St. Paul, MN – On August 18, representatives from Twin Cities anti-war groups and the local Afghan community gathered at the Lake Street-Marshall Avenue bridge to hold a press conference on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan. The event was part of a weekly peace vigil organized by Women Against Military Madness.

Days earlier, the U.S.-backed Afghan government and Afghan National Army collapsed in the face of a nationwide offensive by resistance forces led by the Taliban, after the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from the country. The Taliban’s quick success effectively brought an end to nearly 20 years of U.S. occupation and returned the group to power for the first time since 2001.

This led to a chaotic situation at Kabul’s international airport, where remnants of U.S. occupation forces violently attacked crowds of Afghan civilians who hoped to flee the country, killing at least five.

Naweed Ahmadzai, a first-generation Afghan American born to parents who were educators during the first Taliban regime, spoke at the Saint Paul press conference. “No one has taken responsibility for the situation Afghanistan is now in, not even the president of the United States. And this was all while there were Afghans literally hanging from the wings of a U.S. plane as it took off, as we all saw. Now this is not on anyone but us. We must hold Joe Biden accountable, Trump accountable, Obama accountable and the ones before accountable,” he said.

Wyatt Miller of the Anti-War Committee criticized the U.S. government’s retaliatory seizure of Afghanistan’s foreign holdings, saying, “None of this will help Afghanistan. If anything the U.S. owes Afghanistan reparations for what it’s done. But at the heart of it all is sovereignty and self-determination, two things the U.S. needs to learn how to respect and value before it will ever be able to engage with the world as anything other than a bully and a predator.”

Amina Baha, an Afghan American living in Minneapolis, also spoke and encouraged people to demand support for Afghan refugees, concluding, “Please pray for Afghanistan, show up for Afghanistan, save Afghanistan.”

The press conference announced that on Saturday, August 28 at 4 p.m., the local Afghan community will hold a demonstration at Loring Park in Minneapolis to demand protection for Afghan refugees and for the U.S. to be held accountable for its destructive occupation.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #Asia #PeoplesStruggles #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #AfghanistanWar #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – The Twin Cities Anti-War Committee sent a letter to Minnesota’s Representative Ilhan Omar, May 6, urging her to withdraw her support for a letter that furthers AIPAC’s lobbying efforts to continue sanctions against Iran.

The letter states, “We strongly urge you to unsign AIPAC's statement and to stand with Representatives Betty McCullom, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and the few others brave enough to reject AIPAC’s roadmap to an increase in sanctions against Iran.”

“In the face of the world superpowers’ saber-rattling, we should defend Iran’s desire to protect itself and its people against the horrors and calamities inflicted on Iraq, Libya and dozens of other countries invaded in the name of ‘human rights’. The AIPAC letter claims that Iran is responsible for destabilizing the region, but the U.S. government has been the one invading countries, propping up dictators, and flooding the region with weapons. We emphatically detest the notion contained in the AIPAC letter that Iran is responsible for destabilization in the Middle East,” the Anti-War Committee’s letter declares.

The letter concludes, “We have rallied in your defense multiple times when you were threatened by right-wing opposition (including AIPAC), and when you were denied access to Palestine. In your re-election race, we anticipate being asked by our supporters what your positions are on foreign policy. Prior to this, we thought we understood your positions and were generally supportive of them, but now we are concerned that you might be willing to sacrifice your politics in order to be perceived as more ‘moderate’ on the campaign trail and more acceptable to Zionist voters. We request an online/virtual meeting to discuss your foreign policy positions within a month of receiving this letter.”

#MinneapolisMN #International #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Iran #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #AIPAC #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #DonaldTrump #IlhanOmar

The Anti-War Committee calls on its supporters to demand Congress and the Trump administration immediately cease all support for Saudi Arabia’s military assault on Yemen.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia, with the support of President Obama, began waging a ruthless war against Yemen, with the goal of protecting Saudi and U.S. shipping, oil, and imperialist interests in the Middle East. The invasion began in reaction to the September 21 Revolution of 2014, when the Houthi movement for Yemeni self-determination, which for years had protested growing Saudi influence over Yemeni society, led a takeover of the most populous areas of Yemen including government institutions in the capital Sanaa. The war has been waged by a so-called “coalition” of Saudi-aligned governments in the region, together with the United States, and has involved a brutal aerial bombing campaign, a ground invasion and a blockade of Yemeni seaports.

