National Antiwar Strategy Meeting: Activists call for unified struggle to stop the war
Report from the June 16 National Antiwar Strategy Meeting:
M ore than 100 anti-war organizers, including many students and youths, labor, community and immigrant organizers, veterans and GI organizers gathered June 16 at the Solidarity Center in New York City for the standing-room only National Antiwar Strategy and Planning Meeting. They came from as far away as California, Cleveland, North Carolina, New Orleans and Boston to discuss the need to move from protest to resistance and build a grassroots movement to stop the war.
September: The next big confrontation over the war
The meeting focused largely on a proposal from the Troops Out Now Coalition for an Encampment to Stop the War and a Mass March in Washington during the week of September 22-29. According to the Washington calendar, this will be the next big political confrontation on the war. This is when the House and Senate debate war funding for 2008. And it is when General David Petraeus reports to Congress on the status of Bush's troops " surge."
Many applauded this proposal as the necessary next step to take the struggle against the war to a new level of resistance. The encampment has the potential to ensure that another war vote does not go unchallenged. The proposal opens an opportunity for an independent intervention representing the people, who are overwhelmingly against the war.
Many ideas were raised for the week-long encampment, including a proposal for a Peoples' Peace Congress to challenge the corporate war Congress in Washington. At such a gathering, different groups could argue for better uses for the funds now earmarked for war. By demanding funds for health care, education and job creation, for example, they could directly confront the “war Congress” meeting at the Capitol.
Youth activists reported on their work to build a national student strike during the week of the Encampment. Activists volunteered to begin working on logistics, housing, transportation, and the many other tasks involved in bringing an encampment to Washington. Others are working to bring musicians, artists, and poets to DC for the Encampment and March. Activists and organizations have volunteered to set up tents at the Encampment that focus on particular issues. Only the people will stop the war The Democratic Party bait & switch
Many took note of how the Democrats had betrayed their clear electoral mandate to end the war.
It was clear to all that despite being elected to bring the troops home and end the criminal occupation, the Democrats in Congress have completely capitulated to Bush on the issue of continuing to fund the war. Even a determined congressional minority of Democrats could block the funding for the war—if they had really decided to end the war. They could disrupt and filibuster. They could call on people from around the country to surround Congress. Instead, while posing as the “anti-war” majority party, the Democrats have completely capitulated to Bush and the Pentagon.
Building an independent movement is more important than ever, as pressure grows to abandon struggle on the streets and surrender the antiwar movement to the Democratic Party, a party that now completely shares in complicity for the criminal war and occupation in Iraq. Participants noted that Wall Street and their mouthpieces always want to divert the mass movement into safe channels—into lobbying and voting and trusting in the bought-and-paid-for politicians. The challenge is to develop clear demands that move the struggle into the streets.
Back to the streets: Unite to shut down the war
Many present noted that the lack of unity in the antiwar movement is a crisis that must be frankly addressed. Some noted that during the last struggle over war funding in March, the movement had a real opportunity to intervene if it acted decisively. Instead, organizations and coalitions called competing events in different venues, deliberately timed to undermine participation in other actions. This sort of cynical maneuvering for organizational advantage weakens the movement, demoralizes activists, and only plays into the hands of Bush and the warmongers in Washington.
TONC organizers and others stressed that the September struggle over the war funding is a crucial fight that can be a real opportunity to galvanize the struggle against the war, particularly if the movement can unite. There was a broad consensus on the need to reach out to ALL national antiwar coalitions, as well as the many local grassroots organizations, to build a united demonstration that will be as large and as strong as possible. TONC organizers emphasized that they welcome and encourage discussion and suggestions for modifying and improving the proposal for the actions in September.
Many participants also emphasized the importance of uniting the struggle against the war abroad with the struggle against the war at home. Those at the meeting encompassing these struggles included Teresa Gutierrez, a leading organizer of the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Brenda Stokely of the Million Worker March Movement, Larry Hales of the Colorado United Communities Against Police Brutality, along with many trade union activists.
Regarding the content of the anti-war call, there was overwhelming sentiment that it should be for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, with many expressing solidarity with the resistance movements in those countries and in Palestine and Lebanon. The TONC organizers took note of the U.S. threats against Iran and are raising slogans against U.S. aggression against Iran, too. Together we can and must change the political agenda
The struggle to stop the war has made tremendous gains. The vast majority of the people are now opposed to the occupation. G.I. opposition is growing as soldiers increasingly oppose being sent to fight and die in this horrific war, in which they have no interest. The politicians in Washington are clearly on the defensive, as their dreams of Empire in the Middle East crumble, their lies about the war are exposed, and as the vast majority of people here and worldwide oppose their heinous war.
But we must do more! The war in Iraq is not a “failed policy;” it is a horrendous crime against the Iraqi people. It must be stopped! Everyday the occupation brings more death and destruction to the Iraqi people. It brings more deaths and serious injuries to U.S. youth who are trapped in this war, and return home to find inadequate medical care and benefits.
It will take an independent movement to stop the war, a movement that takes an independent road geared to mobilizing people in this country to challenge all of the war makers in Washington, that strongly demands the withdrawal of all U.S. troops NOW and calls for ending ALL war funding immediately.
This is a crucial time. What is needed now is an unprecedented outpouring of resistance. We must demonstrate to the politicians in Washington that we will not allow business as usual to continue.
The Troops Out Now Coalition encourages all of the antiwar coalitions on the local and national level to engage each other and where communication has broken down, to open new lines of communication so that our combined efforts will make us stronger.
Let us join forces with the movements struggling for:
* No War against Iran * End all occupations now - from Iraq to Palestine, the Philippines, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Afghanistan * Impeach Bush & Cheney for War Crimes * No to U.S. intervention – Hands off Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and the Sudan * Stop the raids against immigrant workers -- Full rights for undocumented workers * Justice for Katrina survivors – End racist police terror * Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners * Money for health care, jobs and education, not endless war
Together let's unite to demand: * Immediate withdrawal of all troops * Cut off ALL war funding
Tell the Denver City Council: ‘WE DEMAND OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST AT THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION’
TELL THE DENVER CITY COUNCIL:
‘WE DEMAND OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST AT THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION’
The Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) is outraged at the Denver City Council’s June 11th decision not to hear arguments for a proclamation to assure that protesters’ First Amendment rights would be protected during the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August 2008.
The Re-create 68 Alliance, along with Council person Kathleen MacKenzie, submitted the proclamation to ensure that there be no reaction from local police, in conjunction with various state and federal agencies, against the thousands of activists who will converge on the city, so that they can do so without threat or perceived threat of harm.
