Concert calling for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
Anti-war artists, musicians and activists were marking the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq with a concert tonight to benefit groups campaigning against the war.
REM singer Michael Stipe, actress Susan Sarandon and activist Cindy Sheehan will headline the Bring ’Em Home Now! concert to call for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
“The arts can speak about critical issues of our time,” said Chris Wangro, an event producer who helped organise the concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, gained international attention last year when she set up a protest camp near US President George Bush’s ranch in Texas.
She was arrested earlier this month in New York during an anti-war demonstration.
All profits from ticket sales will go to anti-war groups including Gold Star Families for Peace, which counts Sheehan among its founding members, and Veterans Against the War, organisers say.