While the ground assault has failed to capture significant territory from the Houthi-aligned forces, the aerial assaults—which have persisted for nearly four years—have destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure along with countless lives.

War on Yemen has Created a Grave Human Rights Crisis

International monitors have documented Saudi bombings of Yemeni refugee camps, hospitals, funeral processions, school buses, and many other civilian targets. Casualties from individual bombings have climbed into the hundreds; tens of thousands of Yemenis are estimated to have been killed overall.

The U.S./Saudi coalition has also blockaded seaports of the Houthi-held areas of Yemen, preventing food and medical supplies from reaching millions of people. As a result, famine has spread across Yemen, with international aid organizations estimating that hundreds of children die of malnutrition daily, and that 14 million Yemenis—half of the pre-war population—are at risk of starvation.

Adding to the carnage, the U.S./Saudi war and blockade have caused what international medical groups have deemed the worst cholera outbreak in human history, with over one million cases and thousands of deaths.

End U.S. Military Intervention!

None of this could have taken place without the initiative, weapons, intelligence, and approval of the United States. The U.S. supplies targeting information and intelligence for Saudi attacks, refuels Saudi planes in the air, has deployed Navy destroyers in the blockade, and supplies arms and training to Saudi forces. There are even U.S. “boots on the ground” near the Yemeni border. As of early 2018, about a dozen Green Beret commandos were stationed in Saudi Arabia along the Yemen border.

Historically the Saudi regime has proven itself a willing partner of NATO powers, chiefly of the United States. The war on Yemen is no exception, as it willingly aids the US in its bid to cement its domination of the oil-rich Middle East and the strategic Gulf of Aden shipping lanes, where Yemen’s southwest coastline forms a narrow choke point connecting Europe to Asia’s ports. Both the US and Saudi Arabia have also been eager to portray the war on Yemen as part of their long-standing beleaguerment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which neoconservative warmongers and regime-changers for decades have sought to punish for its rejection of Washington’s diktats.

In 2017, Trump and Saudi rulers crafted a US arms sales deal totaling $350 billion, all to fuel the profits of CEOs and shareholders of big corporations like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. These arms sales continue the direct complicity of the United States government in Saudi war crimes against Yemen.

Khashoggi’s Case Sheds Light on Horrors of War in Yemen

Meanwhile, the outcry from U.S. media and political leaders about the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been naive at best, and hypocritical and deceitful at worst. While his murder has led to some increased scrutiny of the war on Yemen, the shock being expressed belies the U.S. government’s years-long collusion in exactly the sort of violence and human rights abuses Khashoggi was silenced for writing about. Unsurprisingly, on November 14, House Republicans moved to block a vote to end US military involvement in Yemen under the War Powers Act. While a separate bill in the Senate would end arms sales for Saudi use in Yemen, the bill simultaneously threatens to levy even more sanctions on Iran—sanctions that are already choking off medical and humanitarian supplies—over its alleged support for the Houthi movement. We demand an end to US wars and blockades, with no exceptions!

No Ban, No Bombs, No War!

While continuing the war on Yemen, President Trump has outlawed Yemenis from traveling to the U.S. under his racist Muslim ban. It is criminal for the U.S. to bomb and attack other countries and then turn away refugees when the U.S. has destroyed their homelands! It is outrageous for Trump to ban Yemenis from traveling to the U.S. while destroying their country and starving their people. Trump, since the campaign trail, has painted the Middle East and Muslims in general as “terrorists” and this anti-Muslim rhetoric and this racist travel ban are legitimizing the increase in hate crimes and hate speech against our Muslim neighbors. We cannot be silent in the face of this bigotry! We need to speak out against the racist Muslim ban and the foreign policies which cause refugees to flee.

Take Action!

We at the Anti-War Committee know that the Congress will only end US support for Saudi Arabia if we demand with a united voice: STOP SUPPORTING THE WAR ON YEMEN!

Call Senator Amy Klobuchar at 202-224-3244 and Senator Tina Smith at 202- 224-5641 to tell them to vote against all aid to Saudi Arabia and to voice opposition to US coordination in the war on Yemen.

