------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Jan. 9, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
ALL EYES ON WASHINGTON: TIME GROWS SHORT TO STOP BUSH'S WAR By Leslie Feinberg As the U.S. war machine drives toward widespread military aggression against the Iraqi people, the urgency to coalesce a massive and powerful anti-war movement is rising. It's a public "secret" that President George W. Bush and his brass are paving the road toward war with Iraq. Their combat timetable is no top secret, either. Numerous official and unofficial "leaks" to the media put the outbreak of full-scale Pentagon warfare against Iraq at sometime between late January and mid-February. On Dec. 30 New York Times columnist William Safire predicted that Bush's drive toward war in that period was "on schedule." The inspections in Iraq, a partly disarmed land now menaced by the country with the most massive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction on the planet, are scheduled to result in a report to the United Nations Security Council on Jan. 27. Bush is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union speech the following day, one year after he first labeled Iraq part of an "Axis of Evil." Media accounts in the United States and around the world openly quote unnamed, high-level sources who say the Commander in Chief is expected to announce the launch of an assault on Iraq following the UN inspectors' report. These news reports are streng th ened by the fact that the Pentagon is moving its forces into position for war. This means the slated Jan. 18-19 protest in Washington, D.C., may be the last chance for a national mobilization that can unite people of all nationalities, ages, beliefs, sexes and genders from campuses, towns and cities across the United States to raise their voices in tandem to demand: "U.S. hands off Iraq!" On Dec. 31 the U.S. Army ordered the single largest ground deployment of troops to the Gulf region since the 1991 war. Soldiers from the Third Infantry Division in Georgia are headed for Kuwait, where they are joining 4,000 of their fellow troops who have been on maneuvers. This division, 15,000 troops in all, specializes in desert warfare. ZILCH, ZIP, ZERO Polls attest that anti-war sentiment is deep and widespread across the United States. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he sees no basis at this time for the use of force against Iraq. (BBC News, Dec. 31) One inspector, who spoke to the Los Angeles Times on condition of anonymity, said that they had found "zilch" to put into a report. "We haven't found an iota of concealed material yet," he said. (BBC News, Dec. 31) The Bush administration has stonewalled reported public and private requests by the inspectors to "share the intelligence it says proves Iraq possesses prohibited weapons programs." (Washington Post, Dec. 19) Washington's warlords are demonstrating that they are hell-bent on all- out war. The Pentagon and the White House, with their willing British ally, have continued to pummel Iraq with daily sorties that rain ordinance and terror on the Iraqi population. The administration plans to escalate its military forces in the Persian Gulf even further in the new year. The buildup will include 50,000 combat troops, aircraft and armor, and a quarter of a million activated reservists. (Washington Post, Dec. 20) An extensive article on troop and equipment buildup in the Dec. 20 Washington Post reported, "One senior defense official said the Pentagon had been moving heavy equipment for months as part of a buildup that was kept low key to avoid alarming the international community and creating the impression that the Bush administration had prejudged the UN arms inspection process." The source explained, "But without a doubt, within the next week or so, you'll see more muscle movements than you've seen up to now. ... We've been below the threshold of pain of the international community. I think you're going to see a strategy change to one of demonstrated resolve, if not overt coercion." The source was correct, as the latest news shows. The U.S. has deployed an estimated 1,000 troops in Israel, reportedly to install new Patriot missile batteries. Pentagon officials say these troops may not be withdrawn any time soon. (The Hindu, Dec. 31) The Pentagon has already acknowledged placing 60,000 troops and 400 aircraft at bases in Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. Two 62,000-ton cargo ships, the USNS Watson and the USNS Charlton, quietly steamed into the Gulf in early December. Ammunition, tanker trucks, helicopters, bridge sections and watercraft have been moved by the tons into the Persian Gulf. And the buildup is more extensive than has been reported. On Dec. 18 Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said on CNN's "Larry King Live" program, "We're flowing forces now. Every day that goes by, obviously, our capability to move faster and somewhat better improves." That means the anti-war forces need to move fast, gain momentum and organize boldly and bravely, particularly in the United States--the belly of the beast. That is what the International ANSWER coalition plans to do in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18-19, with a sister action in San Francisco. The time is short. Activists will need to button up their overcoats. Each voice is needed to deliver a strong, anti-war message so loud that it will be heard by the war makers and by people around the world who are waiting for a strong, grassroots, anti-imperialist movement to gather force in this imperialist center. For more information, visit www.internationalANSWER.org. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. 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