STOP THE WAR COALITION Email: office@stopwar.org.uk Phone: 020 7278 6694 Web: wwww.stopwar.org.uk

1) EMERGENCY PROTEST ON THE IRAQ WAR TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER ASSEMBLE 5PM-7PM PARLIAMENT SQUARE, LONDON SW1 (Nearest tube: Westminster)

On Tuesday 31 October, Parliament will debate and vote on the Iraq war for the first time since March 18 2003. Alex Salmond, one of the MPs who initiated the debate, says: "This is the first time since the invasion of Iraq that the government can be held to account over this illegal and unwanted war."

STOP THE WAR COALITION has called an emergency protest in front of Parliament when the debate takes place between 5pm and 7pm. MPs must end a war which has brought nothing but mass slaughter and devastation to the people of Iraq. There is no excuse. It's what the majority of British people want. It's what even the head of the British armed forces, General Sir Richard Dannatt, wants.

JOIN THE PROTEST. SPREAD THE WORD AMONG YOUR FRIENDS, WORK COLLEAGUES, FELLOW STUDENTS etc. TO DOWNLOAD A LEAFLET FOR PHOTOCOPYING, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/teom7 MORE DETAILS: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

**************************************** 2) TAKING SIDES: THE MEDIA AND THE WAR ON TERROR MONDAY 30 OCTOBER 7PM BLOOMSBURY CHURCH HALL, SHAFTESBURY AVE, LONDON WC2 (Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road. MAP: http://tinyurl.com/y5zhrs) SPEAKERS: � Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (The Independent) � Tim Llewellyn (former BBC Middle East correspondent) � Prof. Justin Lewis (Cardiff University school of journalism) � Jeremy Dear (General Secretary, NUJ) � Sami Ramadani (Iraq Democrats against Occupation) � Lindsey German (Convenor, Stop the War Coalition) Organised by Media Workers Against the War FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 07801 789 297 or email mwaw@btinternet.com DOWNLOAD LEAFLET HERE: http://tinyurl.com/yxfp9e -- To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/40 17 October 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

N THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) DEMONISING MUSLIMS: AN OPEN LETTER 2) ISLAMOPHOBIA AND THE 'WAR ON TERROR' 3) WHERE HAVE ALL THE DOCTORS GONE? THE COLLAPSE OF IRAQ'S HEALTH SERVICES 4) DID THE GENERAL SPEAK FOR US ALL? 5) STAYING UNTIL "THE JOB IS DONE" 6) A POSTER COMMEMORATING A REMARKABLE DAY 7) CRUCIAL VOTE ON UK-US EXTRADITION TREATY 8) JOIN THE FASLANE BLOCKADE 9) BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION

**************************************** 1) DEMONISING MUSLIMS: AN OPEN LETTER There is an attempt to plunge this country into a racist hysteria of a kind we have not seen for a generation or more -- directed against Muslims.

Recent weeks have seen a series of speeches by leading politicians designed to isolate and demonise British Muslims. These have been reflected in spurious news stories and, still more seriously, violence directed against Muslim people and places of worship.

In particular, we deplore the recent remarks by Jack Straw concerning the veil worn in public by some Muslim women. His intervention undoubtedly created the climate in which the racist attack on a Muslim woman in Liverpool took place. Likewise, the bullying attacks of John Reid have served only to spread fear amongst Muslims.

We further condemn the attempted fire-bombing of a mosque in Windsor -- the latest in a number of such episodes nationwide -- and note the failure of many commentators and politicians to condemn this outrage.

We express our solidarity with all British people of the Muslim faith and affirm their right to worship and dress as they please and to live their lives in peace and security.

The current wave of Muslim-baiting is rooted above all in the disastrous 'war on terror', of which this government has been such a prominent supporter. This war has made Britain more vulnerable, not less, to terrorist attack -- an uncomfortable fact from which ministers try to distract by attacks on the Muslim community.

If the government is concerned about improving the cohesion of our communities, let it first of all abandon its support for the foreign policy of the US administration, including the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We call on all people of good-will to reject the anti-Muslim hatred being whipped up and to support the values of tolerance now under attack.

----------------------------------------------- THIS OPEN LETTER CAN BE DOWNLOADED FOR PRINTING HERE: http://tinyurl.com/y2ctso Collect signatures, including from local political, community, religious, trade union leaders etc. and return the letter to Stop the War Coalition.

**************************************** 2) ISLAMOPHOBIA AND THE 'WAR ON TERROR' Stop the War Coalition has called a People's Assembly in London on Saturday 18 November to discuss Islamophobia and the 'War on Terror'. The assembly will be open to all and will aim to bring together the broadest possible representation from all sections of society. We will discuss how the attacks on Muslims are intrinsically linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the anti-war movement can counter those attacks in its continuing campaign to end those wars.

PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY TOPIC: Islamophobia and the 'War on Terror' DATE: Saturday 18 November TIME: 10am � 5.30pm VENUE: Camden Centre, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE

Full details of the People's Assembly will be available soon on the Stop the War Coalition website: http://www.stopwar.org.uk. For a leaflet or more information, contact 020 7278 6694; email office@stopwar.org.uk

**************************************** 3) WHERE HAVE ALL THE DOCTORS GONE? THE COLLAPSE OF IRAQ'S HEALTH SERVICES "An end to occupation is vital for the life-chances and health of the Iraqi people. Until this takes place, Iraq will remain a country of the dead, the dying and the despairing."

This is the conclusion of a report written by David Wilson for Stop the War Coalition, which shows how Iraq's health services, once by far the most advanced in the Middle East, have effectively collapsed under the US/British occupation. It is packed with essential information for everyone actively involved in the anti-war movement and for anyone who wants to understand the scale of death and destruction which the war crimes of George Bush and Tony Blair have inflicted on Iraq. TO READ THE REPORT, NOW PUBLISHED BY COUNTERPUNCH, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y7e4t9

**************************************** 4) DID THE GENERAL SPEAK FOR US ALL? Last week, in an unprecedented statement, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British armed forces seemed to speak for us all, when he said of the Iraq war: "We should get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems. We are in a Muslim country and Muslims' views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren�t invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time. The military campaign we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in."

Tony Blair claimed he agreed with every word of this, confirming his status as a serial liar, able to state the opposite of the truth without a hint of a blush.

But while the anti-war movement welcomes Dannatt's admission that the presence of foreign troops is the problem rather than the solution and that the British army should get out soon, his main purpose is to transfer the troops now in Iraq to Afghanistan, to fight another unwinnable war.

And Dannatt, a Christian fundamentalist, also holds hardline views on the "war on terror" views, as seen in his statement, "We can't wish the Islamist challenge to our society away and I believe that the Army, both in Iraq and Afghanistan and probably wherever we go next, is fighting the foreign dimension of the challenge to our accepted way of life." The hint of an attack on Iran being next on the agenda won't go unnoticed by the anti-war movement. FOR MORE OF THE GENERAL'S COMMENTS, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/ss4r9

**************************************** 5) STAYING UNTIL "THE JOB IS DONE" When General Dannatt's said, "We should get ourselves out sometime soon", Tony Blair's response was all too predictable: "We will not walk away until the job is done."

A report published by The Lancet last week showed what "the job" has "done" so far. It estimated that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the Iraq war and occupation, over one third of them killed by the bombs and bullets of the invading armies.

It's also worth noting how the Iraqi people experience "the job" today: * The United Nations says that every day over 1000 Iraqis flee their homes and another 100 die a violent death; * Eight million Iraqis live on less than one dollar per day, and 96 per cent of Iraq's 28 million people receive monthly basic food rations of rice, flour and cooking oil. * More than 500,000 residents of Baghdad can only get water for a few hours a day; * Iraq's power generation and supply grid is in a state of collapse, with households in Baghdad receiving on average only two to six hours of electricity per day; * Law and order does not exist and Iraqis live in fear of death squads and kidnappers, which many suspect are the work of the police and government militias.

FOR THE FULL REPORT ON 655,000 DEATHS CAUSED BY WAR AND OCCUPATION, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/ueev7 FOR THE WASHINGTON POST SUMMARY OF THE REPORT, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/lu4jl FOR LANCET EDITOR ROBERT HORTON'S COMMENTS, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y6to22

**************************************** 6) A POSTER COMMEMORATING A REMARKABLE DAY If you were there, you'll know that it was a remarkable day which brought protestors from every corner of Britain to Manchester on the eve of the Labour Party conference. If you weren't there you can catch the flavour of the day from the reports, pictures and videos available on the Stop the War website: http://tinyurl.com/ycmcop.

A poster commemorating the demonstration has now been produced in a limited edition, using a picture taken by photographer Ray Smith, which makes a mockery of the initial police figure of 10,000 for the attendance. (They updated their estimate later in the day to 30,000.) TO SEE THE PHOTO, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y4vyk7.

THE POSTER IS AVAILABLE PRICED �2 FROM THE STOP THE WAR OFFICE (020 7278 6694) OR ONLINE FROM GREATER MANCHESTER STOP THE WAR COALITION (http://tinyurl.com/y4k3hj).

**************************************** 7) CRUCIAL VOTE ON UK-US EXTRADITION TREATY As reported in our last newsletter, Babar Ahmad is a victim of Tony Blair's slavish support for George Bush's "war on terror". He faces extradition to the US on trumped up terrorism charges under New Labour�s disgraceful treaty with the United States, which allows British citizens to be extradited to the US without the right to challenge the evidence against them in court.

