The images are searing. Helicopters ferrying diplomatic personnel from the U.S. Embassy while plumes of black smoke billow from the building. Taliban fighters with heavy artillery parade through the thoroughfares of provincial capitals. The International Airport, still under U.S. control, is in chaos as collaborators try storm planes to flee the country. In the space of a few weeks the puppet government collapsed, and its figureheads have vanished. The decades of occupation have come to an end. Those that fought to end it now sit at the former president’s desk.

The U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan was never the right thing to do. The events of September 11, 2001 served as a pretext for the war on Afghanistan, a war that was cruel and unjust. Before the troops arrived, U.S. planes unleashed bombs on the country’s cities, destroying hospitals clearly marked with red crosses on the roofs. The invasion came with the brutality of a medieval crusade – marked by torture and summary executions. The U.S. and its accomplices always treated the Afghan people as the enemy. That is why we are seeing what we are seeing. The vast majority of the Afghan people welcome the expulsion of the foreign occupiers.

The occupation was never about helping people. It was about the domination of a strategic region of the world that is rich with resources. Nothing complicated about it. Empires doing what they always do – help themselves to land, labor and natural resources of others.

At the end of the day, and the end of the occupation, the Taliban are in fact a national liberation movement. A movement with real defects, largely lacking an agenda of social liberation that is product of a long historical process, which includes U.S. intervention to defeat the left in Afghanistan. That said, the people of Afghanistan have the right to determine their own destiny free of imperial arrogance.

The main way for assessing any movement for national liberation is by asking and answering the question, “does it weaken imperialism?” Undoubtably monopoly capitalism, or imperialism, was just handed a setback in Afghanistan. The rich and powerful who rule the U.S. rob people aboard and they rob us here at home. What is bad for them, is good for the rest of us. Their setbacks bring us closer to freedom.

President Biden heading out of Afghanistan is not a mistake – it is the recognition of reality. The U.S., along with the other Western powers, were defeated long ago, and we are witnessing the end of that process.

There is something fundamental going on here – U.S. imperialism is in a period of decline, and that decline is accelerating. In Latin America, Cuba and Venezuela are standing strong, and others are joining in. The Palestinian resistance is picking up steam, along with the other resistance movements across the Mideast. The revolutionary struggle in the Philippines is growing. Socialist China grows more powerful. The world is changing.

The outstanding Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong remarked, “Now U.S. imperialism is quite powerful, but in reality, it isn't. It is very weak politically because it is divorced from the masses of the people and is disliked by everybody and by the American people too. In appearance it is very powerful but in reality, it is nothing to be afraid of, it is a paper tiger.”

That is where we are at today. People everywhere, including here at home, are tired of the obnoxious elite that rules the U.S. The paper tiger, monopoly capitalism, can and will be defeated. It will take time, but time is on our side.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Obama #Afghanistan #PeoplesStruggles #taliban #Bush #Trump #US #Biden #Asia

Tampa, FL – Activists from the Tampa Bay area organized a protest on June 27 in response to a U.S. intervention in Iraq. It was an emergency action in response to President Obama’s sending military advisors to Iraq, and the flying of U.S. drones over Baghdad.

Speakers addressed an array of issues, from President Obama’s continuation of U.S. wars,to the oppression of nations by imperialism, as well as anti-war activists facing political repression by the FBI—for speaking out against US wars.

“The US has no interest in the wellbeing of the Iraqi people, and the millions of dead Iraqis from the past 94 years of US and British domination are a testament to that,” said Gage Lacharite from Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

Jesse Nevel of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement facilitated the rally and stated, “Up with Iraqi liberation. Down with war and occupation” and described the US government’s foreign policy as “parasitic”, connecting current US imperialism to the history of enslaving and murdering African people.

Jessica Schwartz from Stop FBI – Tampa Bay talked about the U.S. government persecution of Arab Americans and Muslims for their political activity, as well as the Antiwar 23 who were raided by the FBI in 2010. “People fighting against the system and opposing U.S. wars, occupations, and military interventions like the one in Iraq are attacked by the US government, which prides itself on so-called ‘freedom of speech’”.

Marisol Marquez from Raices en Tampa linked the US meddling in the Middle East with the history of oppression in the US. “With its history of seizing Mexican land, committing genocide against Native Americans and enslaving Africans, how can this country possibly know what another country needs? Invading another country was not okay back then, and it sure as hell is not okay now.”

