Emergency response to U.S. bombing of Iraq -- 4:30 PM Friday, Federal Plaza

[Andy Thayer]

Tonight, U.S. bombing of Iraq has begun again.

Don't believe the "humanitarian" lies used to justify it. They are no more true coming from the Obama administration than the humanitarian lies used by previous administrations to justify U.S. military attacks.

This bombing is about reasserting U.S. power in the region, against local powers, and against its world power rivals, China and Russia.

In the cynical chess game of foreign relations so aptly revealed by Chelsea Manning and others, the bombing is real politic aimed reestablishing "American relevance" in a region where U.S. power is widely seen as waning.

The previous U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq took more than 1,000,000 Iraqi lives and displaced millions more. U.S. policy fueled the sectarian strife that ISIS and the Maliki government thrive on. Adding more U.S. weaponry to the mix brings yet more death and destruction, further embittering the peoples of the region towards the West.

In justifying the bombing, Obama tonight said that the U.S. can’t “turn a blind eye to genocide.” In the light of his steadfast support for the month-long Israeli slaughter of Gaza – resupplying munitions to the Israeli Defense Force mid-battle – his statement perhaps surpasses even the most hypocritical statements of George W. Bush.

Once again we must reject a president's war lies. Once again we must build a movement for peace. Once again, politics is too dangerous a game to be left to the politicians.

Please participate in the emergency response demonstration, 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM tomorrow (Friday), at Federal Plaza, corner of Dearborn & Adams Streets, Chicago.

Please share this message widely.

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