National Assembly (Cleveland earlier this summer) Action Plan

National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations 

Action Program 

A.  Actions 

1) The National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations urges attendees at this conference to support and mobilize as many people a possible to participate in the September 1 Antiwar March on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota that will demand “U.S. Out of Iraq Now!” The demonstration is organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War and is supported by over 100 organizations including ANSWER, UFPJ and TONC, the national antiwar coalitions. Much pressure has been put on the planned march by the city of St. Paul, which has resisted granting a parade permit. This important fight to defend constitutional rights needs the support of all the people and groups participating in the National Assembly. The National Assembly likewise calls on participants to mobilize equally with the same “Out Now!” demand for the demonstration in Denver at the Democratic Party National Convention on August 24.

2) The National Assembly welcomes initiatives taken by local and regional antiwar groups to organize antiwar demonstrations in the months ahead, leading up to the November 4 election, calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Assembly will encourage participation in such actions, including protests called by coalitions in Boston, Rhode Island and other areas on Saturday, October 11. In light of the escalation of the wars and the imperative need for action and an independent voice, October 11 has been put forward because it was on this date in 2002 that the Senate  passed the “Iraq War Resolution” -- the House of Representatives having done the same the day before -- giving the Bush administration authorization to invade Iraq. 
 
3) The National Assembly proposes December 9-14 as a period for organizing coordinated and united local protests in cities across the nation to demand of whichever administration comes to power nothing less than the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors from Iraq and Afghanistan and the closing of all military bases in these countries. 
 
4) The above mobilizations should be viewed as springboards for building massive, united, independent and bi-coastal Spring 2009 demonstrations against the wars and occupations. These should be organized, called, and sponsored by the movement's major forces as well as new forces that can be brought into the struggle. Assuming that the site of the demonstration on the East Coast is Washington D.C., the National Assembly supports organizing a mass lobby day when Congress is in session to coincide with the Spring mobilization. Every effort should be made to make these demonstrations international in scope. We must aim at achieving a new level of unity and commitment capable of closing the gap between the present antiwar forces engaged in our common movement and those which also oppose the wars but have not yet understood the necessity of directly and actively dedicating themselves to the fight to end them. 

5) In the event of a U.S. government attack on Iran or another major international crisis triggered by U.S. military action, the National Assembly will urge an emergency convening of all the major antiwar forces to plan the most massive, united, protest actions possible. Organizations and individuals attending the National Assembly declare their unequivocal opposition to any military attack on Iran by the U.S., Israel, or any other country acting at the behest of the U.S. We likewise oppose the imposition or continuation of sanctions, whether economic or military, against Iran, as well as any other attempt by the U.S. government or any of its agencies to interfere with or otherwise attempt to influence the internal political process in Iran. Organizations and individuals attending the National Assembly are encouraged to incorporate these demands into future protests – local, regional or national – calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

6) The antiwar movement should integrate the issue of Palestine in the broader antiwar struggle, build solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli human right activists, and actively support the call of the Palestine Civil Society movement for boycotts, divestments and sanctions until Israel complies with international law and respects human rights. 

7) The National Assembly welcomes all forms of activity calling for an end to the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, including work with veterans and active duty members of the service, teach-ins, forums, antiwar referenda, antiwar strikes, mass meetings, civil disobedience/non-violent direct action, petitioning, lobbying, solidarity work, counter-recruitment actions, electoral activity, letter writing or any of the other multiple ways opponents of the wars and occupations protest. The Assembly values all activities that involve people and broaden the movement in protesting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations, and U.S. support for the continued occupation of Palestine, and we will encourage supporters of the Assembly to help publicize such activities. 

  8) In order to broaden and strengthen the antiwar movement and deepen people’s commitment to end the war against Iraq, the National Assembly encourages national tours of Iraqis. These tours could feature trade unionists, women’s groups, refugees, students and others. Such groups as USLAW, Code Pink, American Friends Service Committee, and MADRE could play a key role in organizing such tours. The National Assembly will support such efforts. 

