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Bring the Troops Home Now! End
the Occupation of Iraq!
Money for Human Needs, Not
for War!
Military Recruiters Out of
Our Schools!
October 29th March and Rally
Boston Common
Introduction
Two and a half years after the
brutal and illegal invasion of Iraq, the war continues to
drag on. According to recent reports, over 100,000 Iraqis
have died and many more have been wounded or tortured—most
of them civilians. The death toll of U.S. forces is over
1,800 with 15,000 wounded. The war’s popularity has
plummeted, military recruiters are facing a crisis, and
grieving parents like Cindy Sheehan are protesting the
needless slaughter while large numbers of people outside the
traditional peace movement have started turning out in their
support.
The war has not brought the
democracy and liberation promised to Iraqis by the Bush
Administration and bi-partisan Congressional leadership, but
rather has devastated their nation, ruined their economy,
undermined the status of women, and made mega-profits for
U.S. war contractors.
War
for Oil
These actions continue a
pattern of intervention in the Middle East aimed at keeping
cheap oil flowing. To ensure a loyal forward military
presence in the region, the U.S. government funds Israel
with billions of our tax dollars yearly while helping to
crush the national aspirations of Palestinians. To keep
effective control of the world’s largest oil fields, it
supports the corrupt Saudi monarchy. Clearly the doctrine of
targeting weaker countries for “regime change” has nothing
to do with defending democracy or our safety and security
here or anywhere else.
When the U.S. removes the
president of Haiti, attempts a coup in Venezuela, intervenes
in Colombia’s civil war, or when it now contemplates an
invasion of Iran—all while fighting the war in Iraq—it is
doing so to expand its economic and political empire.
Millions of us now find ourselves dealing with the
consequences of this war for profits and control of markets.
The Domestic Front
Nowhere has the impact of this
war and occupation been felt harder than in communities of
color; among women, the
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning community and
people living with HIV/AIDS; and in the homes of poor and
working families.
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The Bush administration with the full complicity of
Congress has spent over $300 billion on the war and
occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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In Massachusetts alone the cost for funding this war and
occupation is over $5 1/2 billion. Meanwhile, our
communities are going bankrupt.
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Unemployment in the African-American communities of
Boston is over 50%. The jails are overflowing with our
youth, especially youth of color.
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Hysteria and racist violence against the immigrant
communities, especially Muslim, Arab and Latin is on the
rise as calls for mass deportations increase.
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To prepare and wage wars of conquest, war machines like
the U.S. military rely on cultivating a violent
atmosphere of misogyny and homophobia – with
far-reaching effects not only in occupied Iraq but
throughout U.S. society.
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In Massachusetts, poor women bear the brunt of public
cuts to welfare, state and community college, Medicaid,
subsidized housing, eldercare, and subsidized childcare.
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In Boston's South End, residents are being threatened by
the projected construction of a Bioterror lab.
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And in Wakefield, the Pentagon has contracted with BeNow
Inc. to compile a massive national youth database
targeting our youth for military recruitment.
Conclusion
We call for an end to this
criminal war on the Iraqi people, to bring all the troops
home now, and for the redirection of resources to further
justice, equality, and human needs here at home, not death
and misery. We now have the initiative. We are making a
difference!
Join us this fall for a mass
march and rally. Bring your friends, family and neighbors.
Together we can stop this war, massively shift the political
agenda in this country to further human needs and
international solidarity, and change the world for the
better. All out on October 29th! |
