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Protesting the
bloody
Iraq Occupation and
U.S. spending priorities
"We're plenty tough... Our troops are taking care of
business..." - President George W. Bush, April 11
"This is not a popular uprising." -
Bush, April 13
A.N.S.W.E.R.'s Response
to Bush press conference:
SPRING & SUMMER OF PROTEST & RESISTANCE TO THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
Although he rejected the analogy between Iraq and Vietnam, George W. Bush is
closely following the script of Johnson and Nixon during the Vietnam War. While
predicting that the U.S. would be ultimately victorious, the administration is
in fact desperately preparing for an escalation, including the sending of more
troops to suppress the rebellion in Iraq. In fact, Bush announced tonight (April
13) that he is ready to send thousands more U.S. troops to Iraq. He denied that
the rebellion in Iraq was based on a popular insurgency.
He also admitted that the original rationale provided for the war - the elimination of Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction - was no longer the stated reason for the U.S. invasion. A.N.S.W.E.R. has always argued that the elimination of Iraq's so-called weapons arsenal was simply a pretext for an imperial foreign policy objective.
This is altogether reminiscent of the conduct of the Johnson and Nixon administrations during Vietnam. They lied to the people about the purpose of the war, the conduct of the war, endlessly tried to assuage public opinion by promising that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and as the adventure encountered the stiff resistance of the Vietnamese people, they were compelled to regularly increase the number of troops sent to the conflict. Bush's speech tonight espoused the worst kind of national chauvinism and racism. He asserted that the ongoing assault against the Iraqi people is part of the struggle by the "civilized world" against the Iraqi insurgents.
Bush is trying to convince the people of the United States that U.S. military operations in Iraq are directed against a small number of "fanatics" and "terrorists." He said that the war, which has taken tens of thousands of lives, was justified even though he admitted that no weapons of mass destruction had been found. The new rationale for this war of aggression, according to Bush, was that "we're changing the world."
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is initiating intensified actions at the local, regional and national level in the coming weeks and months to widen the popular movement that demands "Bring the troops home now, End the occupation of Iraq." A list of these activities can be found below. The popular mass movement that is sweeping Iraq in opposition to occupation, along with the worldwide anti-war movement, will grow in the weeks and months ahead. It is noteworthy that the Bush administration has, in tonight's speech, adopted at least in part the political program proposed by John Kerry. Kerry and now Bush are calling for an expanded role for NATO military forces in order to subdue the resistance inside Iraq. Only the people's movement can create an effective challenge to the plans to impose U.S. empire in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti, the Philippines, Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Colombia and among all those in the world who desire to be independent and sovereign.
The people of the United States are disgusted that the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars to kill people in the Third World, occupy their land, and use U.S. soldiers as cannon fodder in the enterprise. At the same time, the administration slashes funds for education, healthcare, housing, jobs and other vitally-needed social programs.
The Spring and Summer of Protest and Resistance began last weekend with a nationwide outpouring in more than 60 U.S. cities (between April 9 and 12) in response to an emergency call to action initiated by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. The A.N.S.W.E.R.-initiated call to action drew tens of thousands of people into the streets on short notice and received widespread media coverage. See www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/041104a10press.html for a report and press coverage.
These demonstrations illustrate the commitment of thousands of activists across the country and around the world to continue to build the movement against the occupation of Iraq, as well as the rising tide of public opinion to bring the troops home now. In response to the emergency call for protests, many groups will be continuing to carry out emergency anti-war actions in the coming days and weeks.
JOIN THE SPRING & SUMMER OF PROTEST & RESISTANCE! See below for a calendar detailing actions against the occupation of Iraq taking place over the next five months:
APRIL 25: The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition supports the April 25 mass mobilization in Washington DC to defend women's rights and reproductive freedom. The Bush administration and the ultra-right are working to overturn the gains the women's movement has made over the last thirty-five years. Women have the right to control their own bodies and their lives. A.N.S.W.E.R. is organizing an anti-war contingent in the March for Women's Lives. The main assembly for the demonstration will be on the National Mall (between 3rd and 14th Sts.) at 10 am, with a march beginning at 12 noon. The anti-war contingent will have two meeting locations before assembling on the Mall: (1) 7th St. between Madison Dr. and Constitution Ave. NW and (2) 7th St. between Jefferson Dr. and Independence Ave. SW. You can also meet up with the contingent at our banner in the main assembly area on the Mall on the southeast corner of 7th St. and Madison Dr. NW.
