WW News Service Digest #338
1) Postal Workers Say Feds Failed to Protect Them
by wwnews
2) Anthrax & Anti-Abortion Terrorists
by wwnews
3) "Public Health Care, Not War"
by wwnews
4) Three Black Women Who Stood Up
by wwnews
5) Boston: City Councilor Says No to War
by wwnews
6) No War on Iraq
by wwnews
7) Workers Walk Out Over Air Quality
by wwnews
8) Bombs Destroy Afghan Cities
by wwnews
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
AS TWO DIE AND MORE ARE HOSPITALIZED: POSTAL
WORKERS SAY FEDS FAILED TO PROTECT THEM
By Malcolm Cummins
Washington, D.C.
What do you do if you suspect your workplace is infected
with anthrax spores? Go immediately to the boss and ask for
testing?
Postal workers at the Brentwood central mail handling
facility in Washington did just that after an anthrax-
contaminated letter was processed there sometime in the week
of Oct. 15.
On Oct. 18 Postmaster General Jack Potter told the workers
not to worry. There's only "a minute chance that anthrax
spores escaped" from the contaminated letter, Potter said.
The post office refused to test the workers or offer them
antibiotics.
The result is that two postal workers from Brentwood have
died from anthrax, and two more are seriously ill. These
deaths were eminently preventable, as anthrax is extremely
vulnerable to a relatively inexpensive antibiotic.
The contaminated letter was destined for the Capitol, which
was immediately evacuated. One postal worker commented,
"They obviously value the lives of the elite on Capitol Hill
more than the workers who move the mail."
Postal workers from around the Washington area have also
become concerned about anthrax. The Brentwood facility
handles mail that is distributed to post offices in the
Maryland suburbs, and workers there are demanding testing as
well. So far, postal bosses have resisted their demands.
One Letter Carriers local in Rockville, Md., wrote to
Senator Paul Sarbannes demanding that "employees, work areas
and equipment be tested immediately."
The letter points out that mail from Brentwood is routed to
the Department of Energy in Germantown, Md., and that DOE
had requested that its mail be held at the post office until
it could be tested. No such testing has yet been made
available to the postal workers.
One shop steward approached the postmaster in Rockville to
demand testing for the workers. The postmaster dismissed the
demand, saying there was no reason to test because no one
has tested positive for anthrax exposure. The irony of this
wasn't lost on the postal worker, who pointed out that, "Of
course no one has tested positive, because no one has been
tested at all!"
At this time of national crisis, when politicians and bosses
are calling for "unity," it becomes clearer every day to
workers that unity means callous disregard for their health,
safety and even lives.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
207 ANTHRAX THREATS: TERRORISM AGAINST WOMEN'S
CLINICS GETS LITTLE GOVERNMENT ATTENTION
By Sue Davis
Among the many anthrax threats that occurred the week of
Oct. 15, 130 went mostly unreported. The reason: they were
targeted at abortion clinics.
Such widespread, American-as-apple-pie terrorism, which has
gone on for the past 25 years, is not deemed newsworthy by
the corporate press.
Dr. LeRoy H. Carhart is an abortion provider and ex-Marine
whose challenge to Nebraska's law banning so-called "partial-
birth" abortions was supported in a Supreme Court ruling
last year. Carhart wrote an open letter to President George
W. Bush on Oct. 17 appealing for help for abortion
providers. Widely circulated on the Internet, the letter
exposes the government's do-nothing stance in the face of a
long-standing terrorist campaign.
"Too often, law enforcement and judicial officials treat
[anti-abortion terrorists] only as a nuisance and do too
little to prevent, stop or prosecute their atrocities,"
writes Carhart. He details how these domestic terrorists,
motivated by religious fanaticism, are sanctified and
harbored by mainstream religious and political leaders.
Carhart cites statistics showing that since 1977, the 4,500
abortion providers and staff in this country have had to
deal with seven murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings,
165 arsons, 82 additional failed bombings and arson
attempts, 370 physical invasions of personal and business
properties, 942 acts of vandalism, 100 butyric acid attacks,
207 anthrax threats--including 130 in the week of Oct. 15,
122 assaults, 340 death threats, and three kidnappings.
After quoting Bush's and Attorney General John Ashcroft's
own words condemning terrorism, Carhart ends his
passionately argued letter with: "Please take a stand
against domestic terrorism directed against America's
abortion providers."
Is that any more likely now than in the past?
Don't hold your breath. But take note.
