From the International Action Center
http://www.iacenter.org
George W. Bush Defends
War, Torture, and Repression
(June 28) Faced with growing resistance in Iraq and growing worldwide opposition, George W. Bush tonight attempted to rally support for his failed and brutal policies in Iraq.
This speech comes at a time when his approval ratings are the lowest of his Presidency, and when every poll indicates that the people are opposed to the continued occupation of Iraq. A majority in the U.S. now say that the war was a mistake, and in a recent Washington Post/ABC poll, a new high of 57% said the administration deliberately misled the public with allegations of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Even some members of the Democratic Party, which blindly supported the march to war two years ago, have been forced to question the Bush policies, while not offering a alternative course.
Bush delivered his speech surrounded by a few hundred hand-picked Marines at Fort Bragg, a military installation in North Carolina where he felt certain that he would not receive any hostile questions or expressions of disagreement. He was thus guaranteed that no one would ask him about the Downing Street memo, which proves that the Bush Administration was planning to go to war and was falsifying intelligence to justify it. He did not have to face any questions about weapons of mass destruction--no one was there to remind him that a little over two years ago, he and members of his Administration testified that the people of Iraq had massive stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. He did not have to face any questions about the worldwide outrage at revelations of torture and abuse routinely carried out at the direction of the White House.
Instead, he repeated the same empty rhetoric used all along to justify the occupation. Behind the talk of "freedom" and "democracy," the message was clear -- the Bush Administration intends to continue the colonial occupation of Iraq, no matter the cost in lives, and intends to move forward with its global military adventures under the guise of a "war on terror." He also made it clear that he is not concerned with world opinion, with growing domestic opposition, or the desire of the Iraqi people to be free from occupation.
Bush's 'Vietnamization' Speech
In November 3, of 1969, then-President Richard Nixon gave what would become known as his "Vietnamization" speech. The parallels with Bush's speech tonight are striking and ominous.
Nixon declared that he would not announce a timetable for withdrawal, saying that it depended on training the South Vietnamese puppet forces. He was confident in their progress, saying, "The South Vietnamese have continued to gain in strength. As a result they have been able to take over combat responsibilities from our American troops."
He said, "I have not and do not intend to announce the timetable for our program. And there are obvious reasons for this decision which I am sure you will understand. As I have indicated on several occasions, the rate of withdrawal will depend on developments."
He said that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would depend on "the level of enemy activity and the progress of the training programs of the South Vietnamese forces. And I am glad to be able to report tonight progress on both of these fronts has been greater than we anticipated when we started the program in June for withdrawal."
He also claimed that "Enemy infiltration, infiltration which is essential if they are to launch a major attack, over the last 3 months is less than 20 percent of what it was over the same period last year."
Nixon's speech completely ignored that fact that the puppet regime in Saigon had no popular support and that the resistance to U.S. occupation was growing daily. The people of Vietnam, like the people of Iraq, were determined to throw out the occupiers and free their country.
It was 6 years and tens of thousands of deaths later that the U.S. was forced to evacuate Saigon, as the people of Vietnam drove out the occupation and overwhelmed the weak and corrupt U.S.-installed government.
Bush's Vietnamization speech sounded as if it were written by the same speech writer--it made the same misrepresentations and laid out the same disastrous course as Nixon's speech 36 years ago.
Tonight Bush claimed that the training of "Iraqi security forces" is proceeding well, saying, "The new Iraqi security forces are proving their courage every day. More than 2,000 members of the Iraqi security forces have given their lives in the line of duty. Thousands more have stepped forward and are now in training to serve their nation. With each engagement, Iraqi soldiers grow more battle-hardened and their officers grow more experienced."
He likewise ignores the fact that the Iraqi people do not support occupation, and that the resistance is growing, becoming more sophisticated, and is widely supported by the people of Iraq. Last month there were about 700 reported attacks against U.S. forces using improvised explosive devices -- the highest number since the war began. In March, 35 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq, 52 were killed in April, and 80 died in May.
