HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
For information about upcoming peace & antiwar activities see the LMNOP calendar at http://www.lmno4p.org/calendar.htm http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20021011/wl_oneworld/13343_1034350195 World - OneWorld.net U.S. Anti-War Movement Growing Fri Oct 11,10:39 AM ET Jim Lobe,OneWorld US As both houses of the United States Congress voted Thursday to authorize President George W. Bush to take military action against Iraq, anti-war forces claimed that their movement was rapidly gaining momentum around the country. "We are seeing a remarkable mobilization against a war that has not yet even begun," declared Robert Borosage, the founder-director of the Campaign for America's Future, at a press conference sponsored by Foreign Policy in Focus held Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Borosage noted that more than 200 demonstrations and other protests have taken place around the U.S. while Congress debated the resolution agreed by Bush and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Dick Gephardt, last week. The resolution permits the president to use all means he deems necessary to defend the U.S. against the "continuing threat" posed by Baghdad. In a concession to Gephardt, it also calls for Bush to exhaust diplomatic avenues at the United Nations Security Council before resorting to military force, but does not require him to get the Council's formal approval before going to war. Despite Gephardt's support, a majority of Democrats in the House voted against the resolution, which was approved by a 295-133 vote. The Senate approved the same resolution late Thursday night by a similar margin. Anti-war activists, however, said they were encouraged by the vote, particularly when they compared it with the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that formed the basis for Washington's increased involvement in the war in Vietnam. With the exception of two senators who voted against it, that resolution passed unanimously. "This should give pause to the Administration," said Borosage. Indeed, even as the administration prevailed in Congress, anti-war forces appear to be knitting together perhaps the largest coalition of groups opposed to U.S. military action since the Vietnam War. On Tuesday, 53 mainly humanitarian and religious groups issued a statement urging Congress to reject any resolution authorizing preemptive, unilateral military action against Iraq. Among the signers were such prominent grassroots organizations as Greenpeace, Oxfam America, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (which represents some 140,000 Protestant congregations), the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. "We believe that a unilateral, preemptive strike against Iraq at this time would undermine rather than strengthen U.S. national security," the statement said. "We are concerned that such action could actually heighten the risk of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens while undermining international cooperation to reduce terrorism and bring to justice those who are responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001." Also this week, John Sweeney, the head of the country's largest labor union group, the AFL-CIO, issued a statement expressing strong reservations about any resort to unilateral action against Iraq and stressing that "the AFL-CIO strongly believes that our national interests are better protected by multilateral action." During the Vietnam War, the union was one of the strongest backers of the war effort. In addition, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and several other feminist groups have also come out against military action. At Thursday's press conference, NOW Vice President Olga Vives warned that giving Bush a "blank check" to go to war would result in the diversion of needed funds "from education, health, welfare and other vitally needed social programs from an already downsized budget." Businesspeople are also growing concerned about the drive to war, according to Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream who is now associated with Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities (BLSP). Calling a war against Iraq a "deadly distraction," Cohen warned that the country can ill afford a costly war at a time when "America totters on the brink of a new recession." "In the last week alone, our members have sent over 110,000 faxes to their members of Congress opposing an American attack on Iraq," said Cohen, whose BLSP has spun off a grassroots education and advocacy project called TrueMajority. "Our membership has grown by 10,000 members in just the past 48 hours," he added. ____________________ http://www.yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
