[Peace-discuss] 2/15/2003 anniversary - and Oppose the so-called war on ISIS!

[Stuart Levy]

Dave, this is a great statement from the Fox Valley people!

Let's remember - today, Feb. 15, 2015 is the twelfth anniversary of the 
greatest anti-war demonstrations the world has yet seen, on Feb 15, 2003.


On 2/15/15 12:13 PM, David Johnson via Peace-discuss wrote:
>
> *    Oppose the so-called war on ISIS! *
>
> *     Join the fight for justice here!*
>
> The government says it’s fighting to stop ISIS’ terrorism. If that’s 
> the reason, we’d bomb Saudi Arabia!
>
> In fact, US bombings started right after ISIS captured oil-rich areas 
> of Iraq. Before then, the US did nothing for over a year while ISIS 
> imprisoned, tortured and murdered Syrians fighting against the 
> dictator Assad. This is another war over corporate oil profits and 
> defending corrupt “allies” , not ‘ fighting terrorism”
>
> *What impact does US coalition bombing ISIS have in Syria and Iraq? 
> *_It makes ISIS stronger._  It makes ISIS _look like_ the defender of 
> Sunni Muslims against 3 widely-hated “evils”: western imperialist 
> countries (US, Britain, France);  Iran and Iraq; and regional tyrants 
> (Saudi Arabia, Gulf oil monarchies). As a result, they’ve recruited 
> 10,000 new fighters since the bombings began 2 months ago. Good for 
> ISIS and war profiteers; bad for us.
>
> *What should be done about ISIS? *Support those fighting repression, 
> poverty and corrupt regimes in Syria ( Kurdistan Workers Party ) and 
> Saudi Arabia.  Their victory will end ISIS’ appeal. All these 
> governments suppressed the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. They all use 
> religious and national differences to divide and rule. All these US 
> allies enrich their 1% and make life worse for most people there, just 
> like here. That’s why the US coalition cannot possibly bring the 
> reforms needed to end support for ISIS. They can only make things 
> worse, just like the US invasion, occupation and massive destruction 
> did in Iraq.
>
> *If the US and allies’ war is not the answer, what is? *Popular 
> revolutions there will use the vast oil wealth for education and 
> provide useful work for all. They will have to develop unity against 
> their 1% to do that.  Only that  can overcome the religious divisions 
> perpetuated by their elites _and_ by ISIS. People here also need to 
> take control over our vast resources for a decent life and our future. 
> Just like there, our 1%  holds most wealth and power. (Fact:  the 
> richest 400 Americans own more wealth than 100,000,000 of us.) We need 
> America’s great wealth to better our lives while our government 
> promotes the 1% here, just like there.
>
> *Can we change this?*  We think so, but this will require a massive 
> popular movement against the power of the 1%- there and here.  We will 
> have to create unity for our common aspirations. We have done this in 
> limited ways. For example, the Civil Rights, anti-war, women’s and gay 
> rights, and workers’ struggles of the 50s-70s created unity and won 
> things we benefit from today. They had to fight the big powers too. 
> Yes, money is power, but so is people power. After all, together, we 
> do the work that makes all the products and all that wealth; our 
> combined work makes everything run, and we are the huge majority. We 
> _can_ shape our future.
>
> *What can we do? *  Get an organization you’re part of to *take a 
> stand against this war and actively support fights for justice *like 
> living wages, taxing the super-rich, , improving public education, 
> ending corporate welfare, cutting greenhouse emissions, fighting for 
> equal rights for all, etc.
>
> *Give people-to-people support to real allies*, like the Syrians 
> fighting for justice against Syrian dictator Assad _and_ ISIS. Syrian 
> American Medical Society (www.sams.org <http://www.sams.org>) provides 
> medical help to that popular revolution. Get more info at 
> http://syriafreedomforever.blog ; google “Syrian popular revolution” 
> for other sources.
>
> *Yes, ISIS is vicious and should be defeated*, but can the US and its 
> allies, like Saudi Arabia, defeat ISIS? Can they counter the support 
> ISIS gets from Sunni Muslims? We don’t think so. The US invasion of 
> Iraq opened the door for a regime there that makes war on many Sunnis 
> who now back ISIS. The US and its allies generate support for ISIS. 
> How can the cause of the problem be the solution? These regimes, like 
> the US superpower, cannot end the very system of exploitation, 
> repression and power they all defend, can they? We think it’s more 
> likely that popular uprisings against these regimes can reclaim their 
> vast oil resources and use it to provide themselves a better life. 
> * That change will end ISIS’s appeal. Not bombings by the US and its 
> allies. *
>
> *We urge you to oppose this new war.  It’s part of a larger war by 
> rich corporate owners against most of us, here and overseas. For 
> example, *the US Senate voted $28 Billion for these attacks. To pay 
> the bill, they cut foodstamps for 800,000 U.S. families an average of 
> $90/month. The US spends trillions of our money to finance over 600 
> military bases overseas to promote corporate profits while our wages 
> are frozen, prices go up, public schools are underfunded and 
> overcrowded, discrimination continues, and most new jobs don’t pay a 
> living wage and have no benefits.  This is imperialism-where powerful 
> countries like the US do dirty deals with local rulers to take the 
> wealth for the 1%. This hurts most of us here and overseas. We need to 
> join hands in this common effort and fight for a better future here 
> and there/. Muslims are not our enemy. Our problems come from elite 
> rule, not ordinary people./
>
> *Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice www.fvc4pnj.org 
> <http://www.fvc4pnj.org>*
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20150215/4d254bef/attachment-0001.html>