MAY 1: Nationally-coordinated demonstrations, rallies, teach-ins, and forums on the anniversary of George W. Bush's declaration of the end of major combat operations in Iraq. May 1 was the date that George Bush dressed up like a soldier, flew onto the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, and posed for that disgusting photo op where he could claim credit for the conquering of Iraq. Far from having ended major military combat, the war in Iraq only intensified. More U.S. soldiers have been killed or wounded since May 1 than during the invasion phase of the war. Nearly 10,000 soldiers have been evacuated from Iraq for wounds and other injuries. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, and in the last week the Bush administration executed a bloodbath as a form of collective punishment for the people of Fallujah and elsewhere throughout Iraq. The May 1 anniversary will be marked by nationally-coordinated activities - demonstrations, rallies, teach-ins, and forums exposing the lies of the Bush administration.
To list your May 1 event on the A.N.S.W.E.R. website, fill out the form at http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/m1/event.html . See below for information about another calendar on which you can post your event.
JUNE 30: Nationally-coordinated demonstrations on the day of the so-called "turnover of sovereignty" in Iraq. Demonstrate to say NO to fake "Sovereignty" for Iraq and to End the Occupation and Bring the Troops Home Now! To list your June 30 event on the A.N.S.W.E.R. website, fill out the form at http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j30/event.html . See below for information about another calendar on which you can post your event.
JULY 25: Protest the Democratic National Convention in Boston. The July 25 Mass March will kick off a week of protests against the DNC.
AUGUST 29: Protest the Republican National Convention in New York City. The August 29 Mass March will kick off a week of protests against the RNC. For more information on these and other upcoming events - including how you can get involved - go to http://www.internationalanswer.org. Please make sure you're on our alert list - you can join by filling out the form at http://internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html *
NEW CALENDAR AVAILABLE TO POST ACTIONS* We are announcing the new VoteNoWar National and Local Event Calendar to help build and strengthen the growing anti-war and social justice movement. This new calendar - at www.VoteNoWar.org/events.htm - has been designed to support the efforts of grassroots and national event organizers. Event organizers can reach the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the VoteNoWar web site every month, and activists can find out about progressive events of interest to them. It's easy to use, just select your state from the graphic map of the U.S., and you'll be taken to this month's calendar. Organizers of events of national or regional interest can post their event to a single calendar, and it will automatically appear on every affected state/local calendar. Special features include the ability for users to sign up to be automatically notified if the location, date, time or specifics of an event that is of interest to them changes.
Because e-mail privacy is so important, e-mails are not disseminated even to event organizers. The system automatically dispatches an update when a change to that event is posted. You can be assured that you'll know of important changes to an event that interests you without having to be added to a new e-mail list. For organizers, this provides a mechanism to update people who are interested in your event, should changes occur, even reaching people who may not be on your email list. The calendar has just been added to the VoteNoWar web site, so events are now just about to be posted. For event organizers, now is the time to visit the VoteNoWar National and Local Event Calendar. For event attendees, come back regularly to see the new events that may be of interest to you.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Act Now to Stop War & End Racism FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.InternationalANSWER.org info@internationalanswer.org
New York 212-633-6646
Washington 202-544-3389
Los Angeles 213-487-2368
San Francisco 415-821-6545
Sign up to receive updates (low volume): http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html
ANTI-WAR MARCHERS TAKE TO THE STREETS IN EMERGENCY PROTESTS IN MORE THAN 60 CITIES THROUGHOUT THE U.S.
Demonstrators in the U.S. Demand End the Siege of Fallujah, Bring the Troops Home Now
Thanks to everyone who have helped with the rapid response emergency anti-war demonstrations that have taken place in the last 48 hours in more than 60 cities. Additional actions are scheduled for tomorrow (Monday, April 12).
The demonstrations not only brought tens of thousands of people into the streets in local rallies and marches, the actions also attracted widespread media coverage both in the United States and around the world. The emergency call to action was issued by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism).
Our message that the U.S. government must Bring the Troops Home Now and End the Occupation of Iraq was heard from East to West and North to South. There are articles about the emergency anti-war actions in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, AP, AFP, Xinua (China), Seattle Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and hundreds of other news outlets, as well as substantial television and radio coverage. You can check out the press coverage of the emergency anti-war demonstrations by going to: http://www.votenowar.org/april10.htm
These demonstrations, organized on less than three days notice, are a rapid response from the people of the United States to the Bush Administration's escalation of their attacks on the people of Iraq, who are uniting in their opposition to colonial occupation. The emergency actions fell on the first anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by U.S. military forces and eleven months after George W. Bush declared major military operations were over as he stood on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier under the banner "Mission Accomplished."