The violence that has occurred in the past has been initiated by police agencies against protesters. History is testament to the necessity of having an official acknowledgment from the city that rights guaranteed by the Constitution be protected.
TONC supports everything called for in the proclamation, which partly reads: (a) there is reasonable and prompt action on permit applications for public demonstrations, marches and rallies; (b) use of force, including the use of horses, pepper spray or other aggressive means to police public demonstrations, is restricted except to the minimal extent required by legitimate law-enforcement purposes; (c) demonstrations may occur in close proximity to and within sight and sound of the Convention delegates, consistent with reasonable security concerns; (d) restricted use of four-sided enclosures or barricades to confine the movement of people at public demonstrations except in limited circumstances based on legitimate and reasonable security concerns, and in such circumstances ensure that such enclosures have sufficient openings to allow people to exit, return and move freely around the demonstration site.
We are against any protest pens or protesters being forced into any enclosures and, along with R-68, call for unfettered access to the entire city, right up to the front entrance of the Pepsi Center, the site of the DNC. In addition, we are against any plans to forcibly remove the homeless from the streets in order to “sanitize” the city of Denver, and there should be no restriction of movement of any person, be they citizens of Denver or protesters.
Lastly, we support the organizers and condemn any and all threats made against them and attempts to violence-bait them for the important work that they are doing to provide a platform for thousands of people who see the complicity of the Democratic Party in the continuing wars waged abroad and the constant war waged against people of color, workers and the poor in this country.
We call on all activists and supporters of TONC to contact the Denver City Council people mentioned below and demand they reconsider hearing the proclamation and that it be passed. Also, we demand that council person Charlie Brown be reprimanded for stating that the organizers of R-68 are “cruising for a bruising.”
We also want to thank Kathleen MacKenzie for her correct stance. Let the other city council members know that activists around the country are watching and that their decision sets a dangerous precedent, preparing the stage for police reaction and therefore violence against protesters.
Cindy Sheehan made public two letters this weekend. The first letter announced her resignation from the Democratic Party over the agreement by the Democratically-controlled Congress to unconditionally fund the criminal and colonial war in Iraq that killed her son Casey and hundreds of thousands of others, mostly Iraqis.
In the second letter, coming a day after the first, Sheehan announced that she would no longer be active in the peace movement. The reason for her first letter is self-evident. Why did she feel compelled to write the second one?
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Sheehan has been the target of endless threats and attacks by pro-war groups, right-wing talk radio, and the corporate media. But they haven’t been the only attackers. As Sheehan has stepped up her criticism of the Congressional Democrats' complicity in the war, she has come under attack, some as venomous and personal as any right-wing Republican attack, by some who insist that the antiwar movement must be limited to protesting against Bush and the Republicans. Some of the same forces, who are closely tied to the Democrats, were happy to use Sheehan as long as she limited her criticism to Bush, but then viciously turned on her after she announced her resignation from the Democratic Party over the war.
Cindy Sheehan has come to the conclusion that she has been pushed out of the antiwar movement and it’s not hard to understand why she feels this way. She feels pushed out by the betrayal of the Democrats on the war funding. She feels pushed out by the isolation and hostility not only from the “right,” but also from many in the orbit of the Democratic Party that Sheehan had once considered allies. She feels pushed out be the failure of the various coalitions in the antiwar movement to put aside egos and narrow agendas in the interest of forging an independent and militant mass movement powerful enough to shut the war down.
Some good can come from this, if the antiwar movement takes this as a turning point. Many of us made a struggle to demand that Congress cut off all war funding and end the war a priority this spring. Some of us did this, not based on any expectation that Congress would actually end Bush’s war, but to clearly expose the Democratic Party and to demonstrate that they are as much of a pro-war party as the Republicans. If the antiwar movement can absorb this reality, as painful as it is, than it will be all the much harder for the movement to be pulled off the streets and made an appendage of the Democratic Party.
The movement owes a debt to Cindy Sheehan for striking a blow against those who plan to mislead the antiwar movement and tie it to the pro-war Democratic Party.
The rank and file of the antiwar movement stands in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan, not with those who are beholden to the Democratic Party. It takes courage for a mother, catapulted into the world spotlight after camping out in Crawford Texas two summers ago to protest the death of her son in Iraq, to stand up to and openly break with powerful politicians who would be all too willing to provide her a platform with all the perks if she simply toed the line.
It is our hope that after Cindy Sheehan had taken the time to re-unite with her family, and do whatever she feels necessary to repair the toll that all of this has taken on her family and herself, that she will once again be a leading voice against war, against empire, and for justice at home and abroad.
Warning:Don't let the Democratic Party leadership and the '08 Presidential Election veto the antiwar movement.
President Bush's veto of the Democratic Party's bill containing a non-binding timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq displayed once again the Administration's absolute contempt for the will of the people, who are now overwhelmingly in favor of ending the occupation.
But more ominous than Bush's inevitable veto of the war funding bill is the prospect of the leadership of the Democratic Party "vetoing" and derailing the anti-war movement by pretending to be against the war while continuing to support it with billions of dollars of more war funding.
The Democratic Party was elected to control of the House and Senate with a mandate to end the war. As pressure grew from the antiwar movement for the Democrats to cut off the funding and withdraw the troops immediately, they turned to a desperate act of political theater in a an attempt to change the subject, attaching their support for continued funding for the war to a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
The Democratic Party bill, even if not vetoed, would not have required the withdrawal of a single soldier from Iraq. The bill allowed Bush to exempt entire categories of troops at his discretion, including: troops “training the Iraqi military;” troops engaged in “special operations"; and troops “protecting diplomatic enclaves” including the U.S. Embassy and the Green Zone. This means that Bush could maintain current troop levels in Iraq and still be in compliance with the Democrats' bill.
Furthermore, even if Bush agreed to observe withdrawal dates that the Democrats suggested, it would mean that this criminal, colonial war would go on for at least another year and a half. Another year of Iraqi civilians and U.S. soldiers dying; Another year of Abu-Ghraib style torture. Another year of a criminal occupation.
Actually the truth of this "antiwar" charade is even worse. Everybody knew all the time that Congress would put on an antiwar show, and after Bush vetoed the bill containing non-binding withdrawal timetables, they would then give Bush the war funding. Leading Democrats announced months ago that they had absolutely no intention of cutting off the funding for the war.
