Fight Back News Service is circulating the following greeting from Freedom Road Socialist Organization to demonstrators at the Republican National Convention.

The U.S. government is preparing for a new war against Iraq.

Minneapolis, MN - In May, Trish Kanous, of the Minneapolis-St. Paul based Anti-War Committee, joined other passengers and got on an Iraqi airplane. For most of us, flying is no act of courage. This was different. The United States and British governments have decided that vast areas of Iraqi airspace, about half the country, are 'no fly zones,' where it's open season on Iraqi airplanes. The jetliner flew through the zone and landed safely.

U.S. military and political preparations for a new war against Iraq are at a fever pitch.

Fired Up, Won’t Take It No More!

Outraged people are raising their voices, marching in the streets and rallying on campuses across the country to support the Jena Six. Jena is a small town, four hours northwest of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Jena Six are African-American high school students who refuse to be second-class citizens. The Jena Six are standing up for their rights and fighting back against racism in their community. These young men refuse to be insulted, pushed around and harassed. They simply want equality with the whites in their school and community. The Jena Six are now symbolic of the righteousness of rebellion against racist national oppression.

The assault on Iraq began with a failed sneak attack. Minutes before bombers cruised over, sirens blasted a warning to the sleeping people of Baghdad. It was 5:30 a.m. on March 20. The full strength of the world’s largest military began a war of terror, which they called ‘shock and awe.’

In the face of growing resistance, the U.S. is unable to consolidate its occupation of Iraq. Efforts to quickly assemble a puppet regime have failed. As we go to press, dozens of attacks are taking place on U.S. and British forces on a daily basis. The number of Americans killed and wounded is surpassing the causalities of the 1991 Gulf War. The Pentagon is weighing the issue of sending additional troops, while former Defense Department officials are speaking of a guerrilla war that will last for years.

In the face of a growing Iraqi resistance movement, the plans of the Bush administration to consolidate the occupation of Iraq are crumbling. The Pentagon acknowledges that attacks on the occupation forces are growing in scale and intensity. U.S. attempts to gain more military and financial support, within and outside of the United Nations, have by and large failed. So have efforts to create a viable Iraqi puppet government. The Governing Council, made up of U.S. appointees, has little legitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi people or in the region as a whole.

The continued strength of the Iraqi resistance has created a growing crisis for the occupiers.

The Iraqi people have opened a new chapter in their struggle to end the U.S. occupation. The resistance, supported by Iraqi civilians, has liberated Najaf, Kufa and Kut in the south, as well as some neighborhoods in Baghdad and the city of Fallujah. According to press reports, the resistance now controls sections of the main highways. For whatever length of time these areas are held, the resistance has shown its strength.