While Bush's approval ratings and public support for the war has dramatically declined since then, the anti-war movement has picked up strength. In addition to recent mass national demonstrations, today's emergency local actions show the breadth of grassroots organizing in the U.S. Within 24 hours of the emergency call to action, dozens of cities were announcing coordinated demonstrations between April 9 and 12. Chanting "Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation," more than 3,000 people marched through the streets of San Francisco on Saturday, April 10. In New York, 700-1000 people marched through mid-town Manhattan in rush hour on the Good Friday holiday. A protest of 500 took place at the same time in Los Angeles. In Washington DC, where 500 people marched on Saturday, people came out of restaurants, homes and businesses to join with the marchers. Chants of "Impeach Bush," echoed through Lafayette Park at the opening rally across from the White House.
Also on Saturday, a protest of 500 took place in Boston. Dozens of demonstrations also occurred throughout the U.S. from big cities like Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Seattle to medium and small cities and towns including Fayetteville, AK; Ferndale, MI; Pocatello, ID; and Gettysburg, PA. In addition to the U.S. protests, coordinated actions were also held in scores of cities in countries around the world in the last two days.
The Iraqi people, especially those in Fallujah, are enduring a heavy assault ordered by the Pentagon. Throughout Iraq the people are making it clear that they want the occupation to end. The actions over the weekend send a powerful message that the people in the United States oppose the Bush administration's criminal policies in Iraq, in Haiti, in Palestine and wherever people are living under foreign occupation.
It was noteworthy that in the demonstrations throughout the country in the last two days, people condemned the Bush administration for spending hundreds of billions of dollars to occupy other lands while insisting that "budget constraints" require the slashing of vitally needed social programs and funding for education, healthcare, housing and jobs. Let's keep up the pressure. It is critical that the people of the United States continue to act in the coming weeks and months. Thousands of Iraqis and a growing number of U.S. soldiers will be killed and maimed until this criminal adventure comes to an end.
Be sure to check out the press
coverage of the emergency anti-war demonstrations by going to: http://www.votenowar.org/april10.htm
--------------------------
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Act Now to Stop War & End Racism FOR MORE
INFORMATION: http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
info@internationalanswer.org
New York 212-633-6646
Washington 202-544-3389
Los Angeles 213-487-2368
San Francisco 415-821-6545
Sign up to receive updates (low volume): http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html
*****
50+ U.S. CITIES HOLDING
EMERGENCY IRAQ PROTESTS
- from International A.N.S.W.E.R.
April 8, 2004
New
cities are announcing their plans by the hour!
- please post widely -
The Iraqi people are uniting in widespread opposition to the occupation of their country and the U.S. government is attempting to crush this revolt with overwhelming violence. The Iraqi city of Fallujah is under siege. According to the director of the city's hospital, at least 280 Iraqi people have been killed since Sunday in Fallujah alone - and at least 460 have been killed throughout the country. The number of injured in Fallujah has surpassed 400, and hospitals report that there are many more people who are dead or wounded but who are unreachable because of the fighting. U.S. helicopters and snipers have been firing on ambulances and civilian vehicles trying to bring the wounded to hospitals.
The Iraqi people want the U.S. occupation to end and the U.S. troops and their families increasingly demand that the U.S. leave Iraq. More than 40 U.S. soldiers have been killed since Sunday, and now Pentagon and White House officials are saying they may increase the number of troops in Iraq as well as prevent the troops that are scheduled to return from leaving. The time to act is now! More than 50 U.S. cities have answered the call put out by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition to hold nationally-coordinated emergency demonstrations between Friday, April 9 and Monday, April 12 to demand U.S. OUT OF IRAQ, Bring the Troops Home Now and Money for jobs, education and healthcare - Not for wars of aggression. New cities are announcing their plans by the hour. Demonstrations are also taking place around the world. See below for details on how you can join these important demonstrations.
* * * * * UNITED
PRESS INTERNATIONAL:
Nationwide protests against Iraq war WASHINGTON
April 8 (UPI) -- Opponents of the war in Iraq are gathering in cities across the
United States over the Easter weekend in response to a call to action to protest
the war.
The anti-war ANSWER Coalition has issued a call for "emergency local demonstrations" nationwide to protest the war in Iraq, call for the return of U.S. troops from Iraq, and a call for money for healthcare and education, not the war. ANSWER is an acronym for "Act Now to Stop War and Racism."