By pretending to fight Bush on the war, Congress is hoping to neutralize the growing movement demanding the immediate end to this criminal war and occupation. Democrats in Congress hope that by hiding behind non-binding resolutions, imaginary timetables, and other acts of political theater they will send the message to those of us who have marched and organized to end the war that we don't need to march and mobilize anymore, because the real struggle against the war is now in Congress.
Part of this message is that, instead of taking to the streets to demand that Congress cut of all war funds and bring the troops home now, we should instead come in off the streets and sign up to support whoever the Democratic Party's presidential candidate is in 2008. We must never again allow the antiwar movement to be co-opted, misled, and demobilized in the name of Presidential politics or the agenda of either major political Party.
Let's make sure to stay in the streets, continue to demand that Congress cut of all war funding, stay focused on the demand for immediate withdrawal of all troops, and stay independent of both the Democrats and the Republicans who share responsibility for the war.
Only the people will stop this criminal war. Tomorrow, antiwar groups across the U.S. have called for demonstrations against Bush's veto. We urge you to take part in these demonstrations and demand that the troops be brought home now -- no phony timetables, no more political theater, no waiting for after the 2008 Presidential elections -- now!
In New York City: Times Sq. Wednesday 5:00 pm World Can't Wait is calling on everyone to gather in front of Times Square's military recruiting center--43rd and Broadway--at 5pm WEDNESDAY to demand an immediate end to the Iraq war and impeachment of the Bush Regime for war crimes.
Protest Bush's veto - Don't let the Democrats veto the antiwar movement
END THE WAR NOW
CUT-OFF ALL WAR FUNDING
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW
Warning:Don't let the Democratic Party leadership and the '08 Presidential Election veto the antiwar movement.
President Bush's veto of the Democratic Party's bill containing a non-binding timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq displayed once again the Administration's absolute contempt for the will of the people, who are now overwhelmingly in favor of ending the occupation.
But more ominous than Bush's inevitable veto of the war funding bill is the prospect of the leadership of the Democratic Party "vetoing" and derailing the anti-war movement by pretending to be against the war while continuing to support it with billions of dollars of more war funding.
The Democratic Party was elected to control of the House and Senate with a mandate to end the war. As pressure grew from the antiwar movement for the Democrats to cut off the funding and withdraw the troops immediately, they turned to a desperate act of political theater in a an attempt to change the subject, attaching their support for continued funding for the war to a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
The Democratic Party bill, even if not vetoed, would not have required the withdrawal of a single soldier from Iraq. The bill allowed Bush to exempt entire categories of troops at his discretion, including: troops “training the Iraqi military;” troops engaged in “special operations"; and troops “protecting diplomatic enclaves” including the U.S. Embassy and the Green Zone. This means that Bush could maintain current troop levels in Iraq and still be in compliance with the Democrats' bill.
Furthermore, even if Bush agreed to observe withdrawal dates that the Democrats suggested, it would mean that this criminal, colonial war would go on for at least another year and a half. Another year of Iraqi civilians and U.S. soldiers dying; Another year of Abu-Ghraib style torture. Another year of a criminal occupation.
Actually the truth of this "antiwar" charade is even worse. Everybody knew all the time that Congress would put on an antiwar show, and after Bush vetoed the bill containing non-binding withdrawal timetables, they would then give Bush the war funding. Leading Democrats announced months ago that they had absolutely no intention of cutting off the funding for the war.
By pretending to fight Bush on the war, Congress is hoping to neutralize the growing movement demanding the immediate end to this criminal war and occupation. Democrats in Congress hope that by hiding behind non-binding resolutions, imaginary timetables, and other acts of political theater they will send the message to those of us who have marched and organized to end the war that we don't need to march and mobilize anymore, because the real struggle against the war is now in Congress.
Part of this message is that, instead of taking to the streets to demand that Congress cut of all war funds and bring the troops home now, we should instead come in off the streets and sign up to support whoever the Democratic Party's presidential candidate is in 2008. We must never again allow the antiwar movement to be co-opted, misled, and demobilized in the name of Presidential politics or the agenda of either major political Party.
Let's make sure to stay in the streets, continue to demand that Congress cut of all war funding, stay focused on the demand for immediate withdrawal of all troops, and stay independent of both the Democrats and the Republicans who share responsibility for the war.
Only the people will stop this criminal war. Tomorrow, antiwar groups across the U.S. have called for demonstrations against Bush's veto. We urge you to take part in these demonstrations and demand that the troops be brought home now -- no phony timetables, no more political theater, no waiting for after the 2008 Presidential elections -- now!
In New York City: Times Sq. Wednesday 5:00 pm World Can't Wait is calling on everyone to gather in front of Times Square's military recruiting center--43rd and Broadway--at 5pm WEDNESDAY to demand an immediate end to the Iraq war and impeachment of the Bush Regime for war crimes.
Across the US - the People Demand "No More Money for War"
By Monica Moorehead
New York
The struggle from below to force Congress to vote NO on any additional funding for the racist occupation of and war on Iraq got a tremendous shot in the arm this past week with numerous anti-war protests organized across the U.S. From the West Coast to the East Coast, thousands of people and especially students took to the streets to demand, “Cut off war funding now and bring the troops home.”
The Feb. 15-17 protests sent a clear message that there is growing mass awareness that Congress cannot be counted on as a whole to stop the Bush administration’s objective of staying in Iraq for an indefinite amount of time--even after the Nov. 7 elections, which became an anti-war mandate from registered voters.
The Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) initiated a national call for the Feb. 17 demonstrations. TONC is also urging all progressive movements and activists, of all political persuasions, to unite and come to Washington, D.C., for the march on the Pentagon called by ANSWER for March 17. TONC is also urging activists to occupy Washington, D.C., while the debate on the war funding takes place.
A TONC leaflet passed out in New York and elsewhere on Feb. 17 reads in part: “President Bush won’t stop the war. ... Congress won’t stop the war. ... It’s time to ... occupy Washington. ... Across the U.S., activists and organizers are planning buses, car caravans, vans and peace trains to Washington--not just to march, but to stay, because it’s time to go from mere protest to resistance. We need a massive mobilization on the streets of Washington as Congress votes on war funding. We hope to set up an encampment in D.C. beginning the week of March 12.”
TONC demands include an immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal from Iraq; an end to colonial occupation and imperialist aggression from Africa to Asia, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Haiti, the Philippines and Puerto Rico; no new wars against Iran, Syria or North Korea; hands off Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Lebanon; solidarity with immigrant workers and Katrina survivors; stop the war at home--stop racist police terror--stop ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids; military recruiters out of our schools and communities and no draft--education, not war.”
Chapel Hill, N.C.
