Action Proposal for United Antiwar Conference

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Wing Israeli massacres in Lebanon in 1982, attacked in 2006, and killed on the Aid Flotilla, determined to see Palestine again and be part of its liberation from Israeli gunfire rather than crowd dispersal techniques or ne- Forces.” The attack, said Al-Awda, was “part of the ongoWing Israeli Zionist agenda to effect the ethnic cleansing The flotilla was carrying 10,000 tons of badly needed of Palestinians, beginning in the 1900s and continuing, food, medicine, medical equipment, toys, workbooks, chocolate, as well as cement for the reconstruction of The attack also stands as more proof that the “peace the thousands of homes destroyed in the attacks of process” is nothing more than a joint effort by the U.S., 2008-2009. Every international aid agency has docu- Israel, and the quisling Palestinian Authority to institumented the continued deaths, malnutrition, homeless- tionalize Israeli apartheid in the entire land of historic ness, unemployment, and dependence on charity af- Palestine and as an excuse to attack anyone resisting fecting the overwhelming majority of Gazans; yet their steadfastness has not wavered for one second. Gazans Mass protests broke out immediately around the have said repeatedly that they welcome eagerly efforts world. The most common demands have been the imlike the flotilla even more because of the political soli- mediate lifting of the siege; unconditional release of all members of the targeted flotilla, and publication of the The response of the Zionist government was typically names of the dead, injured, and detained; a war crimes brazen and callous. The lies it spun to justify the murders were reminiscent of those used by the U.S. when- Two of the seven boats that were part of the flotilla reever it kills civilians in their beds in Afghanistan. Israeli mained at sea because of engine problems. On June 1 it Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon described the was announced that one of them, the Rachel Corrie, was flotilla as “an armada of hate,” and said its organizers sailing on to Gaza, and that a second flotilla would sail had connections with Hamas and al-Qaeda. He made in coming weeks. While continuing to organize protests these assertions despite common knowledge that the against the murders, supporters of Palestine should overwhelming majority of participants were members The U.S. Palestinian Community Network said the participate in and defend every boat on its way to Gaza of organizations that as a matter of tactics or principle attack was “consistent with [Israel’s] long history of disregard for non-Jewish human life,” citing numerous For activists in the U.S., there is a unique opportunity Numerous governments, both imperialist and neo- to broaden and deepen support for these activities and colonial, issued statements condemning the Israeli as- Al-Awda NY: the Palestine Right to Return Coalition the overall Palestine liberation struggle by attending sault, a handful even recalling their ambassadors to noted that “some of the fallen had been resilient Pal- the United National Antiwar Conference in Albany, N.Y., estinians, exiled by Zionist militias in 1948, withstand- July 23-25. n Socialist Action june 2010 3 Below we are reprinting the Action Proposal issued by the United National Antiwar Conference (UNAC) Planning Committee. The conference will take place in Albany, N.Y., July 23-25.

A brochure put out by the Planning Committee outlines the perspectives of the conference: “This conference will bring together antiwar and social justice activists from across the country to consider what we can do together to end the U.S. wars, occupations, bombing attacks, threats and interventions that are taking place in the Middle East and beyond. Attend and voice your opinion on where the antiwar movement is today and where we go from here.

“We demand the immediate and total withdrawal of U.S. military forces, mercenaries and contractors from Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead of trillions for wars and occupations, we demand those funds be spent for jobs, health care, education, the environment, infrastructure and other human needs, and that compensation be paid to the peoples whose countries the U.S. attacked and occupied for the loss of lives and massive destruction they suffered.”

Any organization or individuals attending the UNAC conference may submit amendments to the Action Proposal, or alternative resolutions or proposals for action, to be discussed and voted on at the conference. For more information and instructions on how to submit an amendment or resolution, please see the UNAC website at www,nationalpeaceconference.org. Email [email protected] or UNAC at P.O. Box 21675, Cleveland, OH 44121. UNAC Action Proposal submitted by conference co-Sponsors Part 1: Preface The prerequisites for ending the U.S. wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and re-orienting the nation’s priorities from empire building to solving the pressing needs at home are unity in action, massive mobilizations, inclusion of the broadest popular sectors of society, democratic functioning, and the construction of a mass social movement that operates independently of all political parties while seeking to influence their rank and file.

History has demonstrated time and again that the combination of these qualities coupled with an inclusive, collaborative and representative lead... Gaza aid flotilla (continued from page 1: “Oil Spill World blasts Israel for murder of Gaza aid workers”)

gotiations, deaths were virtually inevitable. darity it shows than for the material aid. or both believe only in nonviolent activism.

Israel. ership can change the course of history.

This was the case with the massive social movements that were constructed to end the Vietnam War, win formal civil rights for excluded races and peoples, advance the cause of women’s equality, and challenge the prejudice and discrimination against LGBT people. It was the same unity in action that brought into being a massive trade union movement that challenged the previously dominant forces of the corporate elite and wrested unprecedented victories in the quality of life and culture for working people.

