January 18 :mass demonstration to the Washington Navy Yard

MASS MARCH ON JANUARY 18 TO DEMAND:
-NO WAR AGAINST IRAQ
-ELIMINATE U.S. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Please read the following email for important updates
about the scenario for the January 18 National March in
Washington DC to say "No War on Iraq" and for an alert on
Bush's moves toward first strike nuclear war.

The world is being menaced by Weapons of Mass Destruction
by a government that is openly threatening and planning to
use nuclear weapons in preemptive wars of aggression
against others, including non-nuclear countries. While all
eyes are focused on the purported threat coming from Iraq,
the Bush Administration has sharply reorganized U.S.
military doctrine and strategy as it prepares to actually
use Weapons of Mass Destruction in coming conflicts as a
matter of declared policy.

It is for this reason that on January 18, people across
the United States will converge at the West side of the
Capitol Building in Washington DC and march in a mass
demonstration to the Washington Navy Yard -- a massive
military installation located in a working class
neighborhood in Southeast Washington DC that parks
warships on the Anacostia River. We will demand the
immediate elimination of US weapons of mass destruction
and a people's inspection team will call for unfettered
access and a full declaration of U.S. non-conventional
weapons systems.

Bush seeks to have world attention focused on the
disarmament of Iraq as the preeminent threat to world
peace, while the real threat of nuclear war and the use of
Weapons of Mass Destruction arises within the U.S.
Administration. This is the politics of diversion and
should give pause to those who are thinking of joining in
Bush's sleight-of-hand anti-Iraq chorus believing it to be
a path to peace. The nuclear threat posed by the United
States is neither rhetoric nor speculation, it is the now
announced doctrine and strategy of the Bush White House.
It represents the ushering in of a new era of unrestrained
and unprovoked catastrophic violence.

"Preemptive Strikes are Part of US Strategic Doctrine,"
reads the headline of the front page of the Washington
Post of December 11, 2002. A classified version of the new
Bush Doctrine "breaks with the fifty years of
counter-proliferation efforts" by planning for the use of
nuclear weapons against countries that not only have not
attacked the US but that do not themselves possess nuclear
capability.

A.N.S.W.E.R. believes that all Weapons of Mass Destruction
should be banished from the planet. But this is impossible
until the biggest arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction
-- the one at the disposal of trigger-happy George W. Bush
and Co. -- is eliminated. Any other call for disarmament
will not be viewed as legitimate by the rest of the world.

These war hawks are determined to breach the "taboo"
against the use of nuclear weapons that grew after the
world experienced the horror of the incineration of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

It would be cowardly and foolish to turn our attention
away from the open threats and plans to use Weapons of
Mass Destruction that are issuing from the White House,
not Iraq, and are embodied in the new Bush military
doctrine.

We must stop the Bush Administration from threatening and
killing the people of the world who are not our enemy.

*Perspective on the January 18 demonstration*

On October 26th hundreds of thousands of people
demonstrated in Washington, DC and San Francisco in
demonstrations called by A.N.S.W.E.R.
(http://www.InternationalANSWER.org) and in coinciding
actions in 220 cities around the world. On December 10th
thousands took part in anti-war actions called by United
for Peace (http://www.unitedforpeace.org) in dozens of
cities around the country marking International Human
Rights Day. On December 14, there will be an important
demonstration in New York City starting at 125th St. in
Harlem that will also oppose a war in Iraq called by
Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice
(http://www.uptownpj.org). Every day, there are protests,
rallies and teach-ins called by local organizations in
cities and towns around the United States in opposition to
a new war against Iraq.

On January 18, there will be a massive protest in
Washington DC initiated by A.N.S.W.E.R. and endorsed by
thousands of organizations and individuals (for an
endorsers list, see
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/endorsers.html).
This timely demonstration is gaining momentum everyday
with support coming from community, labor, student,
religious, women's, civil rights, LGBT, and peace groups
around the country. On January 20, Black Voices for Peace
will be organizing an important activity in Washington DC.

We are marching in Washington DC on January 18 to embrace
the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King birthday. The
U.S. possesses 6,000 nuclear weapons. It has spent $7
trillion on their development in the last half-century.
Instead of spending $400 billion every year for weapons of
mass destruction and to promote militarism, we the people
of the United States will demand on January 18 that our
money be spent to provide free education, healthcare and
childcare, jobs and job training, expanded support for the
elderly and other things that human beings need.

The scenario for January 18th includes a brief rally on
the West side of the Capitol starting at 11 am followed by
a massive march to the Washington DC Navy Yard, a huge
military complex located in the heart of one of
Washington's working class communities, walking distance
from the Capitol.

On Saturday, January 18, tens of thousands will travel by
bus, van and car caravan from all over the East Coast,
South and Midwest to be in Washington DC for the National
March against war on Iraq. We encourage people to bring
banners and puppets, to dress as weapons inspectors, to
find as many creative methods to dramatize our demands in
opposition to a war of aggression and in support of a
reorganization of society's priorities that would put
people's needs ahead of the Pentagon and the war
profiteers in Corporate America.

Dr. Martin Luther King said that "The greatest purveyor of
violence on the planet is my own government." That
statement is as true today as it was during the Vietnam
War. We will honor Dr. King's legacy by marching against
the terror that these weapons of mass destruction wreak on
the world.

We also join with people all over the world who mourn the
loss of Phillip Berrigan who devoted his life to
courageous opposition to militarism and war. Phil Berrigan
put his body on the line in the struggle to call attention
to the inherently evil nature of weapons of mass
destruction produced by and for the US military industrial
complex. In addition to honoring Dr. King, we intend to
make the January 18 march a living tribute to Phil
Berrigan's life and legacy.

Given the feedback that we have received, we have decided
that there will be more effective organization and
participation in the People's Peace Congress if it takes
place after the January 18-19-20 weekend. Many local
areas indicated that they wanted to participate in the
People’s Peace Congress, but reserving buses for the
entire weekend was logistically difficult and extremely
expensive. Given the response from different communities
that are excited about participation in the People's Peace
Congress, we are suggesting the rescheduling of the
Congress in the spring. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is
consulting with different member organizations and
supporters, and will announce further plans for the
People's Peace Congress in the coming weeks. Everyone
agrees that the most important and urgent task -- given
the imminent war danger -- is for a massive street
mobilization on the Martin Luther King birthday weekend in
Washington DC.

If you're planning to stay in Washington DC, there will be
a lot to do, including student and youth gatherings
following the demonstration. Further details will be
announced soon.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

A new flyer is now available to help spread the word about
the upcoming actions. It can be downloaded at
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/resources/index.html
. If you are unable to open or print the flyer, call us at
202-544-3389and we can mail you an original copy or a
stack of flyers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
http://www.VoteNoWar.org
dc@internationalanswer.org
New York 212-633-6646
Washington 202-332-5757
Chicago 773-878-0166
Los Angeles 213-487-2368
San Francisco 415-821-6545

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)