Obama has committed up to 300 special operations troops. Navy Seals, Green Berets and Army Rangers are likely to end up in conflict zones to advise and train the local Iraqi security forces. Obama also stated that “potential targets” are being sought for “targeted and precise military actions.” Having already positioned military assets into that region, there’s a distinct possibility that the U.S. will bring drone warfare to the Iraqi people.

Obama hailed the role the U.S. is playing in Yemen, where drone strikes are already massacring the civilian population. Should we expect the U.S. to begin targeting Iraqi weddings like the Yemen massacre last December?

Much of the president's speech was coded in vague statements about “national security interests,” “humanitarian interests,” and “counterterrorism interests.” One should characterize the situation in Iraq as a direct result of U.S. intervention. The previous wars in Iraq were fought to enrich U.S. corporations at the costs of millions of Iraqi lives lost. Obama was quick to forget the Iraqi cost when he invoked the 4500 “American patriots” who were sacrificed for the U.S. empire. Actions taken by the U.S. in the present period are taken only to protect what they have plundered, take control of the land, labor, or natural resources of others.

The U.S. government has a long history of justifying military intervention in other countries by presenting itself as a beacon of morality. This is a lie. The disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are a clear example of what happens when the U.S. invades and occupies.

Anti-war activists in cities around the country are preparing protests to oppose to more U.S. intervention. Progressive people should join together and respond with a loud and clear voice. Hands off Iraq!

#ProvoUT #AntiwarMovement #Iraq #BarackObama #MiddleEast

Provo, UT – Students and community members protested in front of the Wells Fargo building on April 6 to voice their opposition to Wells Fargo’s hypocritical marketing. Wells Fargo deeply invests in privately owned prisons through firms like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison company in the U.S.

CCA operates several immigrant detention centers throughout the country while financially backing anti-immigrant legislation such as Arizona’s infamous Senate Bill 1070. SB 1070 promotes racial profiling of Chicanos, Mexicans and American Indians and gives police the power to arrest based on whether individuals are carrying identification documents. Wells Fargo and the CCA want more arrests, to increase the numbers of people in immigrant detention centers, thereby raising revenues and profits.

The Utah Valley Dream Team, an immigrant rights organization, led the protest with the Revolutionary Students Union (Utah Valley University chapter) supporting them.

Wells Fargo also advertises extensively in Spanish-language media, informing listeners that they do not need an ID to open up a bank account. At the same time, Wells Fargo is financing the state laws and immigrant detention centers, leading to the harassment, detention and deportation of undocumented workers.

According to event organizer Augustino Diaz, “We gathered to expose Wells Fargo’s financing of private prisons and lobbying efforts that separate and destroy families, especially in the undocumented community.”

During the protest members of the Dream Team closed their accounts with Wells Fargo, informing the bankers that they would be moving their money elsewhere due to the company’s investment in privately owned prisons.

#ProvoUT #CapitalismAndEconomy #InJusticeSystem #WellsFargo #RevolutionaryStudentsUnion #CorrectionsCorporationOfAmerica #UtahValleyDreamTeam