The Militant - 11/30/98 -- Protests Demand: `U.S. Hands Off Iraq!'

Vol.62/No.43 November 30, 1998

Protests Demand: `U.S. Hands Off Iraq!'
Socialist workers and Young Socialists have been campaigning among workers, students, and others against Washington's preparations for a military assault on Iraq. Below are a few reports from Militant supporters around the world.

ATLANTA - The November 13 Militant Labor Forum in Atlanta was reorganized as an emergency protest against U.S. imperialism's war moves against Iraq. James Harris, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for governor of Georgia in the recent election, was featured on the 11:00 p.m. news on Channel 11, which covered the meeting.

"The crisis in the Gulf will continue because U.S. imperialism did not achieve the goals it set for itself in the 1991 Gulf War," Harris said. "This is what makes strikes against Iraq inevitable, if not this time than in the future. It's up to U.S. workers to demand `U.S. hands off Iraq!' "

The next morning at Northwest Airlines, a co-worker told me he learned about the meeting while watching TV. "I liked what your speaker had to say," he said.

The Young Socialists here are planning to attend a November 21-22 protest in Fort Benning, Georgia, that is demanding that the School of the Americas, a U.S. Army training school, be closed. "We will have a statement explaining why opposing the existing U.S. war drive against Iraq is the most important activity young people can engage in today," said Paul Crawford, a leader of the YS here. "We will be selling New International no. 7, `Opening Guns of World War III: Washington's Assault on Iraq,' which explains why we should oppose the horrors of war. Youth have to fight against imperialism, especially U.S. imperialism."

Arlene Rubinstein

*****
AUCKLAND - "Why won't they leave Iraq alone?" said an Engineers Union worker at the Fisher and Paykel refrigeration plant in Auckland as he and Militant supporter Terry Coggan discussed Washington's buildup in the Gulf. Previously this worker had spoken in favor of imperialist attacks on the Middle Eastern country. The next day he decided to buy a copy of New International no. 7.

Several days later, November 14, some 30 people chanted "Hands Off Iraq" outside the U.S. consulate in Auckland, in an action called by the Gulf Crisis Committee. The crowd, which included many young people, held placards calling for an end to military assaults, UN inspections, and the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq.

Speakers emphasized that although attacks had been called off, the imperialist armada in the region had been beefed up and was now on a hair trigger. The New Zealand government had placed 70 troops and two Orion surveillance aircraft, already stationed in the Gulf, on standby to join the aggression if called on.

Several participants seized the megaphone to speak out against the policy of Washington and Wellington. "Iraq has been under sanctions for eight years.... How many Iraqi people will die? How many Iraqi people will suffer?" said Iraqi immigrant Nidhal Alusi, one of several people from the Middle East attending the protest.

Patrick O'Neill

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CHICAGO - On November 17 about 75 people picketed outside the federal building in downtown Chicago, protesting the U.S. government's course toward a military assault on Iraq. Among the chants at the protest were: "No bombing, no sanctions, no war against Iraq" and "End the sanctions now! U.S. out of Iraq."

To widespread agreement, Robert Bossie, a member of the 8th Day Center for Justice and one of the initiators of the action, called for another protest should the U.S. attack Iraq, which many speakers at the rally noted to be likely. The protest will be at 4:30 p.m. on the day of any attack. It will again be at the federal building in downtown Chicago.

Similar actions took place this week across the United States.

Joshua Carroll

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