On Feb. 16, while Rep. David Price (4th District-N.C.) was on the floor of the House debating a meaningless nonbinding resolution, six youth were sitting in on the floor of his office, demanding that the funds for the war on Iraq be cut off and that the people’s needs start being met. The six youth, members of U. of N.C.-Chapel Hill SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and Raleigh FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together), were subsequently arrested for the action.
The demonstration, organized in coordination with the Troops Out Now Coalition’s “Cut Off ALL War Funds Day,” garnered support from youth and students, community members and veterans, as several dozen demonstrated outside while the sit-in was taking place. During the demonstration, youth unfurled a banner from the roof of the building which read “Closed for Business.”
The six youth inside the office presented Price’s aides with three principal demands: that Price speak with them and pledge to vote against the upcoming supplemental funding bill and all war funding; that Price use his influence to compel other representatives to vote against war funding and that he oppose all aggression against Iran, whether through sanctions or overt military action. When the aides in the office refused to get Price on the phone, the youth decided to sit-in at the office until their demands were met.
Alisan Fathalizadeh, a 20-year-old student who was taken from the office by the Chapel Hill police as she was reading the group’s statement, explained what spurred her to participate in this action: “We’ve tried our best to work within the system, but when the system is flawed, little can realistically be accomplished. ... As an Iranian-American, this war is personal. It is directly aimed at people just like me and with the way things are progressing, it will target my family directly. I feel so helpless and distant being here, that taking action against the issue is the very least that I can do to show support for all of my family in Iran.”
This action demonstrates a larger tactical change taking place within the anti-war movement, moving from symbolic protest to resistance.
The six youth were charged with first-degree trespass and released on an unsecured bond. They plan to pack the courthouse with supporters at their first court appearance March 26.
California students shut down highway
An estimated 3,000 students from the U. of California-Santa Barbara marched against the Iraq war on Feb. 15. Hundreds of them shut down Highway 217 in a sit-down protest near the school. Students chanted, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and carried signs such as “Make levees, not war!”
According to an eyewitness account posted on dailykos.com, “A crowd of 2,000-3,000 students blocked the bike tunnel. After about an hour of speeches, including one by a U.S. Marine who initially supported but has now turned against the war, the organizers decided we should go walk across campus to give the people who didn’t ditch a chance to change their minds and join us ... on the middle of our campus, in the middle of the day, disrupting everything, loud, angry, and passionate. I’ve been to protests before, but I’ve never felt so empowered as I did today.
“... We then paused and regrouped and considered our options before deciding to walk down the freeway. I must have driven down that freeway a thousand times, but here I was walking on the double yellow lines! In the middle of the day! I watched as cars made u-turns up ahead to avoid being enveloped by the crowd, still around a thousand strong.
“We walked down for about half a mile before we were halted by a hastily assembled police line in front of a Caltrans roadblock redirecting traffic. ... Students were giving speeches about why we oppose the war and why we need to withdraw and the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam and why we need to stay out of Iran and Peace Out University ... and the U.C.’s links to nuclear weapons labs like Los Alamos and other topics.”
Hundreds of activists braved the cold for a march and rally that began at Times Square in New York City on Feb. 17. Thousands of passersby also stopped to hear the passionate speeches of activists demanding that the troops be brought home now from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and that the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent for war go instead to fund health care, housing, education and all human needs.
There was a lot of general enthusiasm expressed for going to D.C. the week before the march on the Pentagon, in order to put pressure on Congress to vote NO against putting one more penny towards funding the criminal war in Iraq. Following the Times Square rally, the protestors marched to the offices of Sen. Hillary Clinton, a 2008 presidential candidate, who voted for the Iraq War in 2002.
Speakers included Berna Ellorin, BAYAN-USA; Mary Lou, Al-Awda, Palestine Right of Return Coalition; Mary Klopart, Grannies for Peace; Ellie Ommani, American-Iranian Friendship Committee; Comrade Shahid, Pakistani USA Freedom Forum; Mia Cruz, FIST; Fallou Gueye, Union of African Workers-Senegalese; Jesse Heiwa, Rainbow Solidarity for the Cuban Five; WayQuay, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee; Jonathan Brown, World Can’t Wait; TONC representatives Larry Holmes, Brenda Stokely, Sara Flounders, Sharon Black and Dustin Langley.
Other speakers included Councilperson Charles Barron, who recently introduced a local resolution against the war funding, Chris Silvera, chair of the Teamsters National Black Caucus and representatives from Millions for Mumia and Fanmi Lavalas.
At Columbia University in West Harlem, 300 to 400 students rallied against the Iraq War on Feb. 15. The event was sponsored by a coalition of student groups. Following the rally the students marched around the perimeter of the campus "to take their message to the community" chanting “What the hell is Congress for--cut the war funds--stop the war" and "Not another nickel, not another dime for Bush’s war crimes.”
The International Action Center, along with anti-war students, held a picket line in downtown Buffalo on Feb. 16 despite below-zero, blizzard conditions.
Detroit
The cost of the war and the urgently felt need to cut off funding to end it now was not a matter of statistics at the "Not One More Penny for War" Town Hall Meeting at Central United Methodist Church on Feb. 17. Hundreds of hungry Detroiters line up daily to eat a meal in that very room while over $9 billion was looted from Michigan taxpayers alone to fund the war. Andrea Hackett, whose daughter served two tours of duty in Iraq, called the war genocidal, both for the Iraqi people and here.
Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan African News Wire and co-founder of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), moderated the speak-out.
Azikiwe said: "We're calling for a total cut off of funding for the war in Iraq. It is obvious the war is a failure. We think the funds that are being used--that are being wasted--every day in Iraq to carry out this war that the U.S. government knows it cannot win should be used to fund human needs right here in the City of Detroit, right here in the state of Michigan, right here in the United States. It has to stop and the only way it is going to stop is that the masses of people have to get involved."
Detroit City Councilmember JoAnn Watson said not one damn dime should be spent on the war, "That's why we don't have money for health care, for education."
Debbie Johnson from the Detroit Action Network for Reproductive Rights said the billions for the war are taking food from tables and resulting in cuts in Medicaid and Medicare that tens of millions rely on.
State Sen. Martha Scott called for an end to the war in Iraq and the war against the people of her district who do not have the fundamental services necessary to live in dignity. Scott said: "The $2.9 trillion federal budget will cut Medicaid, home heating assistance, HIV/AIDS and mental health funding and eradicate homelessness assistance. It will eliminate before- and after-school programs."