9) The National Assembly also recommends that participating groups and individuals, and the movement as a whole, take up the call of the Iraq Moratorium to build locally-based antiwar activity on the Third Friday of every month. That will draw more people into active opposition to the war and expand the base for all types of antiwar protests, including large demonstrations. Similarly, we urge support for activities organized by groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, and Military Families Speak Out, whose local and national actions contribute to building a unified mass movement.

B. Motivation 

10) The U.S. continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its wars against the peoples of those nations is today among the central issues in world politics. Initiated with an internationally discredited lie, the war and occupation of Iraq violate the right of the Iraqi people to determine their own destiny and constitute crimes under international law. The use of torture, rendition, and indefinite detention in prisons like Guantanamo violate the Geneva Conventions and constitutes crimes under international law.  

11) The war and occupation of Iraq is motivated by the drive to control that country’s gigantic oil wealth and access to the energy resources of the entire Middle East. It is a war in which working class youth, especially from oppressed nationalities, are victims of the "economic draft" and pay the ultimate price.  It is a war that in the name of combating terror uses legislation like the Patriot Act and Executive Orders to violate constitutional rights, particularly habeas corpus, in order to increase surveillance, stifle dissent, and scapegoat immigrants. It is a war costing trillions of dollars needed to solve pressing social problems at home, rebuild the destruction in Iraq, and relieve hunger and poverty around the globe. It is a war spurred on by the corporate interests behind the military industrial complex and the influence of powerful lobbies supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestine. We oppose all funding for unjust wars and occupations.

     12) Building support for the immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan helps

      bring to the fore the question of the legitimacy and cost in human lives and treasure of U.S.

      interventions, military actions and wars in other parts of the world. In fact,

      Washington's pursuit of “victory” in Iraq and Afghanistan carries with it the threat of

      expanding the war to Iran and enmeshing the entire region and beyond in even more

     conflicts and occupations. 

      13) The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have resulted in incalculable numbers of deaths and

      casualties of Iraqis and Afghans, as well as their massive displacement. These wars

      promote the transparently false and racist idea that Muslim and/or Arab people are not

       capable of organizing their own affairs.

14) We call for the immediate, total and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. military forces          and contractors from Iraq and Afghanistan, their return to the U.S., closing of all U.S.       military bases, and the redirection of funds from war costs to desperately needed jobs and       social services at home, providing for the full range of veterans’ needs and benefits, health       care for all, education, housing, food, and rebuilding the infrastructure – as well as for         rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan.

FOR UNITED MASS ACTION IN THE STREET

 

15) We advocate and will help bring into being a massive, united, independent and         democratic antiwar movement demanding "Bring the Troops Home Now!" and "End the         Occupations Now!" Only a united antiwar movement that reaches deep into the fabric of         American society and mobilizes the majority millions who oppose unjust wars and         occupations, from trade unionists to soldiers, from immigrants to the youth, from women and LGBT people to people with disabilities for whom special efforts should be made to include them in all levels of planning and participation in the antiwar movement, from people of all races and creeds to people from all walks of life, can force the U.S. government to bend to its will. 

The National Assembly urges the antiwar movement to explain in its educational work,          literature and leaflets the need to challenge the legitimacy and justice of U.S. support for          the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The oppression of Palestinians and the influence of          Israeli militarism are integral parts of the so-called war on terror. The inclusion of Palestine           is critical to the antiwar movement. 
 
16) All polls show that a majority of the people in the U.S. oppose continuation of the war and occupation of Iraq. Yet we must acknowledge that there exists a huge gap between those who oppose the war and those who are willing to take to the streets to express their opposition to it. We believe that a united movement can play a key role in closing that gap. 
 
17) It is self-evident that a united movement is a stronger movement. There is every          reason for the movement to unite and no good reason for it to be divided. We believe that        coalitions, organizations and groups with widely divergent views on a host of matters can        and must come together to boldly challenge the warmakers and render the pursuit of their          unjust wars morally and socially indefensible and unsustainable. 
 
18) We reject presidential and congressional calls to "stay the course" in Iraq and          Afghanistan, or proposals for timetables for withdrawal coupled with belligerent, saber-           rattling threats against Iran. What a far cry all that is from the clear and unambiguous           demand of the antiwar movement: “Out Now!”