’Hands off Syria & Iran! No drones!’

Anti-war activists in the United States are alarmed by the growing signs of an imminent hike in the level of intervention by the U.S. and other NATO countries in the Syrian crisis. In response, these activists have stepped up efforts to organize widespread protests against any new aggressive imperialist maneuver.

The anti-war movement, mobilized by the groups in the United National Antiwar Coalition for a broad conference call on June 19, is expected to call for a week of protest from June 24 to July 1.

So far the slogans uniting most participants include “Hands off Syria and Iran!” “End the drone wars!” and “We need jobs, education and health care, not endless war!” according to a June 17 email from UNAC co-coordinators Joe Lombardo and Marilyn Levin.

The same email underlines U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent warning to Russia not to get in the way of U.S.-backed efforts to force out the government of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad and how “the corporate media is making every effort to overwhelm us with calls for another ‘humanitarian war.’”

The email reports that grassroots activists are hoping for more coordinated actions. “For example, the Twin Cities Antiwar Committee and Women Against Military Madness in Minneapolis have called an emergency demonstration for Tuesday, June 26. We have since heard of other actions in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York City and received word from activists who feel it is urgent to raise our opposition.”

In a related anti-war initiative, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan will address a public gathering outside the United Nations to protest U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan on July 1. This major Pakistani political party will try to build world public opinion against the Pentagon and CIA’s use of drones in Pakistan, which have killed many Pakistani civilians. Other anti-war forces in New York, including the International Action Center, plan to join this demonstration.

For more information on these protests or to register protests in your area, go to nationalpeaceconference.org or iacenter.org.