Jared Hamil from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization explained about the current situation in Iraq: “Sometimes there are many forces and groups at play. It can be confusing. And we ask ourselves where do we stand. We must always stand on the side of the people, not with those who attempt to build the US Empire. History shows that those two are never on the same side. We must stand with those who oppose imperialism, with those who fight imperialism”.

Organizations included in the protest were St. Pete for Peace, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, Stop FBI Repression – Tampa Bay, Raices en Tampa, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, and Tampa Dream Defenders.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #Obama #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #Iraq #Imperialism #Bush #DreamDefenders #Intervention #RaicesEnTampa #USF #War #2001 #ISIS #MiddleEast

La administración de Bush está impulsando estos acuerdos de libre comercio en el contexto del crecimiento de intervención militar estadounidense en la región, como por ejemplo el intento de golpe de estado en contra del gobierno de Hugo Chávez en Venezuela elegido democráticamente y también el aumento de fondos para el Plan Colombia.

El enfoque en comercio da a los progresistas, la oportunidad de dar a Bush la primera derrota de su nueva administración.

La reciente victoria izquierdista en la elección presidencial en Uruguay dió un golpe al ALCA. El gobierno de Chávez en Venezuela, del presidente Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva en Brasil, y ahora también el gobierno de Uruguay se han puesto en contra de la ALCA. Esto hace al TLC mucho más importante para los Estados Unidos por su interés de ganar control económico sobra las américas. También significa que una derrota del TLC podría interrumpir el proceso entero del ALCA.

La administración de Bush empezó a negociar el TLC hace dos años, esperando poca oposición en los Estados Unidos y en Centroamérica. Pero calcularon mal. Trabajadores, campesinos, estudiantes, consumidores y partidos políticos de oposición en Centroamérica se han unido con activistas de comercio justo, trabajadores y activistas de solidaridad en los Estados Unidos para resistir el tratado. Campesinos que cultivan la remolacha en el medio oeste de los EEUU y los pescadores de camarones en el estado de Luisiana han sumado sus voces a la creciente oposición.

Cientos de miles de personas en Centroamérica han marchado repetidamente en contra del TLC y la política neoliberal del libre comercio y la privatización. Aunque la oposición ha sido más fuerte en Centroamérica, la posibilidad más grande de parar el TLC está en el congreso estadounidense.

Históricamente, el partido demócrata no se ha opuesto a los acuerdos de libre comercio, a menos que necesitaran el apoyo de los sindicatos. El candidato presidencial demócrata John Kerry fue muy ambivalente en sus pronunciamientos sobre el TLC. Eso, junto con la victoria republicana, podría causar que algunas personas piensen que la posibilidad de aprobar el TLC ha aumentado, pero de hecho todavía hay una lucha importante que librar. Muchos de los demócratas que se retiraron o que perdieron eran fuertes defensores del libre comercio – siete de los 21 demócratas que votaron para el “Fast Track” en 2001 ya no están en el congreso. Además el demócrata de Minnesota Collin Peterson, un opositor fuerte del TLC en la cámara de representantes, ya es el congresista demócrata con mayor precedencia en el comité de agricultura en el congreso. El movimiento anti-TLC en los EEUU está unido para parar el acuerdo defectuoso y ha forzado al liderazgo demócrata del congreso a declarar su oposición al acuerdo. Las líneas de batalla ya quedan claras.

Pero todavía no se sabe cuándo el congreso va a votar sobre el TLC. El líder mayoritario (republicano) del congreso Tom Delay de Texas dijo que a los republicanos todavía les faltan unos votos y dijo que la aprobación del TLC, “va a venir cuando tengamos los votos para aprobarlo.” Hasta la fecha no tienen los votos. Lo que queda claro es que Bush no tiene el respaldo de la opinión pública, y que el movimiento creciente en contra del libre comercio ahora tiene la oportunidad para movilizar los activistas anti-Bush que antes no estaban organizados.

Cuando al principio propusieron el TLC, pocas personas en los EEUU pensaron que el plan podría ser derrotado. Cuando organizadores salvadoreños oyeron eso, contestaron que, “Nosotros no escogemos las batallas basados en que se puede ganar, sino que escogemos las batallas basados en las necesidades de nuestra gente, sabemos que la lucha es justa, y si seguimos organizando para una causa justa, algún día vamos a ganar.” Tres años después, activistas estadounidenses y centroamericanos están a punto de hacer algo que muchos pensaron que era imposible – derrotar a Bush y sus aliados en el tema del TLC y dar un golpe fuerte a su agenda del comercio.

