One of the decisions from the European Social Forum was to agree to organise a European Day of Action against the war on 15 February. This is now central to the work of the Stop the War Coalition and a National Demonstration has been called for that day.
This will be organised jointly with CND. The day looks likely to become an International Day of Action with action in the US and elsewhere. If war begins before 15 February, there will obviously be additional demonstrations and direct action.
Stop the War will work to extend the 15 February demonstration nto a 24-hour occupation of London. European Day of Action: Feb 15 The military build up is gigantic. At the end of November, Bush authorised the despatch of 50,000 ground troops to the Gulf. They were to join the forces already assembled which include USS aircraft carriers Harry Trueman, Nimitz, Kitty Hawk, Carl Vinson, Constellation and Abraham Lincoln, together with a fleet of supply ships. Then there are two Apache helicopter squadrons and tens of thousands of troops. The list is pretty much endless.
No serious commentator suggests that war will be long in coming. Since Resolution 144l was passed, the hawks in the US administration have moved onto the offensive.
Bush and Blair have initiated a daily bombing campaign in Iraq and the Americans have argued that should the Iraqis attempt to defend themselves, this would constitute a 'material breach' and be reason enough for war - even though there is no UN resolution authorising 'no fly zones' or military action to enforce them.
Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector is continuously denigrated by Rumsfeld, Perle and the rest. There is still a question mark over how long the inspections will actually be allowed to proceed
Should Iraq make a declaration that it has no weapons of mass destruction on December 8, that could be considered 'a material breach' and war would follow.
So, as the military preparations are stepped up, the anti-war movement must also prepare. It is now not a question of 'if but 'when' the war will start.
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