Workers' Liberty

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union conference in San Francisco has passed a motion “calling on unions and working people in the US and internationally to mobilize for a “No Peace No Work Holiday” on May 1, 2008 for 8 hours to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of US troops from the Middle East”.

On 5 March, a 300-plus strong general meeting of UCL Union passed a motion proposed by socialist activist Sham Rajyaguru, president of UCL’s Stop the War Society, to ban the Officer Training Corps, University Royal Navy Units, University of London Air Squadron and all other military organisations from freshers’ events and other union-sponsored events, union premises, and student-run media. Now the right of the union has responded by suspending left-wing General Secretary Sam Godwin.

March 17 1968. 20,000 gather in Trafalgar Square for a rally and march to the US Embassy in protest against the US war in Vietnam. The Square is full of the flags of the National Liberation Front (the “Vietcong”), who, only weeks previously had launched the Tet Offensive that had taken a largely rural guerilla war into the cities of Vietnam, getting as far as the gates of the US Embassy in the capital Saigon.

Respect Renewal MP George Galloway has been far from sympathetic to the case of Mehdi Kazemi, instead choosing to spew homophobic bile and defend the Iranian regime. Showing his complete contempt for human rights and democracy, he has levelled the ridiculous accusation that people campaigning against the deportation of Mehdi Kazemi are “the pink contingent of imperialism” — even though the protests are against our own government.

From Education Not For Sale

On 5 March, a 300-plus strong general meeting of UCL Union passed a motion proposed by socialist activist Sham Rajyaguru, president of UCL's Stop the War Society, to ban the Officer Training Corps, University Royal Navy Units, University of London Air Squadron and all other military organisations from freshers' events and other union-sponsored events, union premises, and student-run media. Now the right of the union has responded by suspending left-wing General Secretary Sam Godwin.

The left devotes much of its efforts to campaigning against imperialism, which is no surprise given the present foreign policy of the American and British governments.

It comes as no surprise that Gordon Brown’s comments about freedom to protest have turned out to be doublespeak and spin. The government is currently consulting — via a webpage! — on Sections 132-138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) (2005), which ban unauthorised protest within one square kilometre of Parliament. The consultation is being presented as a move to repeal the draconian laws. But the way the questions are posed in the consultation suggest that is actually an attempt to bring in far greater police powers in relation to “public order”.

Judging by the level of security they put on for the event, University of Sheffield management were obviously expecting a lecture on "the use of military force and the employment of air power" - delivered by RAF top-brass, professional warmonger and all-round ruling class wanker Air Marshall Stuart Peach CBE - to attract a few troublemakers.

Eve Garrard has circulated the following on the activists' e-list of the lecturers' union UCU (first published here 22/11/07). Our union is affiliated to the Stop the War Coalition, which is holding a conference on December 1st. One of the speakers it has invited to this conference is Ibrahim Mousawi, the editor of al-Manar TV, Hizbullah's broadcasting network.

US Vice-President Dick Cheney is reported to have thought up a clever scheme to launch an attack on Iran.

A Heathrow shop assistant who wrote poems glorifying terrorism on WHSmith till roll and possessed “terrorist handbooks” has been convicted under the 2000 Terrorism Act.

The government wants to extend the time for which terrorism suspects can be detained without charge from 28 to 56 days.

The Stop The War Coalition conference on 27 October featured Somaye Zadeh from the SWP-led group Campaign Iran telling us that “the lies about Iran” aren’t true.

Several thousand people, including many hundreds of London students, marched from Trafalgar Square to Parliament on 8 October as part of a Stop the War Coalition protest timed to coincide with Gordon Brown’s Commons statement on Iraq — in defiance of the police’s refusal to grant permission for the demonstration.

By Daniel Randall

Throughout the course of the debate leading up to AWL's 2007 AGM, and the debate at the AGM itself, it became obvious that many AWL members did not have a clear understanding of what those of us who held a minority position on Iraq were really advocating.

For Iraq — Troops Out Now? The Debate in AWL, click here

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched a criminal inquiry into the dodgy business practices of BAE Systems, the worlds fourth largest arms supplier.

The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty has been discussing the question of the troops in Iraq since the end of the last year. The debate will continue at our conference on 19-20 May. Here, two contributions to the debate (note: the second is not a reply to the first).

By Martin Thomas

It is hard to see how the Socialist Workers Party’s pamphlet No to Bush’s War could convince anyone not already “on side” to oppose the war in Afghanistan.

By Stan Crooke

Russia’s President Putin has threatened to target Russian nuclear missiles at European countries in response to American plans to deploy interceptor rockets in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic.

By Mark Osborn

John Pilger warns British citizens not to sit by while the government leads us all towards a crisis over Iran (Guardian 13 February also “Iran: a war is coming”, in New Statesman 1 February). In the process he gives us a good example of how the degenerate left gets it all so badly wrong.

By Martin Thomas

On Sunday 29 April, US troops in Baghdad fought a sizeable battle with Moqtada al-Sdar’s Shia-Islamist Mahdi Army. It was another indication that, as we reported in Solidarity 3/110, the US may be edging towards a “war on two fronts” in Iraq, against both the Sunni sectarian militias and the Mahdi Army.

by Colin Foster

In Iraq the USA is edging towards a war on two fronts. If that happens, the almost certain result will be another big lurch into further sectarian civil war and social chaos.

By John Moeller

A meeting in the Casa, the former headquarters of striking dockworkers in Liverpool. Nowadays it is the usual location for left wing events in town. The hall is so crowded that some listeners have to stay outside in the corridor. It might be triple the size of a normal lefty audience. Who has attracted this many people? It’s Mr David Shayler.

In this small article Lenin discusses the role of Russia and other European powers in China Lenin – “The War in China”. Changing what has to be changed, for example, bringing democracy rather than bringing Christianity, fighting insurgents and terrorists rather than rebels Lenin's article could today have been written by him about the involvement of the US and Uk in Iraq. His article also discusses the effect such actions have on the working classes of the countries involved in ways that are again familiar today. For example, he discusses the restrictions placed on workers similar to the way the "War on Terror" has been used to restrict Civil Liberties etc., he talks of the use of press stories attacking Chinese people, in the same way that the press today attack Muslims.

In an interview just aired on CNN Wolf Blitzer spoke to the respected US columnist Seymour Hersh of the "New Yorker". Hersh says that the US is already launching attacks on Iran from across the Iraqi border by Special Forces. Hersh also claims that the US has now changed tack in relation to Iran. Where previously the focus was on taking out Iranian nuclear facilities, the US is now looking to take out those Iranian facilities providing support for Shia groups inside Iraq.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358267.html reports:
"For what it's worth, the Law Lords have upheld the claim by the Fairford coaches passengers that the right to 'freedom of expression and lawful assembly' were violated when the filth turned back coaches and forced their return to London during an anti war demonstration at RAF Fairford."

Stop the slaughter!
Israel out of Lebanon!
Stop rocket attacks on Israeli civilians!

This is a demonstration against Israel and the USA. We are together here because we oppose the policy and "strategy" of Bush and Blair... most of the ideas and more or less all of the policies advocated by the leaders of the ‘Stop the War Coalition’ make no sense... You hold to some or all of the following ideas.