Para incorporarse a la lucha en contra del TLC, visite la página web de la coalición “STOP CAFTA” ( www.stopcafta.org) o la pagina web del Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador ( www.cispes.org)

Cherrene Horazuk es una experta sobre Latinoamérica y fue directora nacional del Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador (CISPES).

#EstadosUnidos #News #Americas #WorkersAndGlobalization #FTAA #CAFTA #Bush #elTratadoDeLibreComercio #elÁreaDeLibreComercioDeLasAméricasALCA

For the American people, these are dangerous times. Administration officials are debating a wish list of countries to invade. They want to send the sons and daughters of working people to do the fighting and dying. Dreaming of Black Hawks over Somalia and marching on Baghdad, the rich and powerful will plunge us into disaster after disaster. We will get neither peace nor safety, prosperity nor plenty.

The issue is not simply that Bush is reckless. He is, but there is a more basic problem – the class of people that Bush fronts for. Look deeper at the “us or them” rhetoric and there is a certain truth to it: for or against big oil; for or against the airline owners; for or against a well-fed, well-dressed elite who would not know a hard days work if it punched them in the nose.

This is reflected in every debate in Washington. Budget surplus. What time is it? Tax cuts for the rich time. Economic crisis and looming budget deficit – time for more corporate tax breaks. They say if you are “with us,” then you support drilling for oil in wildlife refuges, invasions of other countries, and trade agreements that drive down wages.

The war is the leading edge of a racist, reactionary, and right wing agenda. Nowhere is this clearer than the debate about racial profiling. Before Sept. 1l, racial profiling was a widespread practice, but one that many of its practitioners tried to hide. Today, racial profiling is even more widespread, yet we find its defenders are jabbering away on every TV network.

The attack on civil liberties is another dimension of this reactionary agenda. The hundreds of unknown immigrant prisoners, held in places known only to their jailers, is a testament to the kind of country that Bush and Ashcoft yearn for.

The rich, along with their government and media, say “united we stand.” At the same time, they are trying to pull the rug out from under us. We do not have the same interests. We, working and oppressed people, need to speak up for ourselves and act in our own interests.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #PoorPeoplesMovements #InJusticeSystem #Labor #Editorial #OppressedNationalities #Afghanistan #Editorials #civilLiberties #Bush

Específicamente, bajo el plan de Bush los trabajadores indocumentados solo pueden quedarse en el país por dos periodos de tres años. Hay que preguntarse entonces ¿Qué pasará cuando terminen esos periodos? De acuerdo al plan de Bush los inmigrantes podrían participar en el proceso ‘normal’ de inmigración. Debido a las cuotas anuales muy estrictas de inmigración, es prácticamente un camino sin salida para millones de trabajadores indocumentados. Otra parte de la propuesta de Bush dice que aquellos trabajadores indocumentados necesitarían que su empleador les auspicie. El efecto de esta propuesta sería encadenar a los trabajadores indocumentados a su trabajo, lo que haría más difícil dejar trabajos donde son discriminados y daría a los empleadores mucho poder sobre sus trabajadores inmigrantes.

La propuesta de Bush solo refleja que los grandes empresarios dependen en verdad de los inmigrantes. Actualmente una buena parte de la clase trabajadora de este país la integran los inmigrantes, quienes trabajan en las áreas más difíciles de la economía como son la agricultura, el servicio y las fábricas de manufactura. Millones de estos inmigrantes no tienen ni siquiera documentos legales o status legal.

Los grandes empresarios sueñan con una política migratoria en la que los mercados laborales estén bien regulados, donde haya una fuente amplia de trabajadores dispuestos a tomar cualquier trabajo cuando la economía esta creciendo. Los capitalistas también quieren tener la habilidad de expulsar estos trabajadores del país durante los tiempos de crisis o recesión económica, para evadir pagar, por ejemplo, a programas que dan seguro a los desempleados.

Las corporaciones estadounidenses han usando su poder político y económico para destruir las economías de muchos países del tercer mundo. Debido a esto, muchas personas se ven forzadas a emigrar a Estados Unidos en busca de una vida mejor, dejando atrás hogar y familia.