The government's stunning hypocrisy on this issue should
open a few eyes on why U.S. imperialism is pursuing this war
in the Middle East. It is not for so-called "enduring
freedom." It is to expand big business's oil-based empire
while basic freedoms--such as the freedom to safe
reproductive health care or freedom from racism and
homophobic bigotry--go unmet.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
OPEN LETTER TO ATLANTA GATHERING: "DON'T LET HEALTH
SCARE DERAIL PUBLIC HEALTH CARE"
By Deirdre Griswold
An open letter opposing the U.S. war on Afghanistan as well
as moves to put the public health system in this country
under greater police and military control was distributed at
the 129th annual meeting of the American Public Health
Association, which met in Atlanta, Ga., the week of Oct. 21-
25.
The letter, signed by Doctor of Public Health Hillel Cohen
and Marcelo Venegas, M.D., warned that a "panic-driven
response" to the outbreak of anthrax could "threaten public
health much, much more" than the disease itself.
"The FBI reportedly prevented health officials from sharing
information regarding the outbreak. Is this what we should
expect when police agencies take control of public health
functions? Reports from a military lab that the Daschle
letter had high-grade, militarized anthrax now appear to be
false. Were false reports linked to efforts by Pentagon
officials to blame Iraq or other countries for the
outbreak?" the letter asked.
It cautioned against letting the outbreak "be used as a
pretense to widen the war against Afghanistan, to intensify
bombings and sanctions against the people of Iraq, or to
take military action against other peoples in countries that
are on the Bush administration's enemies list."
The letter points out that "In the aftermath of September
11th, at least six people of South Asian or Middle Eastern
appearance have been reported killed in racist hate crimes.
Hundreds more have been assaulted. The heightened fear from
the anthrax cases may lead to more racist attacks by
individuals or to government repression and harassment
against immigrants."
Cohen and Venegas answer the perception of some in public
health that the issue of bioterrorism will direct more
government funds into this field: "The opposite may be true.
Billions of dollars being proposed for bioterrorism response
and preparedness are directed towards anthrax and smallpox
and will do little to help provide basic public health
needs.
"The current anthrax cases add to the perception but not to
the reality of risk of catastrophic bioterrorism. We need to
alert the public that a much greater public health risk
comes from natural disease outbreaks and resurgent
infectious diseases, food-borne illnesses, obesity and
diabetes, microbial resistance, the worldwide AIDS epidemic,
as well as tobacco abuse. Many millions are without health
insurance, and as more become unemployed in the economic
downturn, even fewer will have access to health care."
It points out that 2 million people every year die for lack
of clean water, a problem the UN says can be eliminated at
the cost of $10 billion.
On biological weapons, the letter states: "The New York
Times exposed that the Pentagon and CIA are building new
biological weapons and experimenting with genetically
modified versions of anthrax and other pathogens. The Bush
administration opposes an international agreement for
international inspections to strengthen the biological
weapons treaty. Building more secret research facilities
under the control of the military adds to the dangers of
accidents, theft and a new arms race in biological weapons.
"Regarding chemical weapons, the federal General Accounting
Office reported that the U.S. Army still has 30,000 tons of
chemical weapons, has not put forward a safe way to destroy
them, and has limited international inspections as well. The
Bush plan to violate the ABM missile treaty and to go ahead
with the provocative National Missile Defense (Star Wars)
adds to the danger."
The letter concludes that, "The national health scare
threatens to derail the national health care agenda. We need
to explain that war against the people of Afghanistan, the
people of Iraq, and elsewhere will not bring peace or
safety, and that war and racism are not the answer and will
disrupt efforts to strengthen international health. We need
to educate the public that a strong public health system--
led by public health people, not the military and police--is
the best defense against disease, no matter from what
source."
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
THREE PROMINENT BLACK WOMEN SPEAK OUT AGAINST
U.S POLICIES
By Monica Moorehead
Three prominent Black women--two of them African American
and the other African Canadian--have been outspoken against
U.S. foreign policy as the Pentagon continues to bomb
Afghanistan with impunity.
They have gone against the tide in the middle of an
unprecedented pro-war, anti-dissent campaign on the part of
the big business media.
Two of the women, Cynthia McKinney and Barbara Lee, are
members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, was the only member of
Congress to oppose a resolution giving President George W.
Bush unlimited authority to use military force after the
attacks on Sept. 11.
Although Lee received thousands of letters and phone calls
of support, she also received numerous death threats for
express ing a position that was politically mild.
