Middle East

Rally and march to Downtown Crossing with a mock drone and die-in. 

On Friday, Nov. 7, President Obama doubled down on the war in Iraq and Syria, ordering 1500 more troops on the ground in Iraq and requesting over $5 billion in funding.

• Stop the Bombing - No more military intervention in Iraq and Syria

• Bring the troops home now

• Stop sending weapons into the region which are leading to so much bloodshed

• Support humanitarian aid, through neutral institutions, for victims of the conflict

• Support self-determination and the demilitarization of the area

It appears that Congress is about to give the President authorization to carry out an ever-expanding war in Iraq and Syria.

Our leaders say that these new wars will last for years. But over the past 13 years, this country has already spent one trillion, five hundred billion dollars for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and other parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

These military actions have brought hundreds of thousands of deaths, but neither peace nor security. Meanwhile, these hundreds of billions of dollars could have been used instead to provide for jobs, human needs and renewable energy.

The current campaign to sell this war has nothing to do with protecting us or the people of the area. Instead, it is intended to secure control of the area by repressive governments and sectarian militias allied (for the time being) with Washington.

The current bombing campaign is a violation of the U.N. Charter and the U.S. Constitution. In its sweep through Syria and Iraq, ISIS is using modern U.S. weapons that were previously sent into the region in order to stabilize a corrupt and brutal regime in Baghdad and to overthrow Syria’s government.

Is bombing an answer to these sectarian conflicts? Do these actions reflect the interests of working people in the U.S. or the peoples of the Middle East?

We should not be involved militarily in a sectarian conflict that our war in Iraq set off. Rather, we should support a policy of non-intervention and self-determination. Any real and lasting solution to the problems in the region must come from the peoples of that region themselves, not from the Pentagon. 

Call Congress toll-free at 877-429-0678 and say: 

“I want you to speak out strongly and to vote against against proposals that authorize use of military force and support for armed groups in Syria and Iraq. ”

Save the date for an educational forum on Syria and Iraq featuring Prof. Elaine Hagopian, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7pm.

For more info or to help organize: United for Justice with Peace, 617-383-4857, info@justicewithpeace.org

Foreign correspondent and investigative reporter Reese Erlich recently returned from northern Iraq where he interviewed displaced Yazidis, peshmerga fighters and US diplomats. He will discuss the growing influence of extremist rebel groups and why the US bombing campaign will hurt both Americans and people of the region. Mr.

Join Mass. Peace Action on Sunday, October 12 when we will set up an outreach table after the HONK! Parade in Harvard Square. 

The Middle East Forum

The new US war in Syria is unwise, illegal, and counterproductive.

Somerville Journal, Sept. 21, 2014

Remarks delivered at "No US War in Iraq and Syria" rally, Boston Common, Sept 13, 2014

Here we go again!

Our leaders have learned nothing from their disastrous war in Iraq.

That brutal intervention destroyed Iraq as a country, caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, created a terrorist government in Baghdad, and set off a sectarian war, opening the gates of hell.

• No US military intervention or bombing of Syria and Iraq!
• Bring all the troops home
• No arms or training to parties to the conflict
• Support a political solution including all concerned parties and governments based on self- determination of the people
• Support genuine and neutral humanitarian aid such as UN efforts endorsed by the entire Security Council; oppose false aid used as a cover for military intervention