Today we face the challenge of perpetual wars abroad becoming part of our national culture as are unceasing attacks on the quality of life and the standard of living at home. We are witness to multi-trillion dollar bailouts of the same institutions that have brought grief and pain to countless millions and obliterated hard won social and economic gains that were a century and longer in the making.

Our youth are subject to an economic draft that places them in harm’s way around the world where poor people fight for their right to self-determination and resist interventions for profit and plunder. Education budgets are slashed while pensions, health care, wages, union rights and civil liberties are under siege.

Trillions are expended to fund increasingly privatized wars fought in large part with mercenary armies and to maintain 865 military bases around the world. Meanwhile veterans -- first place in the statistics of the homeless and unemployed -- are compelled to fight for denied benefits to treat horrific diseases caused by U.S. biological and now radiation-emitting weapons of war while the people of destroyed nations suffer the same, but magnified, and long-term horrors. Moreover, they are subjected to successive incidents of grotesque and inhuman torture.

We are confronted with imperial wars over control of the very fossil fuel resources whose continued use threatens the future of all humankind.

Our love of humanity, opposition to expanding wars and occupations unmassacres from 1948 until this year. leashed by the Pentagon, and respect for the right of self-determination for all peoples require that we demand of the U.S. government:

• The allocation of the trillions spent on wars and corporate bailouts to massive programs for jobs, education, health care, housing and the environment. Compensation to be paid to the peoples whose countries the U.S. attacked and occupied for the loss of lives and massive destruction they suffered.

• The immediate, total and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. military bases from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Bring all the Troops and War Dollars Home Now!

• Reverse and end all foreclosures. Stop the government attacks on trade unions, civil and democratic rights, and immigrant communities.

Part 2: Proposals for United Actions • Oct. 6 to 16, 2010: a period of local and regional protests across the country to mark the ninth year of the U.S. war on Afghanistan. Actions to include demonstrations, marches, vigils, teach-ins, solidarity, etc.

Draft antiwar resolutions for city councils, town and village meetings and voter referendum ballot questions Joel Saget / AFP / Getty Images this project.

linking astronomical war spending to denial of essential public services at home. Form broad local coalitions and/or networks to organize support for such resolutions and referendum campaigns. Model resolutions and ballot questions will be circulated for consideration of local groups. • Mid-March, 2011: nationally coordinated teach-ins to mark the eighth year of the Iraq War and to prepare for bi-coastal spring demonstrations the following month. • Bi-coastal mass spring mobilizations in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on April 9, 2011. These will be accompanied by distinct and separate non-violent direct actions on the same day. A prime component of these mobilizations will be major efforts to include broad new forces from youth to veterans to trade unionists to civil and human rights groups to the Arab, Muslim and other oppressed communities to environmental organizations, social justice and faith-based groups. Veterans and military families will be key to these mobilizations with special efforts to organize this community to be the lead contingent.

• Select a week prior to or after the April actions for local lobbying of elected officials at a time when Congress is not in session. Lobbying to take multiple forms from meeting with local officials to protests at their offices and homes.

• National tours. Organize over a series of months nationally-coordinated tours of prominent speakers and local activists that link the demands for immediate withdrawal to the demands for funding social programs, as outlined above.

• In the event of an imminent U.S. government attack on Iran or such an attack, or a U.S.-backed Israeli attack against Iran, or any other major international crisis triggered by U.S. military action, UNAC will mount a rapid, broad and nationally coordinated protest by antiwar and social justice activists.

• Support actions aimed at dismantling the Cold War nuclear, biological and chemical delivery systems.

• Support actions, educational efforts and lobbying campaign to promote a transition to a sustainable peace economy. n (Left) May 31 protest in Paris against Israeli attack. with international complicity, today.” tribunal; and, in the U.S., an end to all aid to Israel. until the siege is broken!

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Mel Evans / AP (Left) Over 35,000 public workers rally against New Jersey budget cuts, May 22, outside State House in Trenton.

“correction.”

Adding to Wall Street’s worries were predictions that new financial regulation “reform” measures would eat into their profits. A Goldman Sachs research report said the proposed legislation could reduce earnings at 28 of the biggest banks by more than 20%. However, once the Senate passed their version of the “reform,” bankers breathed a collective sigh of relief at the weakness of the proposed bills.

The market correction come on the heels of the “flash crash” of May 6, in which the Dow dropped almost a thousand points in less than half an hour, with some stocks briefly losing as much as 99% of their value. There has still been no official admission of whether the steep drop was a technical “glitch” or overt manipulation or—most likely—a combination of the two. Even if the plunge turns out to have been purely technical, the possibility of another such event occurring in the midst of a market already terrified by real-world events is giving investors nightmares.