Rep. John Conyers called for educational programs that let everyone go to school without cost. He agreed that suffering in Michigan is caused by the war; that $2 trillion in direct and indirect costs and climbing are going to endless war. This is the only war where taxes for the wealthy decreased. He said, "Close down the war!"
Maureen Taylor, chair of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, stressed that water service is shut off to 45,000 Detroit residences each year. Children in households without water are put in foster care because not having water is called neglect. The state or county government has taken title to 40,000 abandoned houses. There are 14,000 to 15,000 homeless people in this area.
Michael Merriweather, a Stop the War Slate Candidate on the 2006 Green Party ticket and member of SDS and MECAWI, suggested that possibilities not be limited to returning to the way things were in the past, but to look to the future and make the kind of life and world we want and need and take this in our own hands.
Ignacio Meneses from Latinos Unidos de Michigan introduced María Sánchez, whose spouse was deported in 2003--separating her family, severely destabilizing her life and that of her three children and forcing her onto public assistance. Meneses called on everyone to help stop the raids and deportations on May Day by not going to work or school, not shopping and not selling.
Jeff Montgomery from the Triangle Foundation, Michigan's statewide civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, expressed the full solidarity of the organization's leadership. He said if there is any emergency funding, it should be for Detroit and Flint, for the poor and homeless.
David Sole, president of UAW Local 2334, likened conditions in Michigan to an economic Katrina. He explained the Michigan governor has emergency powers to declare an economic disaster and stop utility shutoffs, foreclosures, evictions and plant closings. This emergency measure was used during the 1930s by Gov. Frank Murphy and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and is still on the books. Sole called on everyone to become an organizer.
Two representatives from the Windsor Peace Coalition in Canada brought the message that they are holding a March 17 demonstration at the Canadian entrance to the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. Like Detroit, Windsor, dependant on the auto industry, has lost thousands of jobs.
Sandra Hines is a leader in the fight against police brutality and to save her neighborhood school, Courtis Elementary, one of the 51 schools tagged for closing due to Detroit public school budget deficits. Hines stressed that action was needed now. She said, "This is a war on the people here, not just Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq."
The message of the heightening struggle to end the war was reported in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday and on Channel 2 TV.
Cleveland
Despite cold and snow, Cleveland TONC held a lively demonstration across from the West Side Market, a popular indoor/outdoor food market--symbolizing the food that many are forced to go without in this, the most impoverished city in the U.S. The demonstration was joined by the Northeast Ohio Antiwar Coalition, Cleveland Lucasville Five Defense Committee, Cleveland Nonviolence Network and the Baldwin-Wallace College chapter of FIST.
Philadelphia
A group of activists from SEIU, Vietnam Veterans for Peace, community organizations and the International Action Center gathered Feb. 17 in Center City for a speak-out against the war. It was an open mike session where passersby could talk freely about their opposition to the war.
A young African-American man who holds a low wage job with no benefits in a fast food chain criticized Bush for waging war in Iraq while ignoring the victims of Katrina.
A middle-aged owner of a vending cart stated that "A lot of people get killed for nothing. ... We have to stop the war by working together." Nick, a high school student, spoke about recruiters going after the youth, particularly poor kids.
Julia López, director of Centro Pedro Clavel, a service-oriented agency in the Latin@ community, remarked,” Our youth are living without resources, being brainwashed through the media. They are not getting the facts to make an informed decision, instead are being indoctrinated by the media, sent to kill and die. There is no budget for education but suddenly billions of dollars appear to fight a war and kill innocent people."
A young African-American man, referring to Bush, said, "When is he going to have enough, man, how many bodies have to be laid down before he gets the message?"
Tili Ayala, a young mother of two, stated, "You have to speak out or else the government will speak out for you. We have to be the voice."
Massachusetts
In Springfield, an economically distressed city largely run by a control board established by former Gov. Mitt Romney, the message of "money for jobs, not war" was the central theme of a noon news conference held at the Federal Building. All local media outlets, print, TV and radio covered the news conference. A multi-national group of area activists picketed the Federal building.
Among those who spoke were Democratic state representative and chair of the Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus, Benjamin Swan, who personally endorsed the Troops Out Now Coalition's national "No More $$ For War" campaign.
Representatives of Arise for Social Justice, a Springfield poor people's rights organization, and Out Now, a Western Mass. lesbian/gay/bi/trans youth organization, also urged opposition to continued funding for the war.
The Rev. Louis Alvarenga of Actión Latino, a Springfield-based immigrant rights organization, stated, "Many of the soldiers dying in Iraq are Latin@. The immigrant community is suffering from this war by losing our young men and women in Iraq and by the money being taken away from healthcare, housing and jobs in our communities here at home. We're here to stop this war."
Greg Speeter of the Northampton-based National Priorities Project provided a sobering assessment of the war's financial impact on Springfield and surrounding communities. The Priorities Project provides information about the effects of military spending on the national budget and on cities across the country. (www.nationalpriorities.org)
Nick Camerota of the Western Mass. IAC/Troops Out Now Organizing Committee urged people to support the online petition drive to stop war funding and called attention to U.S. threats of war against Iran.
In Boston a squad of volunteers for TONC distributed 1,000 flyers at a busy downtown intersection. The Boston City Council had just a few days earlier passed a resolution condemning the Iraq War which also urged people to go to Washington on March 17 to protest the war. The resolution was introduced by Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and passed 8-3.
Georgia
Kennesaw State University students led a successful street vigil/rally on busy Barrett Parkway in Cobb County Feb. 17, with students and supporters receiving much positive response from drivers--many hundreds of encouraging shouts and horn honks.
The Columbus Peace and Justice Coalition held their opening event Feb. 17 in Columbus--a Peace in the Park rally. They attracted 30-40 people, made new contacts and got media coverage.
“I think the time has come for the fence-sitters and the people who have otherwise just sort of stood on the sidelines to get out and have their voices heard as well,” stated Brett Johnson. (WRBL News, Feb. 18)
The group is organizing a caravan to leave Columbus on March 16 to attend the March on the Pentagon March 17. For more information, contact the Columbus Peace and Justice Coalition at cpjc.ga @ gmail.com.
Sharon Black, Ben Carroll, Catherine Donaghy, Ellie Dorritte, Martha Grevatt, Cheryl LaBash, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Dianne Mathiowetz, Bob McCubbin and Gerry Scoppettuolo contributed to this article.
New York City - Boston - Detroit - Philadelphia -Los Angeles - Raleigh - Atlanta - Across the U.S.
