Jim Lambrecht
New Jersey
 
 
Defend Sami Al-Arian
On Saturday, March 8, the Militant Labor Forum in Tampa held a speak-out to defend Dr. Sami Al-Arian and the other three Palestinians indicted by the U.S. government on phony "terrorism" charges. Speakers included John Benson, who is covering the story for the Militant, and Lawrence Mikesh, who represented the Róger Calero Defense Committee. Among the audience were a student, two professors, and a librarian from the University of South Florida (USF), where Al-Arian was a tenured professor until his suspension and banning from the campus in the fall of 2001.

One professor, who had welcomed Calero to USF when he visited Tampa in January, asked whether the Immigration and Natralization Service would be influenced by the international support that Calero has won given the "little apparent impact of antiwar demonstrations around the world." Another Calero supporter said that he thought defense cases in the United States today help participants in the antiwar protests to see the war in class terms.

The forum was covered briefly by CBS on the 11:00 p.m. news.

Rachele Fruit
Tampa, Florida
 
 
Drive to World War III
In speaking about the growing tensions between the imperialist powers that are threatening to explode into a World War III, the Militant points out that the capitalists will have to deal qualitative blows to the working class (a defeat) before being able to engage into their all out conflict for the redivision of the world.

If we retain the escalation to World War I, is it not possible for the rulers of each imperialist country to engage a third world war without having to deal immediately with the working class at home? After all, the Russian Revolution, and the revolutionary wave that followed it, came after hundreds of thousands had been slaughtered.

Dimitris Fasfalis
Montreal, Quebec

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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