No es posible hablar sobre la inmigración hacia los Estados Unidos sin hablar de México, de donde vienen muchos de los trabajadores indocumentados.

Desde el robo del norte de México hasta NAFTA, el pueblo mexicano ha sufrido la opresión y explotación del imperio del norte. El aumento de la riqueza concentrada en Wall Street esta directamente relacionado con el aumento de la pobreza y miseria en las ciudades y el campo de México. Esta realidad da énfasis a la tontería y el chovinismo de la clase capitalista estadounidense cuando intentan hablar sobre la inmigración.

Periodistas derechistas y políticos egoístas destilan veneno sobre los ‘ilegales’ que cruzan la frontera del país; hablan como si fueran los dueños del suroeste de los Estados Unidos. Ignoran el hecho que Estados Unidos le robó esta tierra a México, y que los hablantes de español que quedaron en este lado de la frontera han sido oprimidos por más de un siglo y medio. En este proceso, surgió una nueva nacionalidad, los chicanos, quienes tienen el derecho a la auto-determinación como cualquier otra nacionalidad.

Todo lo que dicen los políticos reaccionarios sobre la inmigración y la frontera al sur (y sobre el suroeste del país en general) sería una tontería, si no fuera algo tan serio. Ellos hablan del suroeste del país (que robaron de México) como si fuera su propiedad privada. Cada año, cientos de hombres, mujeres y niños huyendo de la miseria – una miseria creado por las elites de los Estados Unidos – pierden sus vidas intentando cruzar la frontera. Esto es un problema de vida o muerte.

La única solución justa para los problemas legales de los trabajadores indocumentados es una amnistía inmediata y sin ninguna condición. Los inmigrantes no necesitan otro programa ‘bracero’ y no necesitan ser usados cínicamente por el partido republicano en un intento de ganar apoyo electoral de Latinos. Los trabajadores indocumentados necesitan documentos que les permitan quedarse a vivir y tener derechos.

Es vital que fortalezcamos el movimiento para una amnistía para los indocumentados. Al mismo tiempo tenemos que defender los derechos democráticos de los inmigrantes, como por ejemplo el derecho de conseguir una licencia de conducir y tener acceso completo a los servicios sociales. De tomar este camino, golpeamos al sistema de racismo, desigualdad e injusticia que sufren las nacionalidades oprimidas dentro de las fronteras de los Estados Unidos y al mismo tiempo unimos a todos los que se puedan en contra de los ricos que controlan el país.

#EstadosUnidos #Editorial #Editorials #ChicanoLatino #Bush #trabajadoresTemporales #trabajadoresIndocumentados #elRoboDelNorteDeMéxico #NAFTA

Upon Bush’s arrival in Brazil on March 8, 6000 demonstrators marched in Sao Paulo shouting, “Assassin!” and, “Get out imperialist!” They oppose an ethanol energy agreement with the U.S. because increased ethanol production would lead to further clearing of the Amazon rainforest and further economic injustice. Most sugarcane-ethanol operations are run by wealthy families that reap most of the benefits while the poor are left to cut the cane with machetes. Peaceful Brazilian protesters were attacked with tear gas and clubs. At least 18 people were severely injured.

In Colombia, 200 masked students at Bogota’s National University clashed with 300 riot police, spray-painting anti-U.S. slogans on walls and shouting, “Out Bush!” Police fired water cannons and tear gas and the students hurled back rocks, fireworks, a few Molotov cocktails and dozens of potato bombs – small explosives made of gunpowder wrapped in foil. They oppose Plan Colombia, a U.S. military aid package that funds the Colombian government’s counter-insurgency war against anyone working for positive social change. Trade unionists and human rights advocates consistently face death threats, kidnappings, and assassinations at the hands of the military and their paramilitary allies.

In Uruguay, anti-U.S demonstrators shattered windows at an American fast-food restaurant as Bush arrived on March 9 and was driven to his hotel in a bulletproof limousine. “Exterminate the Empire!” a masked woman spray-painted on a business facade as rocks flew in Montevideo. Across the border in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hugo Chavez addressed a rally of 20,000 people calling Bush a “political cadaver” and denouncing his policies as “imperialist.”