On Oct. 21, 3,000 people rallied in downtown Oakland to
support her. Actor Danny Glover and writer Alice Walker were
among those who came to speak of her courage.
Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat, wrote an open letter
to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal from Saudi Arabia on Oct. 12.
McKinney thanked him for offering a $10 million check to
those who were direct ly affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had rejected the check
because the prince made political statements about U.S.
policies abroad, especially regarding the situation of the
Palestinians.
Much of McKinney's letter focused on linking the state of
Black America with U.S. international policy. McKinney
compared the infant mortality rate in Harlem with that of
Bangladesh in South Asia. She spoke out against the racist
use of the death penalty along with the attacks on the
Voting Rights Act and affirmative action.
McKinney also raised the genocidal war on the Palestinians
at the hand of Zionist Israelis and the horrendous situation
facing the Iraqi people after 10 years of U.S.-led economic
sanctions.
Sunera Thobani is a Tanzanian-born professor of women's
studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
She is an anti-imperialist feminist and former head of the
National Action Committee on the Status of Women. On Oct. 1,
she addressed the "Women's Resistance: From Victimization to
Criminalization" conference in Ottawa.
She lambasted U.S. and Canadian international policies in
her speech. Her major theme was "U.S. foreign policy is
soaked in blood." She asked the audience to think about the
fact that millions of people are being asked to identify
with the victims of Sept. 11. But who, she asked, is feeling
the pain of those in Iraq and Palestine, Chile, El Salvador
and Nicaragua, who have suffered and died at the hand of
U.S. imperialism?
Thobani also spoke about how people of color have
historically and traditionally been characterized as
"uncivilized, forces of darkness, evil doers ... this
language is rooted in the colonial legacy. It was used to
justify our colonization by Europe." Thobani also spoke
about the hypocrisy on the part of the West--especially the
U.S.--in claiming this war will "save Afghani women." She
countered that U.S. foreign policy was greatly responsible
for maintaining the Taliban government's power in
Afghanistan.
As a result of her very militant speech, which received
several standing ovations, Thobani has come under severe
political attack by various sectors of the Canadian
government. The Royal Canadian Mount ed Police is
investigating her for a potential violation of Section 319
of the Canada Criminal Code: "inciting hatred against an
identifiable group." The RCMP is also calling for her
dismissal from the UBC faculty.
An online petition in support of Thobani's right to free
speech can be found at www.rabble.ca, along with the entire
text of her speech.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
BOSTON: CITY COUNCILOR SAYS NO TO WAR
By Stevan Kirschbaum
Boston
The growing anti-war movement, which has seen tens of
thousands in the streets, on college campuses and at
community teach-ins, has found expression in the chambers of
Boston's City Hall.
In response to a racist, right-wing, pro-war resolution
presented at the weekly meeting of the Boston City Council,
Councilor Chuck Turner stood and eloquently articulated the
anti-war feelings of many in the city.
"While we were all shocked by the loss of lives on September
11, an event that touched everyone, we must not allow
emotion to cloud our thinking," said Turner. "We should not
be making war on another country, regardless of the amount
of food we drop or the number of people killed.
"We should join in an alliance with other nations to
investigate the tragic events of September 11 to determine
who was responsible. We should not make war on the people of
Afghanistan."
He was immediately confronted with a torrent of ultra-right
venom by resolution sponsors Jim Kelly of South Boston and
Paul Scapicchio of the North End.
RESOLUTION A RUBBER-STAMP FOR WAR AT HOME AND
ABROAD
Their resolution read in part, "We express our support and
commitment to the President, our Congressional leaders ...
and the policies which they now pursue in protecting our
Nation from further acts of terrorism."
Billed as a "unity resolution against terrorism," it was
designed to provide a City Council rubber stamp for
Washington's racist war in Afghanistan as well as the
racist, anti-Arab and anti-people war at home. It gives a
blank check for denial of civil liberties, an undeclared war
on immigrants, and massive layoffs and cutbacks.
As of this writing, hundreds of Arab people have been held
without charges and without counsel, while many have been
victims of racist attacks.
Resolution sponsor Kelly has a racist record well known in
this city. From organized attacks on African American
students during desegregation in the 1970s, to leading the
vigilante South Boston Marshals, to excluding the lesbian,
gay, bi and trans community from the St. Patrick's Day
parade, to opposing affirmative action, Kelly has been a
mouthpiece for racist injustice and war.