As of Thursday demonstrations were planned for Friday through Monday in 17 towns and cities [now more than 50], including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington at the White House. "The revolt sweeping Iraq in opposition to foreign occupation has resulted in the White House and Pentagon ordering a reign of terror against all those who defy U.S. dictates," the organization said in a statement announcing the protests. "Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed. A large number of U.S. troops have also died. And there is no let up in sight. ...
The current crisis in Iraq is again stimulating protests around the country and around the world," the statement said.
* * * * * Cities
holding demonstrations include: Albuquerque, NM Atlanta, GA Augusta, ME
Baltimore, MD Binghamton, NY Birmingham, AL Boston, MA Buffalo, NY Carlsbad, CA
Cedar Falls, IA Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Detroit, MI Fayetteville, AR Ferndale,
MI Gettysburg, PA Grand Rapids, MI Kingston, NY Long Island, NY Los Angeles, CA
Massachusetts, MA Middletown, NY Mill Valley, CA Minneapolis, MN Mountain View,
CA New Haven, CT New York, NY Portland, OR Providence, RI San Diego, CA San
Francisco, CA San Jose, CA Sarasota Springs, NY Seattle, WA Springfield, MA St.
Petersburg, FL Washington, DC & more!
----------- and this from a previous email... The San Francisco march and rally
is initiated by the A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition
and will take place on Sat., April 10, 12 noon at UN Plaza, on Market St.
between 7th & 8th Sts.
To endorse or to
volunteer, email us at April10@actionsf.org.
Flyers, posters and stickers are available at our office, 2489 Mission St., Rm.
24, San Francisco, (corner 21st St.) Our phone number is 415-821-6545. A
downloadable flyer is available at www.actionsf.org.
A growing list of cities holding demonstrations can be
found at http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/a10/a10events.html
(this page includes downloadable flyers and is updated frequently)
Read the Call to Action: IRAQ AT THE BOILING POINT http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/a10/index.html
No War for Oil!
Solutions to driving over our ecological cliff - whether preventing war or
during "peace"
"A violent culture is not the only one
conceivable," was our response in Culture
Change magazine to the 9-11
attacks. The U.S. government has an oily foreign policy history which led up to this "War OF
Terrorism." We know from our petroleum-industry background here
at Sustainable Energy Institute that in our overpopulated society, driving cars and consuming
manufactured goods are again bringing on war for oil. We are
heartened that resistance to war is mounting along with consciousness that
we must graduate from massive fossil fuel dependence.
Read "Spare Iraq and the atmosphere, avoid oil shock"
by the environmental movement's well known oil-industry analyst
Jan Lundberg. To complement the vision of a petroleum-free future,
peace must be attained now and forever for sustainable security.
For more information about the war on Iraq
read:
Understanding
the U.S.-Iraq crisis: A primer by Phyllis Bennis
Sustainable Energy Institute and Culture Change promote sustainable living in recognition of natural limits on technology. In 1990 we formed the Alliance for a Paving Moratorium largely as a peace proposal, during the buildup of the first Gulf War. Now the world is at even greater risk, as the limitations on invading Iraq - recognized by the first President Bush - are not being heeded by George II. In response to this latest global threat, we offer this analysis: Ending U.S. Oil Tyranny.
In addition to stopping new road construction to stop sprawl wherever we could, we have launched projects such as Pedal Power Produce toward local-based food security. Petroleum in effect feeds most of the planet, but oil's running out. Demanding no more war for oil is excellent, but will go nowhere if oil consumption is not slashed now. Energy consumption is out of control in industrial societies, twice as bad in the U.S. and in Europe. Business as usual constitutes the main threat to life. Wars serve as a distraction from the reality of the ongoing war on the planet waged by U.S. and transnational corporations seeking profits and control over all countries.
We have ideas on how to slash energy consumption while securing a better way of living. This cultural change can be brought about by some simple programs. One is to end new oil exploration such as offshore drilling: join the Committee Against Oil Exploration. For acting locally to change globally, take the Pledge for Climate Protection to cut petroleum dependence and heal the land. Thank you for helping to create a greater sense of community. And don't forget to cut down on guzzling oil now, if we are to achieve Peace!
- protest.net is a well put together calendar and announcement system for worldwide protests against global corporate players' scams and devastations of the environment.
- Oil depletion warning in The Oil Endgame is Here; see links from southwestenergy.org
- Get informed about antiwar.com
a division of the Center for Libertarian Studies.
- Check out Voices of the Wilderness at www.nonviolence.org/vitw/
which conducts a Campaign to end the Economic Sanctions Against the People
of Iraq.
Get back to our main No War for Oil page
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