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW - Demand that Congress Cut Off ALL War Funding
Soon, Congress will vote on Bush's request for more than $100 billion in additional funding for the criminal occupation of Iraq. Congress has the power to stop the war by cutting off war funding. They cannot hide behind "non-binding resolutions" and hearings--they must stop the war. They cannot hide behind the claim that they are "supporting the troops" -- voting to fund the war is voting to continue the war, which means more soldiers and Iraqi people will die.
On February 17 in cities and towns across the U.S., activists will make it clear to Congress that we will not allow another dollar to be spent on the war.
Not one more day.
Not one more dollar.
No more deaths.
No hiding behind "non-binding" resolutions and timetables.
Bring ALL the Troops Home Now!
Join us the campaign to demand that Congress cut off all war Funding. Here's how you can participate:
Sign the Open Letter to Congress - (see text below) this will go to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer, and other leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Donate - Help us with the enormous costs of organizing in cities across the U.S.
An Open Letter to all 535 members of Congress
Dear Members of Congress,
END THE WAR NOW YOU HAVE THE POWER VOTE NO! TO MORE WAR FUNDING
On February 17, “VOTE NO WAR FUNDS DAY,” we will be rallying around the country to let you know that this time, we’ll be watching how you vote on this critical issue.
Last November the people voted to change the leadership of Congress so that it could do what the President is unwilling to do-- to end the war now. As Sen. Russ Feingold said recently at a Senate Hearing on Congressional war powers, “Congress has the power to stop the war if it wants to." Now the people have given you the mandate to do that.
Soon you will be asked to vote your approval of more funds to pay for the war. A few of you have already indicated that you will not approve another dollar for war. All of you must to do the same. The next war funding vote will be every bit as important as the vote by the 109th Congress to authorize the war in October 2002.
If you vote no to more war funding the troops will come home, lives will be saved and this nightmare will come to an end. If you approve more funds for war, then more U.S. soldiers will die, more soldiers will be maimed for life, and the war will go on and on. If you approve more war funds, then no one can claim that this is solely the President’s war, or only one political party’s war; it will be Congress’s war.
It’s not enough to vote for symbolic, non-binding resolutions that only oppose the escalation of the war. It’s not enough to cross-examine and criticize generals and the President’s cabinet secretaries in Congressional hearings. It will not suffice to say that you oppose the war, but that you’re voting for more war funding to support the troops. The real support that the troops and their families need is for you to act decisively, cut off the war funding and bring everyone home alive.
Activists from across the country have designated Sat., Feb. 17, “VOTE NO WAR FUNDS DAY.” On that day, thousands of peace-loving people will rally and march in their communities to tell Congress that when it comes time to vote on more funds for war, the people will be watching and waiting.
Many of those participating in the Feb. 17 protests across the country will bring with them some of the bills that they can’t afford to pay. People will be bringing their medical, utility, food, and rent bills; their student loan debts; and their credit card bills, because more and more people are being forced to use credit cards to pay for basic necessities. The reason for bringing all of these bills to the protest is to remind Congress, as it considers its vote on the new war funding request, of the growing ranks of the poor that desperately need the money that has been wasted on this war to help them in their daily struggle to survive.
The Decisive Battle this Spring - The Challenge for the Antiwar Movement March on Washington On Jan. 27 and March 17 (the 4th Anniversary of the War)
WE MUST FORCE CONGRESS TO CUT OFF WAR FUNDING And we can if we move from symbolic protest to mass resistance
Not One More Dollar for War and Occupation!
Bring ALL the Troops Home Now!
Forcing Congress to vote to cut off further war funding is the defining issue for the antiwar movement this spring and it is a struggle that we can win if we are bold enough to take it seriously.
The Troops Out Now Coalition calls on everyone to join the antiwar march on January 27...and come back on March 17...and come ready to STAY in DC!
ON MARCH 17, ASSEMBLE AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND MARCH TO THE U.S. CONGRESS -- AND STAY THERE UNTIL THEY CUT OFF WAR FUNDING
An Appeal for Unity in the Antiwar Movement
Our chance of winning are greater if the antiwar coalitions unite! A crucial factor in our ability as a movement to rise to this challenge is the willingness for all antiwar forces nationwide--especially the national coalitions--to renew a commitment to work for unity with each other. We appeal to all antiwar forces to take the high road and work together this Spring. The time has come for us to coordinate our efforts, and avoid competing dates and plans. If we work and plan together--our chances of success will be greater.
More than at any time since the start of war, the antiwar movement is in a position to force congress to vote no on war funding. The people are on our side, the momentum is on our side, the whole world is on our side; the only question is whether we have the conviction and the courage to take our struggle against the war from the level of symbolic protest to real mass resistance.
Some time between now and early February, Bush is going to ask Congress to approve between $130 to $200 billion more dollars to finance the war to add to the close to a half a trillion dollars in war funding Congress has approved in a series of votes over the past three and a half years.
Sometime between February and May 2007, Congress will vote nay or yea to this request. This vote will be the most important war vote in Congress since a majority of both Republican and Democratic Party members of Congress voted to authorize the war in
Clearly, Congress has the authority to cut off spending for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and effectively make it impossible for the criminal carnage to continue. What makes the next war funding vote different from all the previous ones is that on Nov. 7, people voted to end the war.
As a result of the massive antiwar vote, Democratic Party politicians will take control of both houses of Congress on January 4. When that happens, the authority to either carry out the mandate of the elections to end the war and occupation of Iraq by completely cutting off all war funding or to betray the people by approving more funds to continue it, will shift to the leadership of the Democratic party.
The top Democratic Party leaders in Congress have already indicated that they are preparing to betray the antiwar mandate. Some members of Congress say they will support resolutions introduced in Congress that call for a phased redeployment of troops from Iraq or a time table for withdrawing most troops. But such resolutions are little more than symbolic, half- measures that won’t end the war. However, the real fight is the war funding vote and we must force Congress to vote NO.
In the past, members of Congress who claimed to be opposed to the war have justified their votes for war funding by claiming they had to keep up the funding to “support the troops”. It’s time for us to reject all excuses and rationalizations for voting for war funding. A vote for war funding is a VOTE FOR WAR. Moreover, voting to approve more funds for war will only ensure that more U.S. troops and many more Iraqis will be killed and maimed. IN MARCH – WE MUST BE READY TO STAY IN WASHINGTON
We will be in Washington on January 27 and we will come back on March 17. And when we come back in March, this time we must be prepared to stay there in the thousands to force Congress to vote NO on more war funding. If Congress tries to rush a vote on war funding before March 17, this time we must be prepared to come to Washington in mass to make sure that the war funding is voted down. PAY THE PEOPLES’ BILLS - NOT FOR WAR & OCCUPATION; BRING YOUR BILLS WITH YOU TO WASHINGTON
We are asking people to bring their medical, rent, heating and utility bills; student loan bills; credit card bills, and food bills that they can’t afford to pay as well as shut-off notices, mortgage foreclosures, eviction notices to the march on Washington. It must be made clear to Congress that feeding more money to the war while more and more people cannot pay for their basic living expenses is a crime. The cost of the war is not the only reason why we oppose the war. We oppose the war because it is an imperialist war for colonial conquest and plunder. Yet the cost of the war is important because it’s paid for by money stolen from providing social needs. The money that has paid for death and destruction in Iraq could have gone towards reconstruction in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.