Bush claims that "when the Iraqi's stand up, we will stand down", and that the U.S. is working toward "an Iraq that can defend itself, defeat its enemies, and secure its freedom." But the real enemies of freedom in iraq are the armies of occupation. It is important to understand that the resistance is a response to 12 years of sanctions, a war that has killed 100,000 people, and a brutal colonial occupation. Oppression and occupation inevitably bring violence. The Iraqi people have the absolute right to defend their country from foreign invaders, and we fully support their right to do so.
We cannot allow the destruction of Iraq and its people to drag on - Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said Sunday that the occupation could last as long as 12 years. We must take action now to end the war.
"Ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent"
President Bush repeatedly referred to the people of Iraq as "ruthless killers" and "terrorists," playing once again to anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry. He referred to the tragic events of September 11, 2001 at least six times in his speech to justify the ongoing war and occupation, even though he knows that the people of Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks on that day.
He claimed that the resistance fighters in Iraq are motivated by an "ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent." To most of the world, this phrase describes, not the women and men struggling to free their country from occupation, but the Bush Administration itself. The neocons in the White House have lied in order to justify a war of conquest. They have practiced and justified torture and abuse of prisoners. They have waged war on basic rights with the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
Bush claims to be fighting under the banner of "the great ideal of human freedom". Yet no President has done more to curtail free speech or to control the "free" press. And no President has done more to apply the law selectively, to further his own political agenda, or to pack the courts with right wing extremists.
Freedom in the Middle East?
President Bush claimed that the occupation was bringing freedom throughout the Middle East. He repeatedly asserts that America is giving Iraq its sovereignty. Iraq was sovereign until March 20, 2003, when the U.S., in violation of the U.N. Charter and international law, invaded and occupied that sovereign country. That sovereignty can only be restored when the U.S. leaves.
The grisly photos and testimony of torture and abuse in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and other U.S. prison camps make it clear who the real terrorists are, and that they have no intention of bringing democracy to Iraq.
The U.S. government has never demonstrated any interest in bringing democracy to the Middle East. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger outlined U.S. policy in the region when he said, "Middle East oil is too important to be left to hands of the Arabs." The U.S. has made no effort to bring democracy in any of the nations in the region where it has maintained troops-the people of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all live under feudal monarchies, without free elections, civil liberties, civil rights, union rights, or rights for women.
The U.S. continues to fund, arm, and support the occupation of Palestine, supporting a rogue colonial state that routinely engages in violations of basic human rights, a brutal regime that is in violation of 65 U.N. Resolutions.
Who pays the price for global war?
Since the invasion of Iraq, Johns Hopkins University estimates more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed, most of them women and children. Thousands are being held in U.S. prison camps, subject to torture and abuse.
As of yesterday, 1,734 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion and more than 13,000 have been wounded, according to Defense Department figures. The young people who are killed, injured, and permanently disabled are not the children of Wall Street. They are children from the poorest and most oppressed communities, forced into the military because of the lack of options.
Many of them are returning home to find that there are no jobs, that housing prices have skyrocketed, and that healthcare is not available. Hundreds of returning veterans are now homeless.
Meanwhile, working people in the U.S. are finding it harder to make ends meet, as billions of tax dollars have been spent on the war instead of jobs, education, and health care. Cities are forced to slash their budgets, laying off workers and cutting essential services. Schools are overcrowded, understaffed, and underfunded. Healthcare is a luxury.
This is not just a war against the people of Iraq. Under the pretense of waging a "war on terror," Bush is waging a war of terror against working people everywhere. We must organize to fight back.
Only a people's movement will stop the war
September 24, Washington DC
It is clear that the Bush Administration intends to conitnue the war and occupation of Iraq, in defiance of interantional law. It is also clear that coporate-owned politicians will not and cannot stop the war.
Only a massive peoples' resistance can stop the war. We must do everything within our power to build a united front to bring the troops home now. On September 24, tens of thousands of activists will take to the streets of Washington DC to demand "Troops Out Now!"
