Every Saturday morning, rain or shine, a dedicated group of people assembles in front of the old County Courthouse in Northampton, MA to stand vigil for peace and justice. They have been doing so for more than 7 years now, having initially organized in opposition to U.S.-led economic sanctions against Iraq, which had greatly exacerbated the suffering and deprivation experienced by the Iraqi people and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children there. (For more on this topic, I refer you to “A Hard Look At Iraq Sanctions.�) Formerly known as the Northampton Committee to Lift the Sanctions Against Iraq, they are presently known—for obvious reasons—as the Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq. They are one of many groups that have organized in the last several years to promote peace and justice and protest the war. (United For Peace offers a comprehensive list of such groups.) In my mind, the Northampton Committee and those like them represent a desperately needed beacon of hope shining through the thick fog of war and injustice. I salute them all.
Here are seven reasons why these groups are needed: Scott A. Messer (26) of Ashland, KY; Walter B. Howard II (35) of Rochester, MI; Sean T. Cardelli (20) of Downers Grove, IL; Caesar S. Viglienzone (21) of Santa Rosa, CA; Garrison C. Avery (23) of Lincoln, NE; Marlon A. Bustamante (25) of Corona, NY; and Anthony C. Owens (21) of Conway, SC. They were all killed in Iraq this month.
2,250 dead. How many more?
Kmareka.com 
Thank you for posting this.
Spc. Marlon A. Bustamante was a childhood friend of both myself and my brother. Today we learned of his death. It kills me to know that he died in war that is being propagated by Bush’s idiocy. It hurts to know of all the deaths that happened and will occur as long as our soldiers are overseas. I guess thousands of deaths are not enough to stop this.
Thank you for posting his name.
You are very welcome, Amelia. My condolences to you and your brother and to all the friends and family members who have lost a loved one to this unnecessary war. Sadly, we must add the following names to the growing list of casualties: Jesse M. Zamora (22) of Las Cruces, NM; Lance S. Cornett (33) of London, KY; Simon T. Cox, Jr. (30) of TX.
Marlon was my son’s (Lee) best friend and we loved him. Everyone is very proud of our military for their devotion and willingness to die for our freedom. I only wish that the families of all the casualties didn’t have to feel this loss for a war that we should never have gotten in to. I wish our government was more thoughtful about putting boots on the ground, because everyone who dies is somebodies loved one, not just a statistic. These are America’s sons and daughters we are losing, and as far as I can see, we have more of a mess there than ever before. This was Marlon’s second tour and in his words he felt more in danger there this time than the last time. The enemy has changed and the danger is greater so how can the govt tell us things are improving? How are they supposed to defend against an enemy that is willing to blow themselves up and you with them. This is an impossible job and too great a burden to put on them. Marlon, we miss you!
Lini, Thanks for your compassion and concern for the soldiers in Iraq, and for paying tribute to the loss of Marlon Bustamante. He was obviously a very special person and will be greatly missed.