In his famous speech declaring his opposition to the Vietnam war almost 40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “It is disgraceful that a Congress that can vote upwards of $35 billion a year for a senseless immoral war in Vietnam cannot vote a weak $2 billion dollars to carry on our all too feeble efforts to bind up the wound of our nation’s 35 million poor. This is nothing short of a Congress engaging in political guerilla warfare against the defenseless poor of our nation…” MARCH AGAINST THE WAR AT HOME STOP RACIST POLICE TERROR - STOP THE RAIDS AGAINST IMMIGRANT WORKERS
As we march to end the war abroad, we must also demand an end to the war at home. We must demand an end to the raids on immigrant workers like the recent massive military raid carried out by thousands of Homeland Security/Immigration and Custom Enforcement police on mostly Latin@ workers at six Swift and Co. meat processing plants. We must demand an end to the racist police brutality and terror that recently killed 23 year-old unarmed Sean Bell in New York City and 93 year-old Kathryn Johnston in Atlanta, both of them African American.
Immediate, Unconditional, & Complete Withdrawal from Iraq--Out Now!
End Colonial Occupation & Imperialist Aggression from Africa to Asia, from Iraq to Palestine, to Afghanistan, to Haiti, to the Philippines, to Puerto Rico
No New Wars Against Iran, Syria, North Korea
Hands Off Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, & Lebanon
Solidarity with Immigrant Workers and Katrina Survivors
Stop the War at Home -- Stop Racist Police Terror -- Stop ICE raids
Military Recruiters Out of Our Schools and Communities -- No Draft -- Education, Not War
The 4th Anniversary of the U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
Troops Out Now!
Forge alliances with movements against the war at home An anti-racist, anti-imperialist movement is a united movement
Stop the war at home and abroad
End all occupations -- from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti
NO Sanctions & War against North Korea and Iran
Full rights for immigrants
Right to return and recosntruction for Katrina survivors
Money for Jobs, Healthcare, Schools and Pensions - Not War
November 18 in NYC: Troops Out Now Coalition National Planning Meeting (Location to be announced) January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday – National Day Of ACTION
The Troops Out Now Coalition calls on antiwar forces in the U.S. to rise up and take over Washington, D.C., and antiwar forces across the world to march as well on Saturday, March 17, the weekend of the fourth anniversary of the criminal war and occupation of Iraq. TONC proposes that the period between now and March 17th be viewed critically and strategically as a time to re-energize, transform and strengthen the anti-war movement.
As part of TONC’s preparations for this period, we will be convening a National Strategy Meeting in NYC on Saturday, Nov.18. We are also targeting, along with other forces, the Monday, January 15, 2007 holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., as a day of nationwide actions against the war at abroad and at home.
The overwhelming majority of the people in the U.S. hate the war and occupation; yet it goes on with no end in sight. According to the latest reports the occupation has killed a minimum of 655,000 Iraqis, along with nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers with more than 20,000 more soldiers maimed since the invasion of March 2003.
No matter what the outcome of the November elections in the U.S., the occupation of Iraq along with more sanctions and war threats against North Korea and Iran will continue. No doubt many will vote next month hoping that somehow their vote will be interpreted as a vote against the war.
We cannot vote against the war on Nov. 7 because there is no such referendum on the ballot. Even if the Democratic Party wins a majority in both houses of Congress, the war will go on because both the Republican and Democratic parties are dedicated to the interests of U.S. imperialism and not the people of the U.S.
The Democratic and Republican Party politicians may differ both between and within themselves over methods and tactics; however, apart from the mass struggle from below, the politicians of either party are incapable of really stopping Bush’s endless war for world domination because of their fundamental purpose which is to defend U.S. imperialist interests.
The two inter-related processes that will end this criminal war and occupation are its defeat by the resistance of the Iraqi people on one hand, and on the other, the mass struggle of the people right here in the streets of this country that refuse to tolerate the war any longer.
The resistance of the Iraqi people has virtually accomplished its part. The weakness in this equation is the U.S. antiwar movement. The people of Iraq, the Middle East and the entire world are waiting for the people of the U.S. to act on their anger and rise up and stop the war.
At this juncture, our challenge as an antiwar movement has never been clearer.
The political system wants to dissipate, demoralize and channel the mass anger of the people over the war into “safe” outlets that do not threaten the status quo. As a movement, we will be of little use unless we deliberately counter the schemes to pacify mass antiwar anger and help to unify and liberate that anger through political consciousness raising, alliance building, and most importantly, mass struggle. The antiwar movement can draw inspiration, as well as a lesson about boldness, courage and the necessity to take the struggle to a higher level from the example of the millions of immigrant workers who left work across the country on May 1, 2006 to rally and march for their rights. Some of the essential needs that we must address as a movement include: Forging an alliance with the movements against the war at home means:
• Establishing real alliances with the movements against racism and national oppression here at home.
• Building serious working relationships with the struggles of Black, Latin@, Asian, Arab, Native, and all peoples of color. In particular, forging a new and qualitative alliance with the struggle of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina for justice, the right of return, self-determination and reconstruction, and with undocumented immigrants and workers in their struggle for full rights is crucial.
• The more the system attacks the living standards of working people, the more the political servants of the system are going to intensify racism and repression with the aim of scapegoating, dividing and conquering all of us. Solidarity amongst peoples and movements and forward motion in the struggle will depend upon our movements understanding of this, and whether or not we consciously fight against racism and national oppression in our day to day work and around all issues local, national and international.
• The struggle against the war needs to be connected to the struggles of women; lesbian, gay, bi and trans people; youth and students; prisoners; the disabled; the struggle against political repression; the struggles of all working and poor people for jobs; the right to organize, for a living wage, healthcare, education, housing and pensions, etc. We must the find the tactics that bring more workers, both organized and un-organized, into the center of the struggle against the war, bearing in mind that ordinary workers may understand more about imperialism than some full-time activists do.
