NO WAR ON IRAN

On June 26, the Stop War on Iran Campaign initiated an emergency call to action to oppose a war on Iran on the weekend of Aug. 2 and 3. A major march is being planned Aug. 2 in New York. Demonstrators will assemble at 12 noon in Times Square at 43rd Street and Broadway. Other places, inside the U.S. and worldwide, are organizing local actions.

This mobilization could not have come at a more critical juncture as the warmongering Bush administration, the Pentagon and their puppet Israel are setting the stage for this unbridled attack on yet another sovereign country.

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersch wrote in the July 7 New Yorker that the U.S. government has funded a $400 million covert operation involving anti-Iranian groupings with the aim of destabilizing the Tehran government.

This criminal act is a violation of international law that should be protested by every activist, revolutionary and worker regardless of whether one agrees with the policies of the Iranian government or not. U.S. imperialism is the enemy, not Iran.

It is in this spirit that the managing editors wholeheartedly support the Aug. 2-3 mobilization. Below are excerpts from the call. Go to www.StopWarOnIran.org to read the entire call and to find out how to get involved.

The U.S. occupation of Iraq & Afghanistan is hated by the people there.

These wars have no support at home and are ruining the domestic economy. Instead of pulling out, the Bush administration is preparing for still another war—this time against Iran. This must be stopped!

On June 4, George Bush, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at his side, called Iran a “threat to peace.”  Two days before, acting as a proxy for the Pentagon, Israel used advanced U.S. fighter planes to conduct massive air maneuvers, which the media called a “dress rehearsal” for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facility. Under pressure from the U.S., the European Union announced sanctions against Iran on June 23. A bill is before Congress for further U.S. sanctions on Iran and even a blockade of Iran.

Iran as a “nuclear threat” is as much a hoax as Bush’s claim of “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq used to justify the war there. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which inspects Iran’s nuclear facilities, says it has no weapons program and is developing nuclear power for the days when its oil runs out. Even Washington’s 16 top spy agencies issued a joint statement that said Iran does not have nuclear weapons technology!

U.S. and Israel are the real nuclear danger. The Pentagon has a huge, nuclear-capable naval armada in the Persian/Arabian Gulf, with guns aimed at Iran. Israel, the Pentagon’s proxy force in the Middle East, has up to 200 nuclear warheads and has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran did sign it.

While billions of dollars go to war, at home the unemployment rate had the biggest spike in 23 years. Home foreclosures and evictions are increasing; fuel and food prices are through the roof. While the situation is growing dire for many, Washington’s cuts to domestic programs continue. A new U.S. war will bring only more suffering.

While the summer is a difficult time to call protests, the August recess of Congress gives the White House an opportunity for unopposed aggression against Iran. We must not let this happen! From the anti-war movement and all movements for social change, to religious and grassroots organizations, unions and schools, let us join forces to demand “No war on Iran, U.S. out of Iraq, Money for human needs not war!”