Chuck Turner represents District 7, encompassing Roxbury,
Dorchester, Mission Hill, Fenway and other areas that are
largely African American, Latino and poor. This district has
disproportionately borne the burden of deaths in past U.S.
wars. Its youth have been the victims of both the draft and
later the "economic draft."
This district, like many across the country, will also bear
the burden of economic cutbacks and layoffs.
Turner has been a community activist for over 30 years and
was an early endorser of the International ANSWER coalition.
He has marched in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal and against the
death penalty. He was recently a featured speaker at a
Boston anti-war demonstration of over 2,000.
He will also be a featured speaker at the upcoming Oct. 27
Boston March and Rally against War and Racism, assembling at
12 noon at Government Center.
The pro-war resolution passed by a 12 to 1 margin. In the
wake of Councilor Turner's courageous stand he has received
countless threats, including some from right-wing elements
in the city establishment.
The Oct. 27 demonstration has now added a demand to defend
Councilor Turner from the attacks by racist, pro-war forces.
As the anti-war movement continues to grow, it is clear that
Chuck Turner's vote was cast in the interests of a broad
constituency, while the 12 other votes parroted the
interests of the privileged few. As with Rep. Barbara Lee of
Oakland, Calif., history will confirm the truth of their
stand for justice.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
EDITORIAL: NO WAR ON IRAQ
Danger. Fear. Manipulation of that fear to promote narrow
interests. It is important in the wake of the unprecedented
Sept. 11 attacks and the discovery of deadly anthrax in
ordinary mail that these three concepts be separated and
analyzed.
It is especially important because a section of U.S. ruling
circles is attempting to manipulate the fear to justify
further U.S. aggression in the Middle East--specifically, to
justify a new assault on Iraq in addition to the murderous
attack on Afghanistan.
These ruling-class circles have their political expression
in what is known as the "Wolfowitz cabal," named after
Assistant Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who immediately
after Sept. 11 started promoting the strategy of invading
Iraq. This grouping of mostly old cold warriors, including
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger and
Richard Perle, has met to push for a wider war in many
directions. They have purposely excluded Secretary of State
Colin Powell.
They are not happy that after 10 years of sanctions--which
have killed over a million Iraqis, including a half-million
children--the "demonized" Saddam Hussein still leads Iraq.
This cabal wants to attack and invade Iraq and destroy that
government.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey is apparently pushing for
a top role in the cabal. On Oct. 22, Woolsey made a speech
in which he suggested, without presenting any evidence, that
Iraq was implicated in the Sept. 11 attack and especially in
the anthrax assault.
According to the Associated Press description, Woolsey
implied that "Iraq likely was involved in the attacks of
Sept. 11 and that the United States will probably confront
President Saddam Hussein as part of its ongoing campaign
against terrorism."
Woolsey refused to comment on rumors that Wolfowitz had
asked him to look into Iraq's alleged role in the attacks.
Woolsey's law firm represents the Iraqi National Congress,
an opposition group dedicated to overthrowing the Iraqi
government, and he has met with the INC's leaders on many
occasions.
Other U.S. government spokespeople have already admitted
that there is no evidence Iraq had any role in Sept. 11 or
the anthrax distribution. Scott Ritter, a U.S. officer who
spent years inspecting Iraq's military establishment,
asserted that Iraq's biological weapons had been destroyed
and that there was absolutely no proof connecting Iraq to
the anthrax used in the U.S.
Hans von Sponek, who had run the United Nations'
humanitarian aid program in Iraq, said, "To connect the
tragedy of September 11 and the anthrax attacks with Baghdad
is an evil attempt to find a justification for new attacks
on Iraq."
The Iraqi government has itself denied any connection,
describing the charges as "sinister" and "baseless." Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told AP television news, "in the
1990s we destroyed all our anthrax assets. They were not
high grade."
U.S. imperialism is at war. The "Wolfowitz cabal" and the
ruling-class elements behind it see this war as an
opportunity to settle what it considers Washington's
unfinished business. It failed to oust the Ba'ath government
of Iraq in 1991. More important, it failed to seize the rich
Iraqi oil wells for U.S. oil monopolies. For both strategic
reasons, and the calculations of cold profit, it wants to
expand U.S. aggression in the region from Afghanistan to
Iraq.
To accomplish this goal it will not hesitate to lie,
fabricate evidence, even create provocations to drag the
U.S. population into a new murderous war. It is now
manipulating the fear of the population in an attempt to win
its backing for aggression.