In Guatemala, Mayan leaders announced that indigenous priests would purify the sacred archaeological site of Iximche to eliminate bad spirits after Bush’s scheduled visit on March 12. In Mexico, where Bush was scheduled to visit the following day, 50 demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy chanting slogans against the U.S. project to construct border fences. One man showed up in a devil’s mask, carrying a sign reading “My name is George Bush, killer of Mexicans.”

The outpouring of angry protest at Bush’s presence in Latin America should not be underestimated or misinterpreted. For decades, the U.S. government supported, trained and funded right-wing dictatorships and death squads in Latin America to protect ‘vital economic interests.’ The U.S. continues to sponsor state terror in Colombia. NAFTA and bilateral free trade agreements steal natural resources, exploit workers, damage the environment, and destroy indigenous cultures. Mainstream media in the U.S. have characterized these protests generically as anti-American. Latin Americans are infuriated by U.S. imperialism that threatens their economies, their health and their lives.

#LatinAmerica #News #Colombia #Mexico #Imperialism #Americas #Bush

Calcutta, India – Thousands marched through the streets of Calcutta, March 1, to protest Bush’s visit to India. Organized by the Socialist Unity Center of India, the chant of, “Butcher Bush – go back!” rang across the city.

A statement from demonstration organizers says, “The protesters assembled at College Square, a central hub of the city, opposite to the main building of Calcutta University. Then the well-decorated disciplined procession began its march towards the Governor’s House. All the passers-by and local people, who, as citizens of Kolkata carry rich tradition of glorious anti-imperialist struggle, expressed solidarity with the protesters reproaching the barbarity and dastardly acts of butcher Bush. The marchers also voiced vehement opposition to the most opprobrious act on the part of the Congress-led Central Government in inviting to the country such a brigand whose hand is tainted with the blood of millions of innocent people, including women and children round the world. This is the man who has committed a deliberate fraud on the world people by launching West-armed aggression against independent sovereign Iraq and ultimately occupying that country most illegally to unleash a reign of terror there. Butcher Bush, demanded the protesters, should be immediately tried in the international court as the biggest terrorist in the world.”

#CalcuttaIndia #Calcutta #News #India #Bush #SocialistUnityCenterOfIndia #Asia

Specifically, Bush’s plan states that undocumented workers who come forward can stay for two three-year periods. The logical question is, “What then?” All that the Bush plan holds out is that folks can then go through the ‘normal’ immigration process. Because of the very strict immigration quotas, this amounts to a dead end for the millions of undocumented working here. Another part of the administration immigration proposal says that undocumented workers will need their employer to ‘sponsor’ them. The effect of this will be chaining undocumented workers to their jobs, making it hard for the undocumented to leave rotten jobs and giving the employers incredible power over the immigrant labor.

The Bush proposal reflects the fact that the corporate owners depend on immigrants. As things stand, a substantial section of the working class in this country, particularly those who work in the most difficult sections of service, agriculture and manufacturing, are immigrants, millions of whom do not have legal status.

When big business dreams of their ideal immigration policy, they see well-regulated labor markets, where there is an ample supply of workers, eager to take any job when the economy is booming. They also see workers who can be sent home in times of economic crisis or recession – avoiding the need to pay for programs like unemployment insurance for those who are out of work

Behind immigration, stands an ugly truth: U.S. corporations have used the political and economic power they wield to wreck the economies of many third world countries. As a result, people leave behind their homes and families in search of a better standard of living.

No discussion of immigration to the U.S. can ignore the issue of Mexico, where most undocumented workers come from.

From the theft of northern Mexico right up to NAFTA, the Mexican people have suffered the oppression and exploitation at the hands of the colossus of the North. The wealth concentrated in Wall Street is mirrored by the spread of poverty in urban and rural Mexico. This reality underscores the stupidity and chauvinism that is inherent in the ruling class’s discussions of immigration.

Right-wing commentators and self-serving politicians spew gallons of venom about ‘illegals’ crossing the southern border – as if they were the rightful owners of the Southwest portion of the U.S. Ignored is the fact the area was stolen from Mexico, and the Spanish speaking majority left on this side of the border were forced to endure more than a century and a half of oppression. In that process, a new nationality, Chicanos, came into being. As such, Chicanos have the same rights as any other nationality -including the right of self-determination.

