[Peace-discuss] Fwd:[ANSWER]: April 12 Update / April 1: Defend Aff (1 of 2

[jencart]

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I. Update on the APRIL 12 National March to Stop the War  on Iraq

II. April 1 March to Defend Affirmative Action in 
Washington DC

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Update on APRIL 12
National March to Stop the War on Iraq
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The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition believes that the war against 
Iraq has never been about disarmament of weapons of mass  destruction or about creating a more democratic or humane  regime in Baghdad. The people of the Middle East recognize  that this is a war for empire, for conquest and domination  in a region that possesses 2/3rds of the world's oil 
supply. The Bush administration's vision of the future 
under the rubric of the so-called war on terrorism, with  all of its shifting rationales, is to plunge the United 
States government into a state of endless war. Their 
geo-strategic fantasy of world domination based purely on  military prowess will lead to a catastrophic escalation of  the cycle of violence.

All aspects of the Bush administration's war against Iraq  -- its preparations and actions before the war and during  the first week of the war -- have proven to be based on  gross miscalculations.

The people of the world can and have shown that they can  unite to offer a different vision. Peace and social 
justice will not be a gift presented to us by the Bush 
administration. On the contrary, their vision of reckless  adventurism and the use of limitless violence against 
their opponents can only spell disaster, but the Bush 
administration is not the ultimate arbiter of the 
historical process. Peace and social justice can be 
achieved by the strengthening of the worldwide people's  movement that has sprung into existence in recent months.

The upcoming April 12 International Day of Protest, 
including a mass march on the White House, is essential to  maintaining the global momentum of those who stand against  the war worldwide.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are suffering from 
the absence of food, medicine and water. Thousands more  are being made into refugees. The very young and the very  old, the most vulnerable sectors of society, are 
undoubtedly perishing directly from the hardships caused  by the war. As the resistance of the Iraqi people 
stiffens, the U.S. high command is changing its war plans  and so-called rules of engagement, allowing for the quick  targeting of civilians. The Bush administration is not 
concerned about the young working class men and women who  are being sent into combat. They are afraid, however, that  high casualties will create a political backlash in the 
U.S. population.

On April 12, the world will demand that the carnage in 
Iraq be ended. The Iraqi people must be able to determine  their own destiny free from invasion and occupation. 
Anyone who cares about the lives and safety of U.S. GIs  will demand that the troops be brought home now.

A large number of U.S. military veterans will be 
participating in the April 12 demonstrations in Washington  DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It is noteworthy that  the Bush administration is slashing benefit programs for  U.S. military veterans. The House of Representatives 
recently voted to cut $25 billion in veterans' healthcare  and benefits programs. Plagued by these recent budget 
cuts, the veterans' administration has had to resort to 
charging new veterans entering into its system a yearly  fee of $250 in order for them to receive treatment. How  disgusting that the Bush administration can ask for $85 
billion to wage a bloody invasion of Iraq and just a few 
days after slash the tax rate paid by the very rich while  it carries out an assaul