[act-ma] 7/13, 6pm: Public Forum - No U.S./Nato/Israeli War on Syria!

Fri Jul 12 21:58:22 PDT 2013

*** 6 PM *** - 7/13 Forum No U.S./Nato/Israeli War on Syria!
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  Hands Off Syria! JOBS Not War!

    Public Forum - Hear Joyce Chediac, Lebanese-American Activist and
    Editor of "Gaza, Symbol of Resistance"

      Saturday, July 13, 2013 - 6:00 PM!

*The Action Center, 284 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain at the Brewery 
Complex, steps from the Stony Brook Stop on the Orange Line*

        For a discussion on:

        - How to join in the fight to demand money for people's needs
        like JOBS, public education and healthcare NOT racism and war.

        - U.S. weapons to Syrian contra ("rebel") forces, Israeli
        bombing of Syria, bases in Turkey, plans for a No-Fly Zone and
        how the U.S. uses Syria's neighbors in a new proxy war with the
        goal of total domination in the region;

        -Understand how the U.S.-led strategy of economic devastation
        and sanctions works to destabilize the economy, weaken health
        facilities, destroy communications, cultural institutions,
        education, food production and sanitation;

        - Understand the revolutionary developments in Egypt and the
        role of the U.S. and their clients, the Egyptian military

        - The parallels with Iraq and Libya, Syria's overlooked economic
        development and its regional and secular policies;

        - How to combat the corporate media, politicians and others that
        are attempting to whip up public sentiment for an all-out
        U.S./NATO/Israeli war on Syria;

*SPONSORED BY WORKERS WORLD PARTY BOSTON*
*For more information, call 617-286-6574
workers.org*
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  Syria resisting economic and military attacks

By/David Sole 
<http://iacenter.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a8010181fb&id=b03d9492ab&e=34297bad53>/on 
July 7, 2013

Less dramatic but no less intense than military battles is the economic 
war being conducted against the Syrian people and Syrian government by 
the Western powers, led by the United States.

Economic sanctions imposed by the imperialist drive for “regime change” 
have taken a heavy toll on the Syrian people. A sustained attack on the 
Syrian pound by international financial institutions has caused a drop 
in Syrian currency against the dollar and euro.

To offset this drop in the value of their currency, the Syrian 
government ordered double-digit increases in salaries for public 
employees and retirees. (New York Times, June 28) Aid from Russia, China 
and Iran totaling $500 million a month is what is allowing the Syrian 
government to weather these attacks. (Financial Times, June 27) Kadri 
Jamil, deputy prime minister for the economy, described the aid as a 
“counteroffensive” against this economic warfare.

Syrian troops, meanwhile, have been following up their dramatic victory 
over reactionary rebel forces in the city of Qusair. Rebels were driven 
out of the town of Tel Kalakh, just two miles from the Lebanese border 
“used by the rebels … as a transit point for weapons and fighters 
smuggled into Syria.” (Reuters, June 26)

But the Syrian government’s military victories are driving the U.S. and 
its European and Mideast monarchist allies toward greater intervention. 
The military commander of the so-called “Free Syrian Army” announced 
recently that his forces were receiving anti-aircraft missiles. This was 
confirmed by the Reuters’ report of June 26, which reported that Saudi 
Arabia was “supplying anti-aircraft missiles among other weapons.”

Washington is also escalating its role in the war against Syria. The BBC 
reported on June 25 that 800 U.S. troops “are now stationed in Jordan, 
many remaining on after a joint military exercise” ended recently. 
Demonstrations in Jordan’s capital, Amman, protested this imperialist 
occupation and threat against neighboring Syria. Jordanian Army 
Brigadier General Ali Habashna expressed his fears, saying, “We all know 
that when the U.S. puts its troops somewhere, in a country, they become 
part of the crisis, they worsen it.” (BBC, June 25)

Tensions related to the war against Syria spilled over into the Lebanese 
port city of Sidon on June 18 when followers of Sheik Ahmad al-Assir 
fought members of the Hezbollah militia. Sheik Assir strongly opposes 
the government of President al-Assad of Syria. By Sunday, June 23, 
Lebanese Army forces had come under attack by the right-wing cleric’s 
forces. After major fighting, it was reported that 14 Lebanese 
government troops had been killed and the Sheik was in hiding.

Perhaps in retaliation for their defeats on the battlefield, rebel 
terrorists attacked the Christian Old City of Damascus. Suicide bombers 
and other explosives went off at a medical treatment center, a 
restaurant and a Greek Orthodox church, killing several civilians.