To hear some reactionary politicians, who seem to have a sense of entitlement as big as a house, talking about the southern border (and the Southwest as whole) as if it were their personal property would be laughable, if the entire matter weren’t so deadly serious. Each year, hundreds of men, women and children fleeing poverty – poverty created by the U.S. elites – lose their lives attempting to cross the border. This is a life and death question.

The only just solution to the legal problems faced by undocumented workers is immediate and unconditional amnesty. Immigrants do not need ‘guest worker’ programs or political grandstanding that is aimed at widening the political base of the Republican Party. The undocumented need documents – documents that allow them to stay, work and exercise their rights.

It’s vital that every possible contribution is made to strengthen the movement that insists upon amnesty for the undocumented. At the same time, we need to insist on the defense of democratic rights such as drivers licenses and equal access to social services. By taking this course, a blow is struck at the system of racism, inequality and injustice that is visited upon the oppressed nationalities within the borders of the U.S. – and at the same time we unite all who can be united against the rich who rule this country.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #ChicanoLatino #Bush #immigrantRights #undocumentedWorkers #guestWorker

All we heard was Bush's insistence that the Palestinians stop resorting to “terror” and change their leadership before peace negotiations resume. Bush demanded that Palestinians embrace “democratic values” like “free markets” as a condition for anyone to consider their claims to statehood. In exchange for abandoning their right to self-defense and reorganizing Palestinian institutions to suit Washington, there was the offer of a “temporary” statehood, which would look exactly like the failed Oslo Accords of 1993. On the issues of land and control, the Camp David offer of the 1970's is actually better than the Bush proposal.

At the same time, newspapers throughout the world, including the July 5 New York Times, are leaking information concerning the Bush administration's plans for a major strike against Iraq. So, while attacking the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation, Bush has his mind set on destroying Iraq and killing more Iraqis.

Bush's arrogant words and hypocritical assessments were lauded in Israel, as Ariel Sharon, Israel's Prime Minister, sent tanks into a Palestinian market, killing 5 children and saying that he was provoked by the “terrorist Palestinians” that Bush described.

Most Arab leaders, including the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, also praised the speech, although Arafat said he would rather sign the peace plan drawn up by Bill Clinton 18 months ago. That plan that was completely unacceptable to the Palestinian people, in part because it did not include a right for Palestinian refugees to return to their original homes and land.

But Arab rulers praising Bush are not representative of the masses of Arabs, who are inspired by the Palestinian struggle and are angry about their own governments' refusal to act in solidarity with the Intifada, the Arabic name for the Palestinians' uprising.

There is growing outrage over Arafat and his security operatives' jailing of Palestinian patriots. Acting under pressure from the U.S. and Israel, they have jailed national leaders such as Ahmed Sa'adat of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, one of the largest liberation organization, enjoying widespread popular support.

There is a growing call for the release of over 8,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails, where Amnesty International reports that there are strong indications that these political prisoners are being tortured by the Israeli military. People everywhere, including some governments, are strongly criticizing Israel for its killing of over 1800 Palestinians in the last 21 months. Most of the world knows the truth, and supports the Palestinian farmers and workers in their fight against Israel's military power.

As the conflict continues, there will be more consolidation of support for the Palestinians, including delegations from all over the world going to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They will help publicize the brutal violence of the Israeli government.

People in the U.S. are starting to realize that our tax money, over $4 billion per year, is sent to Israel to destroy the Palestinians and keep the system of oppression and poverty in place. There have been more campaigns launched against U.S. businesses and institutions that back Israel, especially in Minneapolis, Berkeley, and New York. In Chicago, campaigns are starting against Boeing, the Jewel supermarket chain, university stock portfolios and the new Illinois state budget. A nationwide rally for the Right of Return is planned for Chicago in September of this year.

Around the world, support for the Palestinians is growing. We in the United States must continue to do our part.

#Palestine #Editorial #PoliticalPrisoners #Editorials #Bush #MiddleEast

The timing of this so-called peace plan is like an approach used by Bush Sr. 12 years ago. In 1991, after three years of the first Intifada (uprising), Israel was unable to defeat the Palestinians. But the defeat of Iraq (along with the collapse of the Soviet Union) weakened international support for Palestine. So the first Bush administration proposed negotiations. The plan was to end the Palestinian struggle by creating something that would resemble a Palestinian state, but not have real independence or sovereignty.