The International Action Center is part of the Troops Out Now Coalition, which is working to build a massive united presence on September 24. Now is a critical time--military recruiting is down, Bush's approval ratings are plummeting, and opposition to the war is growing. What we do now can make a difference, and we have a responsibility to build a massive united demonstration.
The Troops Out Now Coalition Statement on September 24 raises the following critical points:
The vital importance of building a united front against the war. Our emphasis needs to be on building a large, militant antiwar movement that is capable of stopping the war. TONC renews its appeal to the small but influential forces in the antiwar movement who refused to work together for the fall and beyond to reverse their positions and help unleash the full mass potential of the struggle to shut the war down.
That building a united movement means including, not excluding the struggles of oppressed people. Support for the Right of all Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to their original homes and property in all of historic Palestine is not negotiable.
That unity means much more than organizational unity. It means, more importantly, that the antiwar movement reaches out to and embraces the struggles of oppressed people here and internationally. It means solidarity with the struggle of communities of color, with LGBT communities, with immigrants, and with struggles against racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression. It means solidarity with the people of Iraq, Palestine, Haiti, the Philippines, and everywhere that people are struggling against U.S. colonial occupation.
That the antiwar movement needs to look to new and more effective tactics to stop the war. Activists raised the slogan "Troops Home Now, or We'll Shut It Down!" and discussed the idea of declaring a moratorium against the war, including walkouts, civil disobedience, and other direct actions to bring the cities to a stop until the war is ended.
That the struggle to end the war will be won by mobilizing a massive movement in the streets. Counting on elections and pro-war politicians to end the war is, at best, a misdirection of time, energy, and resources. Only the people will stop the war. To that end, it is important to immediately begin planning and mobilizing now for the September 24 March in Washington DC, the Millions More Movement events on the weekend of October 14-16, and the Moratorium Against the War.
We need your help to build a massive, united demonstration:
Organize transportation from your area.
Donate to help bring thousands of activists to Washington DC on September 24.
Endorse the Troops Out Now Unity Call.
www.troopsoutnow.org
We Won't Go
Help Shut Down Military Recruiting and Resist the Draft
One of the most effective ways to stop the war is to cut off the supply of fresh troops.
Across the U.S., parents, youth, and activists are realizing that if we can stop the flow of troops, we can stop the war. The movement against military recruiting is having an impact far beyond what is reported by the corporate media. Recruiters are being driven off campus or challenged by activists who present opposing information. Groups of parents, educators, youth, and activists are meeting across the country to discuss strategies to defend our young people against the predators in uniform.
No Draft No Way launched its website in June of last year - www.NoDraftNoWay.org. This site includes updated information about the draft and military recruiting, strategies and tactics for challenging the militariazation of our schools, and downloadable leaflets, petitions, and fact sheets.
Since the launch of the site, thousands have signed the online petition against the draft and the No Draft No Way network has grown to include hundreds of activists all across the country. It is vitally important that we provide these local organizers with information and tools.
In order to meet this urgent need, the Youth and the Military Education Project is publishing We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance. This 120-page book will present, in a brief and accesible format: the truth behind military recruiters' lies; students' rights on campus; information about the draft and alternatives; how to organize an opt-out campaign to keep students' personal information out of the hands of recruiters; and how to organize a local protest, including publicity, legal issues, making placards, and working with the media. This small, easy-to-read book, written by counter-recruiting activists, current and former members of the military, and youth, will be available in bulk at discounted prices for community and youth organizations, classrooms, and libraries. It will be sent to clergy, educators, parent associations, and community leaders across the country.
We are rushing to get We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance to publication so that thousands of activists can use this material a part of a national campaign to educate and mobilize youth against militarism and the war. This book must be at the printers by July 15 in order for us to have it ready for the start of the new school year.
Can you help us with this urgent effort to publish We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance? We will include a special acknowledgement section in the book, showing appreciation for those who make a contribution to this effort. Your name can be listed there, or you can donate anonymously.
Donate online at: http://nodraftnoway.org/donate-new.shtml
