his war crimes, spying on citizens and saying that, “the Constitution is just a piece of paper.”

During the question and answer session, Don Giovanni Franzoni, president of the association Iraq-Italy Friendship, offered another gift to Sheehan, the video "Iraq: The Unjust War", and thanked her for commitment to peace. Luisa Morgantini, member of European Parliament spoke of her work with Women in Black and how uplifting it had been hearing of Cindy's battle. Another person told Cindy, "We need you. You are the true ambassador from the U.S."

Cindy was then asked what changes had taken place in the U.S. since the invasion and what more was expected to change. She talked about the importance of the relatively new movement of military families and veterans and how the tide was slowly shifting. Sheehan tried to explain how 80% of the U.S. public initially supported the invasion of Iraq - “We, Americans, want to trust our government. What we, (U.S. citizens) need is more healthy skepticism.” She also told those present to give little thought to accusations of being anti-American. "They call me anti-American. I gave birth to four Americans. How can I be anti-American?"

Stephanie Westbrook of U.S. Citizens for Peace and Justice presented Cindy with photos of the group's presence at the March 2005 anti-war demonstration in Rome, assuring her that U.S. citizens were speaking out against the war in Italy.

Sheehan reminded everyone present of the global campaign Women Say No To War which calls for demonstrations at U.S. embassies throughout the world on March 8, 2006, International Women's Day. Her organization, Gold Star Families for Peace is joined by Iraq Veterans Against War, Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out encouraging people to take peaceful action on March 18th, the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Following the event at the Rome Province, Cindy Sheehan continued to share her message at a meeting with Parliament Members for Peace who declared their commitment to working more closely with the U.S. peace movement and later at the Casa Internazionale delle donne.

Despite short notice, the meeting room at the Casa Internazionale delle donne was filled with Italian women and a few men. Tired but revitalized by the enthusiastic, admiring audience, Sheehan repeated her appeal emphasizing that the women and enlightened men before her were critical in the movement to sway leaders from aggressive acts and war. Beatriz Saldivar of Gold Star Families for Peace, also spoke and recounted the tragic loss of her nephew in Iraq and how she had gone to join Sheehan during her campout at Crawford. She drew attention to the particular problems faced by Mexican-American soldiers who have died in Iraq. The proposals to use March 8 and 18 as opportunities to call for world peace received great support by the group.

Sheehan's Italian tour has taken her to Assisi where she participated in the seminar commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Tavola della Pace (Peace round table), to Milan where she was a guest of the province and peace activists at an event entitled "Bring Them Home – Civil Society for Peace in Iraq", to Venice where she took part in a debate on Iraq and Turin at a debate "Iraq: The Endless Tragedy." where she spoke together with Alice Mahon, ex Labour Party MP who resigned in protest.

Kathy Ford

Ongoing/Future Events


Our Eyes Wide Open Film Series is suspended; for further information click here.


Upshot of our Nov. 9th group discussion on current politics:

It wasn't the Russians that got us Trump. Or Comey. Or even the massive GOP election fraud. It was the DNC.*
*Dem National Committee

To learn how to stop the DNC from delivering us another Trump, read Autopsy: the Democratic Party in Crisis.


Photo of a school in Yemen bombed by Saudi Arabian jets supplied by the U.S. and fueled in the air by the U.S. Air Force. Tell Trump to STOP THIS CARNAGE, not fuel it! Click here.

Also participate in the CodePink email and/or phone initiative:




Click here to sign a petition, to put an end to the sanctions against Syria - their only effect is to take a terrible toll on the population, causing them to migrate! And click here to see the video by the Italian Committee to lift sanctions against Syria.



Iraq Deaths Estimator
Did someone tell you that U.S. military intervention in Iraq was over? Not true: we're at it again. This time the pretext to drop bombs is "curbing ISIS" (which was created by the U.S. in the first place, to overturn al-Malaki in Iraq and then Assad in Syria, and is now out of hand. Like what happened to "our" creature al Qaeda in Afghanistan). And the death toll continues to rise...
Write your senators and tell them: "Enough! U.S. out!! Iraq has shown it can curb ISIS by itself!"

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Copyright © 2006 Kathy Ford  All rights reserved
U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome, Italy