The Oslo 'peace process' dragged on for seven years. While Israel refused to meet the deadlines in the agreements, the mainstream U.S. media blamed Palestinians for breakdowns in the process. In September 2000, the failure to achieve anything resembling true independence led to the eruption of a new Palestinian Intifada, which continues to this day. And now, after another attack on Iraq, Junior is trying Dad's old strategy in Palestine.

The so-called Roadmap for Peace, designed by the United States and minor partners (United Nations, European Union and Russia), follows many difficult roads. None of them lead to peace. The plan outlines a few steps, ending with a meeting to talk about the issues at the heart of this conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people.

Step one of the Roadmap calls for an end to acts of violence by Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is charged to disrupt and disarm organizations, and jail Palestinian leaders, that have supported armed struggle against Israel. In its attempts to destroy the militant section of the Palestinian resistance, the PA is doomed to fail. Most Palestinian groups have not agreed to the Roadmap, and won't stop their militant actions. And the Palestinian people will not give up their resistance in the face of continuing attacks by Israeli settlers and a massive Israeli military presence in the Occupied Territories.

A just peace will never come from treating the Palestinian resisters as criminals. Palestinians, and all occupied peoples, have the right to resist an occupying force by any means necessary. This right is guaranteed by international law.

The fundamental problem with the Roadmap, and all U.S.-supported 'peace' proposals, is its support for the state of Israel. The Roadmap asks the world to accept a racist state, where citizenship, political power and economic rights are granted based on race and religion, not on birthplace or family ties to the land. The Roadmap ignores over 1.3 million Palestinians (20% of the entire population), who live as second-class citizens or non-citizens, inside 'Israel.' More importantly, it dismisses the right of 4 million Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

UN General Assembly Resolution 194 stipulates that all Palestinian refugees must be granted the right to return. Resolution 194 is never mentioned in the Roadmap, even after the world has heard the Sharon government say it will never consider allowing the Palestinians back. Bush can't talk about peace in the Middle East while ignoring almost half of the Palestinian population.

The Roadmap fails to address the core question of, “Where will Palestine be?” Sharon has made clear his plans to leave Palestinians in control of a few disconnected pieces of land, totaling less than half the Occupied Territories. Israel will control the borders, airspace, water and underneath all of Palestine. Settlements and Israeli-only highways will carve up Palestinian territories. Israeli armaments, in the name of the national defense, and paid for by U.S. tax dollars, will patrol every border of any land left to the Palestinians.

Palestinians will continue to fight to win back their lands and their lives. The real road to peace begins with an end to the constant flow of U.S. dollars to Israel.

#Palestine #Commentary #Bush #Roadmap #MiddleEast

Press release issued by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

The address of U.S. President George Bush and his call for an international conference on the Middle East are a deception.

The United States of America and the Bush Administration are not an honest broker, but stand completely on the side of the policy of Zionist aggression and terror.

Commenting on the address by the U.S. President George Bush and his call for the convening of an international conference on the Middle East, Dr. Mahir at-Tahir, Member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and representative of its leadership outside Palestine, declared:

The call of the American president to hold an international conference on the Middle East and his talk about a Palestinian state lack all credibility and constitute a form of trickery and deception, particularly following the writ of guarantees that he has given to Israel in which he pledges his commitment to their positions of not withdrawing from Jerusalem, of keeping the large blocs of settlements on the Palestinian West Bank, and of rejecting the right of return of the Palestinian refugees.

The American Administration stands entirely on the side of the policy of aggression and terror practiced by Israel and therefore these declarations of the American President amount to an attempt to deepen the divisions and internal struggles in the Palestinian arena.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine declares that the wretched path of constantly betting on pointless negotiations with Israel and this meeting of the Palestinian President with Olmert in Jerusalem have produced nothing serious for the good of the Palestinian cause.

Israel, supported by the United States of America, does not want peace; it is aiming at imposing surrender and dictates on the Palestinian people and is trying to stop the legitimate resistance against the occupation.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine calls on all the patriotic and Islamic forces in the Palestinian arena to tighten their ranks, build Palestinian national unity, stop the bloody internal conflicts, and direct all their energies towards confronting the Zionist occupation squatting on the land of Palestine. The PFLP calls for a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue in order to set the Palestinian house in order on the basis of adherence to Palestinian national principles and continuing the resistance in all its forms against the occupation.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Press Office.

17 July 2007.

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