*Alert: New threats of imminent war

Stop War on Iran Actioncenter at action-mail.org
Wed Jul 16 11:36:38 EDT 2008


Stop War on Iran <http://stopwaroniran.org/>
<http://stopwaroniran.org/> 	*/Sign the Petition Now 
<http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml>-
Tell Congress & President Bush:  Stop War on Iran!
/*

*Bush gives OK for attack on Iran: /Take Action Today/ -
*
*Stop War on Iran* <http://www.stopwaroniran.org>

*Recent news makes it clear why it is more important than ever that we 
take to the streets on August 2. * According to press reports, 
_President Bush has given the Israeli military the go-ahead to prepare 
for an imminent attack on Iran_.* *Israel is also using U.S. bases in 
Iraq to prepare for the attack.

The British Sunday Times of July 13, 2008  reported:

 "Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread skepticism 
that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic 
consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an 
"amber light" to an Israeli plan to attack Iran's main nuclear sites 
with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times.

    "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate
    attack and tell us when you're ready," the official said.

The Jerusalem Post of July 13, 2008 reported:

"On Friday, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news 
network that IAF war planes were practicing in Iraqi airspace were 
landing on US airbases in the country as a preparation for a potential 
strike on Iran."

Once again the most powerful forces of US corporate power -- the 
military-industrial-petroleum complex -are using Israel as their proxy 
to threaten war on surrounding countries in the region.  Israel is 
armed, financed, and politically and diplomatically supported by 
Washington. It can not act on its own or without explicit permission 
from Washington.  U.S. tax dollars finance Israel wars against 
surrounding nations, and Israeli repression of the Palestinians, to keep 
the area "safe" for U.S. oil companies. 

This is why it is vital to link the struggle against the war in Iraq and 
a potential war against Iran with the struggle of the Palestinian people 
for the right to return.

At the same time Washington is giving the Israeli military a go-ahead to 
bomb Iran, the U.S. Congress is moving ahead to escalate tensions in the 
region and possibly provoke an incident that would justify U.S. military 
action.  House Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 both require 
that the President begin blockade of Iran. 

The House Resolution "demands" that the President impose "stringent 
inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, 
and cargo entering or departing Iran."  *Enforcing this would require a 
U.S. Naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, which is an act of war 
according to international law.*  Approximately one-fourth of the 
world's oil, including that from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar 
and Bahrain, pass through the Straits of Hormuz, which is 21 miles 
across at its narrowest point (the shipping channel is less than 2 miles 
wide).

*These two resolutions have received widespread bipartisan support from 
members of both Houses, and are expected to pass without debate or 
vote.*  A staffer in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office said that once 
the Resolution hits the floor, it will "pass like a hot knife through 
butter."   Some have speculated that the bill will be put on the floor 
under suspension --- meaning that it will pass without even a vote.

Both resolutions accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, despite the 
fact that Washington's National Intelligence Estimate report last 
December that made it clear that every major U.S. intelligence agency 
believes that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. 

Nor do the resolutions refer to the real nuclear threat in the region -- 
the U.S., which is the only country that has used nuclear weapons and 
currently has a massive nuclear-armed naval armada in the region.  It 
also does not mention the apartheid settler state of Israel, which is 
thought to have more than 200 nuclear weapons.

*At the same time, two leading Senators announced on Tuesday, July 15, 
that they had reached a bipartisan agreement to expand economic 
sanctions targeting Iran.** * Sens. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., 
chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., 
called Iran "a threat to U.S. interests."  Dodd, a former candidate for 
the Democratic nomination for President, said, "This bipartisan bill 
strengthens economic sanctions against Iran, and authorizes divestment 
from companies that do business with Iran's key oil sector." 

*Meanwhile, the U.S. is involved in "covert operations" -- acts of 
terrorism -- inside Iran. * In the July 7 New Yorker, Seymour Hersh 
revealed that Congress has approved $400 million to fund covert 
operations in Iran.  These operations include: providing support to 
armed groups opposed to the Iranian government, kidnapping members of 
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and taking them across the border to 
Iraq for interrogation, the manipulation of Iran's currency, and other 
acts intended to destabilize the regime.  Hersh reports that these types 
of operations have been ongoing at least since last year, but the recent 
Congressional appropriation signals a significant expansion of these 
actions.

It is clear that the Bush Administration is determined to push forward 
with its agenda of endless war to control the oil reserves of the Middle 
East. It is equally clear that members of Congress -- both Democrats and 
Republicans -- are collaborating with the Administration, just as they 
collaborated in authorizing and funding the invasion and occupation of 
Iraq. 

It is imperative that progressive activists and organizations, 
particularly in the U.S., mobilize to stop another brutal war, and to 
demand an end to the illegal sanctions and covert operations targeting 
Iran. 

Stop War on Iran, an international grassroots campaign, issued an 
Emergency Call to for protests, marches, and other actions on the 
weekend of August 2.  Response to the call has been enthusiastic, and 
local organizers are planning events in more than *50 cities*, including 
Los Angeles, Tucson , San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, 
Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Jersey 
City, Albuquerque, Buffalo, New York City, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, 
Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Houston, Salt Lake City, 
Virginia Beach, Washington DC, and more -- an updated list is available 
at www.StopWarOnIran.org <http://www.stopwaroniran.org>.

*Now is the time to take to the streets, because only a massive 
grassroots mobilization can stop another bloody and illegal war.*  

In the next few days and weeks, we need to do everything we can to *take 
to the streets to Stop a War on Iran. * We have a real opportunity to 
help build a massive grassroots movement to oppose the warmongers in 
Washington.

If you haven't done so, please consider organizing a local action on 
August 2 - or if there is already one in your area, contact local 
organizers <http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008orgcents.shtml> to find out 
how you can help.

Also, please sign the online petition at 
http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml and help us spread the word 
<http://stopwaroniran.org/friend.shtml>.  Signing the petition will send 
messages to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Board of 
Directors of Halliburton, and the media. 

In the next few days, we will be preparing placards and banners, 
printing leaflets and educational materials, and holding organizing 
meetings to prepare for the August 2 protests.  Please consider making a 
donation at *http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml* to help us with the 
enormous expenses of mobilizing a national response to Bush's war threats.

If you have a website, blog, MySpace, or other site, you can help us get 
the word out by linking to us.  Graphics are available at 
http://stopwaroniran.org/link.html.

Above all, *join us in the streets on August 2* -for more information 
and updates, see StopWarOnIran.org <http://stopwaroniran.org/>.
	
*AUGUST 2:*
/*An Emergency Call to Action
*/

*Stop War on IRAN
Troops Out of IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN!
No to U.S. war through Israel!
Money for Jobs, Housing & Healthcare, NOT War
/
Mass March in NYC & across the U.S. - 
/see growing list of actions at/
/http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008orgcents.shtml
*

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Endorse** the Emergency Call to Action for August 2 at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008endorse.shtml


List your local action at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008volorgcent.shtml


Sign the Petition at **http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml


Make an Emergency Donation at http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml


Tell a Friend
http://stopwaroniran.org/friend.shtml


Sign up for updates
http://stopwaroniran.org/updates.shtml*





*DONATE <http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml> *
*Please help build a grassroots campaign to Stop War on Iran
http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml
*

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