#TwinCities #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #Yemen #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #SaudiArabia #DonaldTrump

Minneapolis, MN – The Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee marked the upcoming International Human Rights Day on Dec. 6 with a community march to highlight the U.S. government’s abysmal human rights record. Chants and speakers addressed the recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson and New York, the U.S. role in funding war and destruction abroad and the consequences of these policies here at home on social spending. Protesters rallied at Bryant Square Park, marched on Lake Street and then had a concluding rally at Karmel West.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, an organizer with the Anti-War Committee, explained the importance of this year’s rally, “It’s important to talk about the U.S.’s horrible human rights record every year, but this year we have seen thousands of people in Minnesota take to the streets demanding an end to U.S.-sponsored human rights abuses in Palestine and to demand an end to police murders of African Americans in the U.S. There is a relationship between the warfare the U.S. sponsors abroad and what is happening in communities of color throughout this country and people want to take to the streets to demand social justice and real change.”

Laye Kwamina, a Minneapolis Southwest High School student, read an original poem which moved audience members to tears about the realities for African American men in the U.S. Kwamina is one of the organizers for the Dec. 8 student rally at the downtown Minneapolis Library against police brutality and he encouraged participants to continue protesting against police brutality.

Karmel Sabri, a Palestinian American activist with the Anti-War Committee explained at the closing rally how U.S. tax dollars sponsor Israeli military human rights abuses.

Jim Dimock, an anti-war activist and professor at Minnesota State University Mankato, spoke about human rights conditions in Colombia and the disastrous role that U.S. economic and military aid play in fanning the flames of Colombia’s civil war. The Anti-War Committee will be holding a more in-depth report-back with Dimock in January.

Mary Beaudoin, editor of the Women Against Military Madness newsletter, attended the recent trial of Rasmea Odeh and spoke out against the countless injustices visited on Odeh in her trial. Beaudoin called on the protesters to continue to demand #justice4Rasmea.

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and was endorsed by the Coalition for Palestinian Rights, the MN Immigrant Rights Action Coalition, the MN Peace Action Coalition, U of M Students for a Democratic Society, U of M Students for Justice in Palestine, Women Against Military Madness and the Welfare Rights Committee.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #EricGarner #Ferguson #InternationalHumanRightsDay

Columbia Heights, MN – 175 people gathered here Sept. 5, in the heart of the Twin Cities Arab community, for a rally and march in solidarity with Palestine, organized by the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee (AWC). Just a week after a ceasefire agreement ended Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza, community members demanded that Israel be held accountable for war crimes and that there be an end to U.S. aid to Israel. They also called for a renewed commitment to a Boycott Divest Sanctions (BDS) movement that can help bring an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid.

According to Palestinian officials, the Israeli assault on Gaza had a terrible toll: More than 2200 Palestinians died and 11,000 were injured. 540,000 Palestinians were displaced and many of those have since seen their homes destroyed. “Hospitals, apartment buildings, schools and mosques were all targeted by U.S.-made bombs dropped by the Israeli military in their latest offensive. The Israeli military went after Gaza's water treatment center and power plant. Israel receives $8.5 million in military aid every day from the U.S. government that enables such atrocities,” said Sabry Wazwaz, a longtime Palestinian activist with the AWC.

According to Jennie Eisert, organizer with the AWC, “The siege failed to kill the spirit of the people of Gaza. Israel was forced to make concessions it had been unwilling to consider previously.” She added that Palestinians continue to need international solidarity. “Israel must be held accountable for the war crimes carried out this summer. They must be held to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, and the U.S. government must also be held accountable for giving political cover and monetary aid to the massacre. We will stand with Palestine until there is an end to the Israeli occupation and apartheid, and every Palestinian is assured the right to return.”

Mariam Al Khatib, of American Muslims for Palestine-MN and University of Minnesota Students for Justice in Palestine, addressed the crowd first, “I would like to turn this gathering into a celebration of victory. Yes, Gaza won! Palestine won! And all the nations and people that supported justice and freedom for Palestine have won. This was a battle and a struggle against this occupation. Gaza is wounded – the death, injuries and destruction. We need to carry on and go beyond the demonstrations and expose the reality and the evil nature of the Israeli Occupation. Long live Palestine! Free free Palestine!”