The talk of an international peace conference for Syria has not moved 
forward. Plans for talks in Geneva first put forward by both the U.S. 
and Russia have stalled. The two powers have not even been able to agree 
on who should attend the gathering.

Washington had hoped that its proxy rebel forces would have been strong 
enough after two years of fighting — aided by massive weapons shipments 
coordinated by the CIA — to force President Assad to step down. However, 
recent military and political defeats for the U.S.-backed rebels have 
strengthened the Syrian government, making a peace conference unlikely 
to achieve the neocolonial goal of “regime change.”

Inside the U.S., anti-war groups have united in a call for coordinated 
national demonstrations against U.S. aid to the reactionary rebels, 
demanding that the billions spent for war be diverted to provide 
much-needed jobs and social services right here at home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

  U.S. direct military threat to Syria grows

By/David Sole 
<http://iacenter.us6.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=a8010181fb&id=3f076b96dd&e=34297bad53>/on 
June 10, 2013

The crucial victory by the Syrian Arab Army against imperialist-backed 
terrorist ‘rebels’ in Qusair, a town near the border with Lebanon, has 
further disintegrated the military and political opposition to the 
government of President Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, the threats 
against Syria’s government by imperialist and reactionary monarchist 
powers, led by the United States, are increasing.

On June 5, the Syrian army regained the town of Qusair after several 
weeks of intense fighting. Qusair had been in rebel hands for two years 
and served as a transit point for foreign fighters and weapons flooding 
into Syria from the porous Lebanon border.

To aid this victory, volunteers from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia had 
joined in the fighting on the side of the Syrian government. Syrian 
troops pursued the retreating rebels into the many villages surrounding 
Qusair.

The leaders of Hezbollah, which is renowned for liberating Lebanon from 
Israeli occupation, have clearly defined the struggle to preserve 
Syria’s government as being part of the struggle against the imperialist 
and colonialist Western powers and the Zionist state of Israel.

It has also been reported that the military wing of the Palestinian 
Hamas organization has come out in support of Hezbollah’s position in 
defense of Syria against the imperialists. Al Quds Al Arabi, the 
London-based pan-Arab newspaper, reports that the Qassam Brigades have 
decided to realign themselves with Hezbollah and Iran after bitter 
infighting over the direction the group should take. The report says 
that the Brigades wrote a letter to the political leadership of Hamas 
demanding an alliance with Hezbollah.

The opposition Syrian Coalition, already unable to maintain a unified 
political front, quickly showed greater signs of disunity. Before the 
Qusair defeat, the Coalition had agreed to attend an international peace 
conference proposed jointly by the U.S. and Russia. With this big 
setback, the military commander of the so-called “Free Syrian Army” 
announced that the rebels would boycott any peace conference “if we 
don’t receive ammunition and weapons to change the position on the 
ground.” (New York Times, June 9)

Of course, the rebels have been receiving massive shipments of armaments 
from Qatar and Saudi Arabia for the past two years, all coordinated by 
the Central Intelligence Agency. The Times characterized this position 
as reflecting “a growing frustration if not desperation.” The rebels, 
unable to advance on the ground, are really pressing for direct and 
massive military intervention by the U.S. and its NATO allies.

*Military exercises in Jordan*

Jordanian media recently reported that 15,000 troops from 17 countries 
will soon start massive military “exercises” inside Jordan. Participants 
include the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Italy, Turkey, Yemen, Egypt and 
others and will include air-sea and land operations.

The “war game,” dubbed Eager Lion 2013, will run for at least two weeks. 
U.S. troops have already been stationed in Jordan and Turkey along with 
Patriot missile batteries. The CIA has been widely reported as running 
training camps for guerrilla forces to be sent into Syria. According to 
the June 9 Jordan Times, “Major equipment utilised during the exercise 
will include amphibious assault ships, AV-B Harrier II, C130 Hercules, 
F18 Hornet, F16 Falcon, Patriot missile system and the V-22 Osprey tilt 
rotor aircraft.” It is unclear how much of this equipment will be left 
in Jordan.

These war games are a direct threat against the government of Syria and 
could easily be used to initiate a direct attack on Syria. The U.S. goal 
of regime change in Syria is unlikely to be stopped by the failures of 
its proxy rebels.

Two years ago the U.S. and NATO were faced with the total inability of 
their Libyan proxies to advance militarily. The “solution” was to 
declare a “no-fly zone” in Libya. Massive bombing of military and 
civilian targets followed. In the end, the “rebels” simply walked into 
the capital as imperialist planes cleared their path. A similar playbook 
may be in preparation for Syria.

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