The anti-war movement must be aware of this additional
danger and be prepared to fight against it.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
NEAR GROUND ZERO: WORKERS WALK OUT OVER AIR
QUALITY
By Mary Owen
New York
Workers' frustrations about toxic air near ground zero
flared up here on Oct. 12. Management at the city's
Administration for Children's Services refused to let a
union delegation inside its lower Manhattan building to test
the air after workers complained of stinging eyes and sore
throats.
Scores of city employees, mainly women of color, then left
their desks and poured into the street outside to meet with
their union leaders-a heroic act only four blocks east of
the highly militarized World Trade Center area.
All this happened while reporters had gathered for a union-
called news conference about the agency's refusal to get to
the bottom of air-quality problems. So the cameras were
rolling as the workers filled the street for the union
meeting.
Of the 3,000 workers in the building, most are members of DC
37 AFSCME, the city's largest public employee union. About
1,000 belong to DC 37's Social Service Employees Union Local
371, which has fought many battles for members' rights at
ACS.
Since Sept. 11, the city has been opening buildings around
the ground zero area and calling municipal employees back to
work. But the steadily burning fire at the World Trade
Center site, along with dust stirred up by the recovery
work, has created foul-smelling, smoky air that permeates
lower Manhattan.
According to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety
and Health, air testing by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration
has generally found low or no levels of toxic contaminants,
including asbestos, although some results have been higher.
But experts at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine say that
while the smoke and dust should not cause long-term harm to
healthy individuals, it could worsen the health of those
with chronic heart and lung conditions, such as asthma.
Air quality problems at ACS came to a head after the
building's windows were left open over a three-day weekend
in October. Workers came back to find their office air
unbearable and started calling the union for help.
Local 371 hired an independent environmental expert to take
air samples to see if the air was toxic. At first ACS agreed
to the testing, but reneged on the agreement right before
the tests were to start. So the morning of Oct. 12, leaders
of Local 371, DC 37 and several other locals that have
members at ACS held the news conference in front of the
building to expose the agency's actions.
The workers came out to join them in the street after their
union leaders were barred from going in alone, without the
testing expert, to meet with ACS representatives. This was a
violation of both labor law and a mayoral executive order.
After a spirited union meeting that blocked traffic for
about half an hour, it was agreed that a union volunteer
would wear personal sampling equipment into the building to
get an air sample for analysis. The meeting adjourned and
the workers began to return to the job, only to find
management had locked the doors, making them sign in to
reenter the building-a prelude to possible retribution that
the unions will surely fight.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 1, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
BOMBS DESTROY AFGHAN CITIES: PENTAGON TERROR
FORCES MASS EXODUS
By Fred Goldstein
Under the guise of fighting terrorism, the U.S. military is
bringing massive destruction and devastation to the people
of Afghanistan. Pentagon claims that it is not targeting
civilians are of little solace to the hundreds of thousands
of people whose cities, livelihoods and means of survival
are being destroyed in the relentless bombing campaign,
which has gone on now for 17 days.
According to the Washington Post of Oct. 23, "Pentagon
officials say more than 3,000 bombs have dropped on
Afghanistan since Oct. 7." These bombs have rained down on
all the major population centers of the country.
All the talk about precision bombing of military targets in
order to avoid "collateral damage" is just so much Pentagon
smokescreen for a war that is being deliberately escalated
to terrorize and disrupt the mass of the population.
There are daily raids on the capital city of Kabul. The
Pentagon just expressed its "regrets" that two 500-pound
bombs dropped by a Navy F-14 Tomcat had landed in a
residential area of the city on Oct. 20.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld denied that Navy F-18
planes had bombed a hospital in Herat the next day, even
though a United Nations observer witnessed and confirmed the
strike.
These denials and regrets follow the same script as the
statements made after the destruction of the village of
Karam, the bombing of a Red Cross storage facility, the
bombing of a UN mine-searching headquarters, a previous
bombing of Kabul suburbs, and so on.
NO ELECTRICITY, NO WATER, NO SHELTER
But in addition to the bombing of civilians is the
devastation being brought to the cities themselves. The
Boston Globe of Oct. 24 carried a dispatch from Quetta,
Pakistan, a border town just east of Afghanistan. Entitled
"Airstrikes Forge a Ghost Town," the article describes the
destruction: "When darkness falls, it is absolute; there's
no electricity.... This city is not only a Taliban garrison-
it is home to half a million people, or was before the air
assault began.
