Minneapolis, MN – Carlos Montes, of Latinos Against War and veteran leader of the Chicano and immigrants right movements, along with Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee were among the many prominent activists who addressed the Feb 9-10 Organizers Conference here to prepare the massive anti-war march planned for the opening day of the Republican National Convention.

The Bush administration has changed its strategy in Iraq. Previously the occupation relied on Kurdish and Shiite militias to keep a grip. Now it has added Sunni militias called ‘Awakening Councils’ (al-Sahwa) and ‘Concerned Local Citizens’ (CLCs) to the mix. It is a fateful step.

Minneapolis, MN – Progressive activists from all over the country will attend an organizing conference here Feb. 9-10 to prepare for a national anti-war rally and march set for Sept. 1 – the first day of the Republican National Convention. The conference is hosted by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War.

Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with student and youth organizations from across the country are calling for rallies, marches, walkouts, direct actions and other activities on campuses during the week of March 17 to 21, marking the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war.

Organizers of the massive anti-war demonstration planned for the opening day of the Republican National Convention have won an important victory – permits have been secured for the Minnesota State Capitol building and grounds.

Minneapolis, MN – The Anti-War Committee and the Iraq Peace Action Coalition (IPAC) co-sponsored a May forum entitled, “It's the Oil Stupid: U.S. Intervention in Iraq and Colombia.”

Minneapolis, MN – Over 70 protesters held banners and signs while chanting, “Hands off Colombia, stop the aid now!” on Saturday, March 11. People driving by greeted the protest with horns honking and fists raised in support, at the busy intersection of the uptown shopping area.

Maha Nassar, activist, educator, mother and ex-political prisoner, visited the U.S. in a speaking tour to talk about the work that she is doing as chair of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees. Ms Nassar shares her years of experience working for Palestinian freedom and resistance to the Israeli occupation. She speaks plainly of where the movement has been and where it must go. The Union of Palestinian Women's Committees is one of the most important groups working for social justice in Palestine. In a country where justice is fought for with rocks against armored tanks, words must become weapons and knowledge is power. Read on and learn about the Palestinian struggle from the people who resist.

Speaking at a news conference on May 5, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “The main effort in our strategic focus from a military perspective must now shift to Afghanistan.”

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Antiwar Working Group of Students for a Democratic Society.

Chicago, IL - In a racist defense of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, the Jewish United Fund rallied here July 17 at the Federal Plaza. As the heat index hit 111 degrees, the Palestine Solidarity Group and other organizations gathered to challenge the Zionists and to oppose Israel’s actions.

Minnesota saw a wave of dramatic anti-war protests at military recruitment centers, April 23. The call of the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee for April 23 to be Zero Recruitment Day was taken up by a host of anti-war groups that joined together, visibly opposing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, exposing recruiter lies and preventing military recruiting that day.

Minneapolis, MN – On August 19, some 60 people gathered at Todos Los Santos Church for “Women on the Frontlines: the First Causalities of War,” an Anti-War Committee forum on the human impact of U.S. policies towards Iraq, Colombia, and Yugoslavia.

Minneapolis, MN – Over 200 people joined a anti-war protest here Oct. 11. The protest was organized under the slogans of “Bring the troops home now,” “Out of Iraq, out of Afghanistan, no war on Iran,” and “Funds for housing and human needs – not war!”

Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, Sept. 11, 125 people protested against the ‘war on terror,’ and demonstrated an act of international solidarity at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. The demonstration was organized by the Anti-War Committee.

San Jose, CA – On June 2, members of the San Jose Japanese American community met at the Yu-Ai-Kai (Japanese American Seniors' Center). They were there to learn more about the attacks on Arab Americans, Muslims and civil liberties following Sept. 11. Susan Hayase moderated the program on behalf of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee. In her introduction, Hayase said, “It is happening again,” and pointed the connection between the mass arrests of Japanese Americans following Pearl Harbor and the detention of Arab and Muslim Americans today.

With the help of bombs and mercenaries from the Northern Alliance, U.S. and British forces have occupied the main cities of Afghanistan. Washington convened a meeting in Europe where a strange collection of Afghan warlords, monarchists, and political has-beens were anointed as the new government. They were put in airplanes and sent to Kabul where they had to explain how the “careful” American pilots bombed a convoy of their supporters who on the way to their inauguration.

San Francisco, CA – Nearly one hundred protesters marched on the Philippine and Japanese embassies in San Francisco on Dec. 7. The “Tour of Shame” was organized by the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition Against War to protest daily bombings in Afghanistan and the loss of civil liberties throughout the world.

Statement of the Emergency Committee Against U.S. Intervention in Afghanistan