Ashraf Abuhadid reported on his recent visit to the West Bank, where he witnessed repression, racism and mob violence against Palestinians. He described the resilience of Gazans he met, who were in West Bank hospitals, recovering from horrific injuries caused by Israeli bombing of Shuja’iyya and other Gaza neighborhoods.

Jess Sundin spoke for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, to demand justice for Chicago’s Palestinian community leader, Rasmea Odeh. She described the immigration charges against Odeh as unbelievable, and urged those present to join her in Detroit, for an Oct. 2 hearing, and later, for the trial which is set to begin on Nov. 4. “It is shameful that the U.S. government would prosecute her for the crimes committed against her by the Zionist state of Israel. When we stand with Rasmea, we are standing with Palestine. When we fight for Rasmea, we are fighting for Palestine.” The crowd then chanted, “Justice for Rasmea, drop the charges now!”

Elizabeth Geschiere of Minnesota Break the Bonds called for renewed efforts to isolate Israel through boycott, sanctions and divestment. Break the Bonds is working to end Minnesota state investments in Israel. A protest on the morning of Sept. 9 will target a State Board of Investments meeting at the State Capitol.

Mel Reeves is a community activist who has led some of the local efforts against police killings as well as the movement to demand justice for Mike Brown, killed by police last month in Ferguson, Missouri. Well aware of expressions of between protesters in Ferguson and the besieged people of Gaza, the crowd cheered his speech.

Two incredible poets, Iraqi Humom Asamarai and Palestinian Tala Alfoqaha also contributed their inspiring words to the program.

After the rally, protesters took to the streets, and marched down Central Avenue, where they slowed traffic and were seen by thousands.

The Anti-War Committee plans another rally for Palestine on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1:00 p.m., in Loring Park, Minneapolis.

#ColumbiaHeightsMN #Palestine #Israel #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #FreePalestine #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people jointed a protest in front of the Federal Building here, May 15, to mark the 66th anniversary of Al Nakba. Organized by the Twin Cites based Anti-War Committee, the demonstration called for an end of U.S. aid to Israel and for justice for Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh. Al Nakba, Arabic for “the Catastrophe,” marks the Zionist terror that accompanied the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine in 1948 and the founding of Israel.

Emcee Sabry Wazwaz of the Anti-War Committee led the crowd in chanting, “Long live Palestine.” Misty Rowan, also from the Anti-War Committee stated, “So let me just say it loud and clear for everybody here today. Israel is an apartheid state. They discriminate, they abuse, they continue to take land and build illegal settlements and a separation wall – that is supposedly for their own safety but is really just another way to gobble up land.”

Tracy Molm spoke for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. She condemned the government prosecution of the prominent Chicago Palestinian leader Rasmea Odeh on trumped up charges and urged people to come to her June 10 trial in Detroit. Around the U.S., other events marking Al Nakba also demanded justice for Rasmea Odeh.

Sarah Martin, of the Women Against Military Madness Middle East Committee, told the crowd, “It’s time for us to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and demand an end to the occupation. The Zionist project was costly and bloody. It failed. It cannot continue to occupy Palestinian land and deny Palestinians the most basic of human rights, to return and live in their own homes.”

Mariam Al Khatib of Students for Justice in Palestine spoke of the growing movement on campus in support of Palestine.

The Anti War Committee Al Nakba protest was endorsed by American Muslims for Palestine (MN), Freedom Road Socialist Organization, MN Committee to Stop FBI Repression, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Peace Action Coalition, Socialist Action, U of M Students for a Democratic Society, U of M Students for Justice in Palestine, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27, Welfare Rights Committee and Women Against Military Madness.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #AlNakba #RasmeaOdeh #MiddleEast

St. Paul, MN – With the wind chill at 15 degrees below zero, about 30 peace and justice activists gathered here, Jan. 23. Their slogan, “No U.S. Drones in Mali, No U.S. intervention in Mali” was the week’s theme of the Peace Vigil that happens every Wednesday on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge across the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

“U.S. and western intervention, including drone strikes, will not lead to peace In Mali,” said Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness.

Marie Braun, an activist with Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign, explained the reason for the protest in her speech at the bridge: “We are focusing on Mali today because of our government’s decision to support the French military action in Mali by providing them with surveillance and other intelligence, transport troops and military equipment, and possibly aerial refueling and drones.”

