Anti-war forces denounce troop plans

The announcement that the U.S. government plans to keep an occupation force of up to 50,000 troops–plus countless civilian mercenaries–in Iraq indefinitely as well as immediately send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan has met a firestorm of protest and opposition. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) called the announcement “a plan for almost three more years of an unjustified military occupation that continues to claim the lives and livelihoods of our troops and innocent Iraqis.”

Anti-war coalitions have called for major national demonstrations against both wars on March 21 in Washington and on April 3-4 at Wall Street in New York City. Regional demonstrations on the West Coast and in the South are also planned for both weekends.

IVAW noted that the war announcement “does not include a timeline for removing the more than 150,000 private defense contractors and mercenaries still in Iraq, nor does [it] address the question of disallowing permanent military bases.”

IVAW noted that President Barack Obama “says he understands service members have ‘the heaviest burden,’ but how is he alleviating that burden by removing troops from Iraq only to ask them to fight in an escalating occupation in Afghanistan? We must ensure that U.S. control of Iraq, which today is accomplished primarily through military force, is not maintained over the longer term through the use of more subtle legal, financial, economic or political means.

“The Iraqi people deserve the dignity of full sovereignty and control of their own nation, and the only way to give this to them is by the immediate and complete withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq. This means withdrawing all military personnel, troops and defense contractors, closing all military bases, ceasing air operations, and removing American interests intent on controlling Iraqi oil resources.”

Workers World spoke with Sgt. Selena Coppa in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Jabbar Magruder in Los Angeles. These IVAW leaders focus on outreach to active-duty GIs. Coppa expressed bitter disappointment that peace candidate Obama has morphed into a war president. She said printable words could not express how she and other GIs feel, but she strongly endorsed the IVAW statement.

Magruder said IVAW is focused on using the skills gained in a recent GI organizing workshop at Fort Lewis, Wash., to escalate active-duty outreach. Plans are in motion for similar workshops at other bases soon.

Both expressed concern that the economic meltdown could result in cuts in benefits and services to GIs and veterans and vowed to push for a new bonus march, like the one in 1932 that brought tens of thousands of veterans to Washington.

In a separate statement, the Troops Out Now Coalition condemned the war announcement. “In November, the people voted overwhelmingly for an end to war and occupation,” TONC said. “The majority of the people of the U.S.–and the world–are demanding an end to the war and occupation in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. The war against the people of Iraq was launched based on lies about weapons of mass destruction, as a pretext to seize control of the vast oil reserves of the region for the benefit of Wall Street.”

TONC noted that the Iraq war has cost $341.4 million every day, which works out to $4,681 per household over the six years since March 2003. This does not include the long-term cost of caring for U.S. veterans who have been wounded in the war. More than 300,000 suffer from traumatic brain injury and another 300,000 are victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Nor does it account for the incalculable cost in lives and suffering on both sides of the war.

On Feb. 26 the White House called for an additional $75.5 billion this year to pay for war and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing the total war budget for 2009 to $141 billion. The overall Pentagon budget for 2009 will be an official $513.3 billion. This does not include the billions given to Israel every year to continue a brutal war against the Palestinian people.

The demands of the March 21 march on the Pentagon and of the April 3-4 march on Wall Street include:

Bring ALL the troops home now!

End war and occupation—in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine!

Money for human needs, NOT war!