Representative Ellison opened the meeting by explaining his decision to vote for bombing Syria. His reasons follow the administration’s line. He said, “Every country has an obligation to defend its citizens from mass atrocities and when they don’t the U.S. has the responsibility to do it by force if necessary.”

Ed Felien cited the reports which dispute the claims the Syrian government used sarin gas and asked, “How'd you get your evidence?” Ellison replied that he got it from the Syrian American community.

John Kolstad called on Ellison to call for the release of the documents which the administration claim shows the Syria government is guilty of using chemical weapons. He recalled Representative Alan Grayson’s (Democrat from Florida) Sept. 5 questioning of Secretary of State John Kerry, at the House hearing on releasing the communication report of the Syrian generals, which some sources say contradicts the administration version.

One activist asked, “Are we going to drop DU [depleted uranium], white phosphorous and cluster bombs – all weapons of mass destruction – to deal with weapons of mass destruction?”

Steve McKeown of Vets for Peace questioned why Ellison is so ready to bomb Syria because of their alleged use of sarin gas when he won’t see vets outside his district who suffer from Agent Orange.

Bruce Nestor from the National Lawyers Guild of Minnesota noted that it’s against international law to go to war without authorization from the UN. He said, “Would it have been OK if Russia or China had shot missiles at U.S. troops to stop the slaughter of 100,000 Iraqis by the U.S. and NATO?”

Margaret Sarfehjooy of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) said, “Hagel has said this will not be a pin prick. Will it be like shock and awe? You will have blood on your hands.”

Sarah Martin of WAMM said, “You are on the wrong side of history. The U.S. public, the world and many governments including the UN oppose this rush to war.”

A protest opposing the war will be held at Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street on Saturday Sept. 7 from 12:30 to 1:30 In Minneapolis. This will be the fourth demonstration against war on Syria this week.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Syria #RepKeithEllison #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons

Minneapolis, MN – More than 175 people came to the event “Iran in the Crosshairs” on Oct. 19 to hear from anti-war activists and Congressman Keith Ellison (Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota) about how to stop the U.S. march to war.

Margaret Sarfehjooy with Women Against Military Madness laid out the context of U.S. war threats and sanctions on Iran. “Our crippling sanctions on Iran have already resulted in deaths caused by lack of medicine, according to an official from the Tehran Thalassemia Association. The Iranian Hemophilia Society announced in August that ‘the lives of tens of thousands of children are being endangered by the lack of proper drugs caused by international economic sanctions.’”

Representative Keith Ellison spoke about the atmosphere of war in the U.S. Congress and about the pressure he is under to support war. He explained that anyone who proposes a sanctions bill gets a hearing and that everyone in Congress is pressured to vote for any kind of sanctions.

Ellison has voted against sanctions on Iran twice and he explained his votes. He didn’t promise to vote against sanctions on Iran in the future, but he did say, “It’s easier to vote no if you know you have the backing of your community.” He did promise, “I’m not going to vote for sanctions that will make it harder for the U.S. to talk.”

Ellison concluded that he thinks the U.S. is on a path to war with Iran and that he sees pushing sanctions as leading the U.S. to war.

Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee concluded the event with an impassioned appeal for action, “We need to be a voice for peace and justice. We cannot be passive. We cannot assume that our leaders will do the right thing. The threat of war and the impact of sanctions already in place on Iran are very real. When we are silent we send a message that the status quo is acceptable and we know that there is a real possibility of war and we can’t be quiet about this. We need to raise the demand of no war with Iran on the national and state level.”

The Minnesota Peace Project, the Twin Cities Peace Campaign and Women Against Military Madness sponsored the event.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Iran #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #sanctions #RepKeithEllison #USCongress

Minneapolis, MN – Members and supporters of the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression participated in the Heart of the Beast Annual Mayday Parade and festival, receiving an enthusiastic response. Committee members carried a giant puppet of an FBI agent and dressed as witches, symbolizing the FBI and grand jury witch hunt that is being waged against anti-war and international solidarity activists. The parade is a longstanding community event.

Anh Pham, who helped to organize the Committee’s participation, said, “People cheered for the witches and shouted ‘Boo!’ at the FBI agent puppet. Mothers in the crowd were explaining to their children that the scary ‘agent’ was chasing after the nice peace activist and they were right to be afraid of the puppet. I felt like our message got across. People were really enthusiastic about our puppet and we will probably take him out for other summer festivals.”

Pham continued, “I was also really pleased when I spoke to former city council member from the Green Party, Dean Zimmerman, and U.S. Representative Keith Ellison before the parade and both signed the pledge to support us. Keith also signed a petition to the Minneapolis City Council that asked the city council to ask our representatives to speak out on our behalf. I hope more of our Minnesota congress people follow Keith's lead and write letters to Attorney General Holder or President Obama.”

Activists passed out more than 9000 flyers about the case and more than 150 people signed the [pledge against FBI and grand jury repression]( http://www.stopfbi.net/get-involved/pledge-of-resistance). The pledge is a commitment to take action if activists are compelled to appear in front of the Chicago grand jury headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, or in the event of indictments.

On Sept. 24, 2010, the FBI raided the homes of anti-war activists and international solidarity activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. To date, 23 activists have received subpoenas to appear in front of the Chicago grand jury. All of the activists have made it clear that they will not cooperate with this political witch hunt. For its part, the U.S. Attorney’s office has made it clear that it wants to indict the activists.

In cities around the U.S., members of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression participated in May Day events.

#MinneapolisMN #FBI #September24FBIRaids #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #RepKeithEllison