March On the Pentagon
March against the War on March 21
During his presidential campaign, Obama’s popularity soared with the promise that he would bring the troops home from Iraq within 16 months. But his recently announced plan would continue the illegal occupation indefinitely. It would leave up to 50,000 troops in that war-torn country for who knows how many years. And it would delay the withdrawal of the first batch of troops for 18 months. The remaining forces would no longer be called “combat troops” but rather “advisory and assistance brigades”. Make no mistake, all U.S. troops are “combat troops” and these forces, along with thousands of U.S. contractors and mercenaries are to remain to staff U.S. bases and the mega-Embassy, shore up the puppet government, conduct “counter insurgency” operations, and ensure continued protection of US economic interests. The numbers can go up or down at any time and the draw down time-table can be revised. "When President Obama said we were going to get out within 16 months, some people heard, 'get out,' and everyone's gone. But that is not going to happen,” said a senior military officer. This plan doesn’t "leave Iraq to its people and responsibly end this war,” as Obama claimed during his Feb. 24 Congressional address. Instead, it entrenches the U.S. in a brutal counter-insurgency war for oil that helped to bankrupt our country and sends an endless stream of Americans to continue dying and killing. It prolongs the U.S. policy of domination over Iraq, and the region.
At the same time, Secretary of Defense Gates and President Obama announced their plan to deploy an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan — that's a 50 percent increase — despite the fact that the Department of Defense has no exit strategy. Only 34% of the American people approved this move, according to a CBS/Washington Post Feb. 17 poll. And the U.S. is expanding the covert war run by the CIA inside neighboring Pakistan with increasing numbers of aerial bombing attacks. President Obama is maintaining the fundamental strategic orientation by keeping the Bush team — Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Generals Petraeus and Odierno — on the job to oversee and manage the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations. We don’t need phony time-tables for withdrawal some day. We demand Out Now! Let the people of these nations determine their own destiny and control their own resources. The U.S. government, the American people, the Afghanis, and the Iraqi people need to hear our voices of opposition on March 21! Meanwhile, the U.S.-funded occupation and blockade of Gaza continues after a brutal weeks-long assault in which over 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians including 412 children, were killed, and the economy and infrastructure were destroyed. Even United Nations schools, food storage warehouses, and shelters were not spared from the onslaught of human rights crimes and violations of international law. Even now, the Israeli government refuses to open the borders to allow humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials. At the same time, plans to add 73,000 units to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank have accelerated. The people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine are struggling to rid themselves of deadly, racist occupations. Let us stand together with them, and say: Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine; Occupation is a Crime! Bring ALL the Troops Home NOW! The March 21 united mass actions are also needed to connect the massive war funding to the economic meltdown – to demand jobs for all; a moratorium on foreclosures; rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure; guaranteed, quality health care for all; quality education, an end to the ICE raids and deportations; and funding for sorely needed social programs. So long as trillions of dollars continue to be spent on wars, occupations, and bailouts to the banks and corporate elite, the domestic needs of the people of the U.S. can never be met. The National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations has joined a broadening alliance of hundreds of coalitions, organizations, and networks in a united MARCH 21 NATIONAL COALITION to mobilize people across the United States to take part in a March on the Pentagon on the sixth year of the military invasion and occupation of the Iraq War: Saturday, March 21. Demonstrations will also be held on that date in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities across the U.S. Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation! For updated information on the March 21demonstrations (buses, flyers, endorsers, etc.), and the coalition, including labor unions, peace and anti-war groups, student, veterans’ and community groups and more, go to www.pentagonmarch.org Greetings: The March on the Pentagon and the demonstrations in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities scheduled for Saturday, March 21 – marking the beginning of the 7th year of war and occupation of Iraq – are now only weeks away. This is a time for peace activists across the country to go allout in helping to publicize and build these actions. You can start by endorsing March 21, if you and your organization have not done so already. A mass movement in the streets is needed now more than ever if we are to succeed in getting U.S. troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, ending U.S. support for Israel's occupation of Palestine, preventing further attacks on Pakistan, and stopping a war against Iran. The occupation of Iraq continues with every indication that the new administration intends to stay there indefinitely. Meanwhile, 30,000 additional U.S. troops are to be sent to Afghanistan. The whole world watched with horror as Israel massacred thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, using weapons of mass destruction provided by Washington. And only days after the inauguration, orders were given to bomb Pakistan, resulting in 21 deaths, most of them women and children. March 21 provides concerned people throughout the country an opportunity to let the world know that opposition to these U.S. policies of war, occupation, intervention and expansionism exists and is determined to be heard. It lets the beleaguered people in those countries where the U.S. is an oppressor know that there is an American antiwar movement that does not forget their needs for peace and national sovereignty. That is a message we must also send to the new administration. The size of the turnout on the 21st will be critical if we are to help make a difference. So we count on you to do whatever you can to build highly visible mass actions and to ensure that they are as large, vocal and spirited as possible. There are March 21 committees and coalitions already formed or being formed in many areas working to publicize the event and send people to one of the demonstration sites. We encourage you to join or organize such a grouping in your locale. The National Assembly, as one of many initiators of March 21, is going all out to make the actions as large as possible. Please send endorsements to our website at www.natassembly.org, where an endorsement form is provided, or by writing natassembly@aol.com. While we would like to have these endorsements for our records so that we can keep everyone updated regarding National Assembly activities, we will also forward them to the March 21 National Coalition website at www.PentagonMarch.org, where the latest list of endorsers can be viewed. In solidarity, Jerry Gordon Secretary, National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations P.S. Check out the National Assembly website to see our statement on Gaza, get information on March 21 st organizing, learn about our July 10-12 national antiwar conference in Pittsburgh, make a donation, and participate in our discussion blog. Bring All the Troops Home Now!
We cannot afford another quagmire.
Please join us in Washington, SF, and LA on March 21!
End U.S. support for the occupation of Palestine!
No war on Iran or Pakistan!
For more information about the National Assembly, visit our website: www.natassembly.org
The actions are needed to assure the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and other countries threatened by Washington’s expansionist policies that tens of millions of people in this country support their right to settle their own destinies without U.S. interventions, occupations and murderous wars. International law recognizes – and we demand – that the U.S. respect the right to self-determination. We reject any notion that the U.S. is the world’s self-appointed cop. 
February 4, 2009