Drones are a growing part of U.S. intervention around the world. The U.S. has carried out extensive drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, leading to many civilian deaths.

Braun went on to explain, “And again as usual, this intervention on the part of the French and the U.S. is about resources. North Africa and West Africa and its valuable resources are going to be the focus of the U.S. government for many years to come. U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM – set up in 2007 – has already turned Africa into a web of U.S. bases and other operations with approximately 5000 U.S. military and Department of Defense personnel working across the continent at any one time. It is important to also understand the situations in both Mali and Algeria are about blowback – at least in part, the consequences of the U.S. bombing and policy of regime change in Libya. Military attacks and military interventions always lead to terrible consequences…death, destruction, hundreds of thousands of refugees and extreme suffering on the part of the people. Military action was not the answer in Iraq or Afghanistan, and it is not the answer in Mali or any other country.”

The event was organized by Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign. The Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Occupy the Hood, Veterans for Peace and others co-sponsored the action.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #USImperialism #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #Mali #France

Minneapolis, MN – About 75 people rallied here Dec. 8, the weekend before International Human Rights Day, to say no to the U.S. using human rights to justify wars and sanctions.

Jess Sundin, of the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee told the crowd, “With war or sanctions, the U.S. is not looking to liberate the peoples of Iran and Syria, any more than it was doing this in Viet Nam and Iraq. These countries are targets because they assert their independence from the will of Washington. Just as human rights are founded on respect for human dignity and equality, the anti-war movement must found itself on respecting the dignity and equality of nations, upholding the right to self-determination.”

Sundin emphasized, “The U.S. government can never be a champion of human rights.”

Sarah Martin, of the Women Against Military Madness Middle East Committee stated, “The objective of the U.S.-NATO alliance is to ultimately replace the independent secular Syrian state with a complaint regime. Syria has fiercely supported self-determination for Palestine. It is a strong ally of Hezbollah and Iran. It does not do the bidding of Israel or the U.S. Thrusting Syria into helpless chaos is part of the preparation of an eventual war against Iran.”

Sundin and Martin are among the Twin Cities anti-war activists who were raided by the FBI and called before a Chicago grand jury investigating “material support of terrorism.” Mick Kelly, who was also raided by the FBI, denounced the federal investigation into anti-war and international solitary activities as violation of human rights and an attempt to criminalize solidarity.

The event, which included a ten-block march thought the surrounding neighborhood, was organized by the Anti-War Committee. Endorsers included the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Communities United Against Police Brutality, the Joe Callahan Support Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, National Lawyers Guild (MN Chapter), U of MN Students for a Democratic Society, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 and Women Against Military Madness.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #HumanRightsDay

Minneapolis, MN – Holding signs and banners, around 50 people joined an anti-war protest here, Oct. 11, in front of the office of Senator Klobuchar. The protest, organized by the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, coincided with the week of the 11th anniversary of the war on Afghanistan.

In addition to demanding an end to the occupation of Afghanistan, protesters demanded, “Money for human needs, not war,” and for no wars with Syria or Iran.

Jess Sundin of the Anti-War Committee told the crowd that, before the protest, a delegation of peace activists met with Senator Klobuchar's representatives and they said the senator supports the sanctions on Iran, is not opposed to more U.S. intervention with Syria, and is against an immediate end to the occupation of Afghanistan. “She is no friend of the anti-war movement,” said Sundin.

Long time peace activist Marie Braun said that the sanctions on Iran are a form of warfare, and stated, “Let us raise our voices together and say no to sanctions, no to war.”

Brad Sigal, of the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression talked about the need to build a strong anti-war movement and the need to push back against the FBI and grand jury attacks on anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Sarah Martin, one of the anti-war activists who was subpoenaed to a grand jury shortly after Sept. 24, 2010, announced that the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression will hold a protest Oct. 25 at 4:30 pm, in front of the Federal Court House in downtown Minneapolis to demand justice for the Holy Land 5.

The protest at Klobuchar's office was endorsed by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Joe Callahan Defense Committee, Military Families Speak Out, MN Peace Action Coalition, Socialist Action, U of M Students for a Democratic Society, the Welfare Rights Committee, and Women Against Military Madness.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #AfghanistanWar #HolyLandFive #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee