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IRAN: Growing Threat & DEADLINE Meets Growing Opposition

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Posted in Peace | Tagged Peace

The threat of a U.S./Israeli attack against Iran is growing - but so is grassroots opposition.  What we do in the next few days and weeks can make a difference. In Congress, support is growing for House Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580, both of which call for a air, sea, and land blockade of Iran.  House and Senate members - from both major parties -  continue to sign onto the resolutions.  In the House, the bill has 253 co-sponsors, which is only 37 short of how many votes it would take to pass on the suspension of the rules - without a floor vote. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has stepped up its threats against Iran.  On July 22, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in Abu Dhabi with foreign ministers and senior officials of the six Gulf states, along with Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. At the meeting Rice warned that Iran had two weeks to halt its development of nuclear energy or face further “punitive measures.”  That deadline will expire on August 5, making the call to action on August 2 even more urgent and timely.

To reinforce the threat, Rice’s statement was immediately followed by an announcement from Israeli military adviser Amos Gilad that Israel was preparing to attack Iran if diplomacy failed-and that the U.S. would not veto such action.

As the threats of an attack on Iran grow, the opposition is mobilizing across the U.S. and worldwide. Momentum is growing for actions in more than 65 U.S. cities in response to the Emergency Call for Action by StopWarOnIran (www.stopwaroniran.org).

The slogan of “No War on Iran” is being raised by hundreds of groups that do weekly anti-war/peace vigils. In the heat of the summer and in the midst of a national election campaign, when in-the-street activism is hardest, the response shows that the Bush administration will not be able to launch another war without the voice of the people being heard.

In addition to major cities from coast to coast, organizing work is going on in smaller towns and cities like Westbrook, Maine; Melbourne and Ocala, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Bozeman, Mont.; Salt Lake City; and Tucson, Ariz. Organizers as far away as Hawaii are mobilizing to protest as an attack against Iran is threatened daily. In Washington, D.C., our organizers report that they have gotten a very positive response as they handed out the leaflet and asked people to sign the petition. The people do not want another war.

One of the most gratifying things about this mobilization is the fact that new, young folks are getting involved. For example, high school students from Hicksville, Long Island, N.Y., have organized a 9:30 a.m. protest at the local train station. Then they plan to take a “Peace Train” to the larger regional demonstration at Times Square in New York City. An “Art-in for Peace” is also planned for Aug. 2 in Long Beach, Calif., coinciding with and supporting the regional protest at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.

In cities like Detroit, “Foreclose the war, not our homes” will be made real as people from the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions will be speaking at their StopWarOnIran emergency demonstration.

We are hearing from activists around the world who are taking up the cry to “Stop War on Iran.” Anti-globalization forces in Moscow raised that slogan as they picketed the park where U.S. citizens were celebrating July 4th. On July 11, protesters organized by the Anti-Imperialist Camp and other groups demonstrated in Vienna. Their statement read in part: “The U.S. policy of aggression serves only to reinforce the strength of the imperialist world power which now wants to make Iran the next victim.”

We have heard from activists in Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and a number of countries in the Middle East, who are mobilizing to support the Emergency Call. In fact, we got word that there will be a procession in the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding no war on Iran, organized by We the People United. There will also be actions in cities across Canada.

The Aug. 2 Emergency Call to Action has a growing list of Organizing Centers across the U.S. and Canada, and other organizing tools are available from www.stopwaroniran.org.

In the next few days and weeks, we need to do everything we can to help build a massive peoples’ movement to oppose the warmongers in Washington. Now is the time to take to the streets, because only a massive grassroots mobilization can stop another bloody and illegal war.

If you haven’t done so, please consider organizing a local action on August 2 - or if there is already one in your area, contact local organizers to find out how you can help.

Also, please sign the online petition at http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml and help us spread the word.  Signing the petition will send messages to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Congress, the Board of Directors of Halliburton, and the media. 

In the next few days, we will be preparing placards and banners, printing leaflets and educational materials, and holding organizing meetings to prepare for the August 2 protests.  Please consider making a donation at http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml to help us with the enormous expenses of mobilizing a national response to Bush’s war threats.

If you have a website, blog, MySpace, or other site, you can help us get the word out by linking to us.  Graphics are available at http://stopwaroniran.org/link.html.

Above all, join us in the streets on August 2 -for more information and updates, see StopWarOnIran.org.