"The city's electrical grid was knocked out in airstrikes
last week," continued the Globe. "That has essentially
deprived the city of water, since the electrical pumps do
not work. Some people on the outskirts of the town were
trying to dig wells in their backyards."
Haji Mussajan, a 60-year-old farmer, said he abandoned his
orchard on the outskirts of Kandahar to seek shelter,
bringing his daughter and infant granddaughter with him. "
'We left in fear of our lives,' he said. 'Every day and
every night we hear the roaring and roaring of planes, we
see the smoke, the fire.... Life there is totally ruined.'"
Mohammed Nabi, 55, who left the city, told the Globe that
Kandahar "has a deserted look... And of those who remain,
everyone is talking only about how they can get away... Even
if it is an accident, you are still dead."
The Financial Times of London carried a story from the
Pakistan border on Oct. 24 about the city of Herat. " 'There
is no life left in Herat,' said a woman holding a four-year-
old child in her arms. 'All the men are dying. No one can
live there anymore,' she said.
" 'Since Friday there has been no halt in the attacks,' said
Muhammed Wali, a Herat shopkeeper now stranded with his wife
and two children. 'The bombardment has been huge.'"
The French press agency AFP carried a dispatch Oct. 24 from
Quetta saying that, "At least 20 Afghan civilians, including
nine children, were killed as they tried to flee a town
under attack by U.S. warplanes, according to survivors who
managed to escape to Pakistan. The refugees were on the
outskirts of the southern Afghan town of Tirin Kot on Sunday
when the tractor and trailer they were traveling on was
struck by a bomb. Some of those who survived managed to
cross the border today and have been hospitalized in
Quetta."
This is the planned and inevitable result of sending up to
100 bombing missions a day, augmented by cruise missiles,
over this impoverished country already ravaged by 20 years
of war.
Any policy that calls for dropping 3,000 bombs in 17 days on
or near the population center of a country can only be
described as a policy of terror.
HISTORY OF OPPRESSION BEFORE SEPT. 11
The horrific attacks on thousands of innocent civilians that
took place in the United States on Sept. 11 are being
matched many times over by the wholesale destruction of
urban life in Afghanistan. Over a million people are being
driven from shelter, their jobs, their sources of food and
medicine. Hundreds of thousands are in grave peril.
The people of the U.S. must understand that the Sept. 11
attacks, as horrible as they were, arose out of the long
history of the oppression of the people in the Middle East
and Central Asia by the forces of imperialism, in particular
the U.S. government, the Pentagon and the multinational
corporations.
Washington has for decades supported the absolute rulers of
the hereditary monarchy in Saudi Arabia, guardians of the
profits of U.S. oil companies.
The U.S. ruling class has backed the settler state of Israel
in its 53-year occupation of Palestinian land, which has led
to the killing and jailing of tens of thousands of
Palestinians who are fighting against poverty and colonial
domination.
Washington killed 200,000 Iraqis in the Gulf War and has
killed five times that many since then by the deadly
sanctions.
U.S. TOPPLED PROGRESSIVE AFGHAN REGIME
Indeed, the suffering of the Afghani people is the doing of
the U.S. government. The CIA beginning in 1979 led a 10-year
war against a progressive socialist regime in Kabul that
championed the rights of women, the workers and the peasants
against the landlords. Threatened with counter-revolution
supported from outside, this government asked for the
assistance of Soviet troops.
The USSR withdrew and the progressive regime in Kabul was
finally destroyed after an $8-billion effort by
international imperialism, in alliance with reactionary
forces in the Middle East and Central Asia--the Saudi
monarchy, the right-wing Islamic military regime in
Pakistan, and many other counter-revolutionary forces,
including the Taliban.
Afghanistan was then subjected to more years of civil war as
various counter-revolutionary elements fought to control the
country. These are the forces that Washington is trying to
fashion into a puppet regime in Kabul, if it can bring about
the defeat of the Taliban.
The reactionary clerical regime of the Taliban has cruelly
suppressed women and all modern manifestations of society,
but that is no excuse for the U.S. to destroy and take over
the country. Washington is trying to destroy the state not
in order to liberate anyone, but to establish its domination
over the region and pave the way for greater exploitation by
the transnational corporations.
The anti-war movement in the U.S. has a duty to fight to end
the suffering of the Afghani people at the hands of the
terror bombing campaign. It must fight to get the U.S.
military out of Central Asia and the Middle East and keep it
from backing oppressive governments in the area.
The people of the region must be free to settle their
affairs without imperialist intervention. Otherwise, this
struggle that is already decades old will never end.
- END -
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