• It’s not enough for the antiwar movement to merely give lip service to these struggles and yet continue to function organizationally as a movement separate from the masses. Our challenge from here on is to help facilitate something that is as necessary as it is natural--the merging of the struggle against the wars at home with the wars abroad.
An Anti-Racist, Anti-Imperialism Movement will be a more united movement.
• U.S.-initiated sanctions and threats against North Korea and Iran along with the U.S./Israeli invasion of Lebanon in August are the latest reminders that as a movement based here in the U.S., we will hardly be relevant or taken seriously by anyone if we are not up to fighting the full scope of the U.S. war drive and that scope is worldwide.
• The truth is that we are not only fighting one president--although Venezuelan President was right in calling Bush "the devil"--we are also fighting a dangerous and criminal imperialist system. The magnitude of the world crises of this system today and the wars, oppression, misery, destabilization and social chaos that it is generating with greater destructive intensity each day demands that we fight them consciously.
• Our challenge as an antiwar movement based in the in U.S. is to be stronger, bolder and more consistent in our understanding of the issues and in our actions. In the coming weeks, there will be more Iraq exist strategies emanating from politicians, generals, and maybe even the White House. We must reject all face-saving, partial or phased withdrawal plans. The way for our movement to be at the center of the struggle, instead of falling to the rear is to advocate the complete, unconditional and immediate withdrawal of all occupation troops from Iraq.
• Other crises likely to take on more importance are the U.S. drives for sanctions and possibly military aggression against North Korea and Iran. Let the message from the U.S. antiwar movement to the world on this be united, loud and clear. That message is that the number one nuclear threat to the peoples of the Asia, the Middle East and the world comes from the U.S. Pentagon’s war machine and nuclear arsenal. As long as U.S. rulers are plotting regime change, occupation or both for whatever countries dare to object to U.S. domination, those countries are quite predictably going to try and find the means to defend themselves. Mahmoud Ahmandinejad, the President of Iran, was right in his speech before the UN when he called upon the U.S. to get rid of its nuclear arsenal first. We must oppose sanctions and threats against North Korea and Iran and demand that nuclear disarmament begin at home.
• While ending the occupation of Iraq is strategic, we must also fight for an end to the occupations of Palestine, Afghanistan, Haiti and all U.S. occupations, interventions, plots, colonial machinations, direct or indirect as well as threats across the globe, whether against the peoples of the Philippines, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela or Puerto Rico.
• The more anti-imperialist our movement is, the more connected it will be to the rest of the world; the more helpful it will be for all who are trying to understand what’s really going on; the more it will be a force for lasting solidarity and the stronger, independent and more effective it will be.
• We must work for and fight for greater unity within the antiwar movement. It is not necessary that the various coalitions and forces organizing against the war have complete agreement on political outlook or tactics in the struggle. What’s important is that we work together, when and where doing so maximizes our strength.
• How do we forge greater unity? All one need do is observe the social and racial character of most antiwar activities to realize that limiting the demands and dumbing down the politics of the movement serves to narrow the base instead of broadening it.
• The response to the call for mass protests throughout the U.S. to protest the U.S./Israeli war against Lebanon a few months ago came primarily from the Arab and Muslim communities. While it’s a positive step forward when a targeted community is able to take to the streets and exercise its unity and power as the Arab and Muslim communities did last August in solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine, it was a problem that participation from protestors who are not from targeted communities at those demonstrations was relatively small.
• An important part of forging an anti-imperialist movement is fighting against the influence of racism; anti-Arab and anti-South Asian bigotry; anti-Islamism and the demonizing of resistance movements within the antiwar movement. The more that we are a consistently anti-imperialist movement, the more we will strengthen the foundations of genuine solidarity and unity in the struggle.
• The next five months is a time to transform our movement and make it what it needs to be in order to push forward and stop the madness. How you can help:
Sign the petition online - Send messages to Haliburton, Bush and Congress! Join George Galloway, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Ramsey Clark, and hundreds more in a campaign to stop a new war against Iran.
It is with grave concern that we observe the growing threat of a new U.S. war – this time against the people of Iran.
On July 31, 2006, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1696, demanding Iran suspend all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities, including research and development by August 30, 2006. This resolution was passed before Iran had an opportunity to study and respond to the package of incentives, which Iran had said it would respond to by August 22, 2006. It states that Iran either complies with the provisions of 1626 and suspends uranium enrichment or will face the possibility of economic and diplomatic sanctions by the powers that sponsored the draft of the resolution.
For the UNSC to issue a resolution that orders a nation, which has suffered greatly at the hands of the U.S., to indefinitely suspend its nuclear energy program is one thing, to be lawful, just and fair is another. The UNSC resolution flagrantly violates the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and neglects the fact that more than 2000 inspection days of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found no transgressions from the NPT.
But this is not the first time that the UNSC under pressure of the U.S. has suggested sanctions against a country at odds with the U.S. Before the U.S. illegal war on Iraq, the UNSC passed a resolution that imposed harsh and broad sanctions on Iraq for more than a decade; sanctions which resulted in the deaths of half a million Iraqi children.
According to Seymour Hersh’s article Watching Lebanon in the August 12, 2006 issue of The New Yorker magazine, Israel’s war on Lebanon could “serve as a prelude to a potential American attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations.” Some U.S. figures admit that Israel’s invasion of Lebanon was a tactical preparation in the U.S.-Israel strategy of war against Iran. This prelude to the upcoming war with Iran will undoubtedly take the form of containment on financial, commercial, cultural, political, and diplomatic exchanges.
The main purpose of sanctions, as an instrument of particularly U.S. foreign policy, is to damage the backbone of the Iranian economy and drown the masses of people into poverty by the way of unemployment and lack of sanitation, transportation, education facilities and health services.
No doubt the imposition of sanctions by the West through the United Nations’ Security Council is a declaration of hostility towards Iran. The American-Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC) and the StopWarOnIran campaign strongly believe that war with Iran could be halted in its inception by opposing the senseless imposition of any form of sanctions against the Iranian people.
It is essential that all voices opposed to the devastation of a new war in the Middle East speak out now. We urge an immediate end to Washington's campaign of sanctions, hostility, and falsehood against the people of Iran. We oppose any new U.S. aggression against Iran. We need funds for human needs, not endless war for empire.
The Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) is a national grassroots coalition of antiwar activists, trade unionists, solidarity activists and community organizers.
For more information, or to find out how you can get involved, visit our homepage at TroopsOutNow.org