The House of Commons will be voting on crucial amendments to the UK-US Extradition Treaty 2003 on Tuesday 24 October 2006. If the vote is won, this will directly affect cases of several British Citizens facing extradition to the United States, including that of Babar Ahmad. The Free Barbar Ahmad Campaign is asking all its supporters to contact their MP by 4pm on Friday 20 October 2006 to make sure they clear their diaries to attend the vote. MPs from all parties need to be contacted, especially Labour MPs. For directions on how best to contact your MP by email and phone call, send an email to: freebabarahmad@yahoo.co.uk

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE: http://www.freebabarahmad.com http://www.notoextradition.co.uk

**************************************** 8) JOIN THE FASLANE BLOCKADE Stop the War supporters around the country are planning to join our blockade of the Faslane nuclear base on 6-7 November. Our mobilisation is part of the Faslane 365 campaign, which aims to blockade the base for a whole year. If you would like to be part of the Stop the War protest in Faslane on those days, email office@stopwar.org.uk with your contact details or contact Daniela on 020 7278 6694 for further information.

**************************************** 9) BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION A new leaflet is available giving full details of the national demonstration on 2 December at Brize Norton, Britain's biggest military base,which is the main transport base for sending troops and supplies in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. In August this year it was used by US planes taking munitions to the Israeli Defense Force to bomb Lebanon. TO DOWNLOAD THE LEAFLET, GO HERE: http://tinyurl.com/kp2u2

The demonstration is called by Bristol Stop the War Coalition; Oxford Stop the War Coalition; Oxford CND, Swindon Stop the War Coalition and CND; and Faringdon Peace Group. It is supported by the national Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Green Party. -- To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/39 04 October 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) WHAT TONY BLAIR DIDN'T SAY 2) A DAY TO REMEMBER: 23 SEPTEMBER 2006 3) LEBANON: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 4) LEBANON AND GAZA: EYEWITNESS REPORTS 5) BLOCKADE TRIDENT: 365 FASLANE 6) TROOPS HOME NOW: BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION 7) FREE BABAR AHMAD 8) A PYRAMID OF CHILDREN'S SHOES 9) TIME TO GO T-SHIRTS

**************************************** 1) WHAT TONY BLAIR DIDN'T SAY On 27 September 2006, a war criminal addressed the Labour Party Conference in Manchester. He has been compliant in the deaths of tens of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan. His refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza sanctioned Israel's barbaric attacks, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of those countries, killed nearly 1500 people -- one third of them children -- drove 250,000 people from their homes and scattered one million deadly cluster bombs across southern Lebanon, which every day are killing and maiming civilians. The war criminal's speech was acclaimed by nearly all the mainstream media as "brilliant" (BBC), "electrifying" (Telegraph) and "majestic" (Guardian).

HERE ARE 10 THINGS THAT TONY BLAIR DIDN'T SAY IN WHAT THE INDEPENDENT CALLED "THE SPEECH OF THE CENTURY": * The majority of Iraqis want the immediate withdrawal of US troops from their country, saying the departure "would make them feel safer and decrease violence." * In Iraq, one attack on US forces takes place on average, every 15 minutes. The majority of Iraqis approve of attacks on US forces. * Reports to the US and British governments show that the Iraq war has acted as a "recruiting sergeant" for extremists and increased the threat of terrorism. * The security situation in Iraq is so out of control that over 240,000 Iraqis have fled their homes in the past six months and registered as refugees. * Only 20 percent of Americans "have confidence" in George Bush's Iraq policies. * The Iraq war is currently costing US taxpayers around $2bn (�1.07bn) a week. * The United Nations says over 6,600 Iraqis were killed in the months of July and August, September brought the highest level of civilian casualties since the war in 2003 and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says Iraq is on the brink of all-out civil war. * British soldiers fighting in Afghanistan are six times more likely to be killed in combat than soldiers in Iraq. Only 31% of British people support the war in Afghanistan. * According to senior military sources, Britain's armed forces are "arguably losing or potentially losing" in Iraq and Afghanistan. * Only 31% of British people support the war in Afghanistan.

THE SOURCES FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ARE LISTED HERE: http://tinyurl.com/jjqjs

**************************************** 2) A DAY TO REMEMBER: 23 SEPTEMBER 2006 While the newspapers showered Tony Blair with praise for a speech of breathtaking dishonesty and deception (see http://tinyurl.com/gklmw, if you can stomach it), they gave hardly any coverage to the event which brought up to 50,000 protestors from across Britain to Manchester on the eve of the Labour conference, calling for an end to the Bush/Blair wars and opposing the replacement of Trident nuclear weapons, the cost of which is now predicted to be �75 billion.

The broadcast media was much better, with good reports on Sky News and BBC News and repeated radio reports through the day. Unfortunately, most of them gave the size of the march as 10,000 -- the first figure given out by the police, who by the end of the day had raised their estimate to 30 000.

Only on the internet will you find a full record of this memorable day of protest that filled the streets of central Manchester and surrounded the G-Mex Centre, where the Labour conference was held. FOR A SELECTION OF REPORTS, PICTURES AND VIDEOS, INCLUDING FILM OF ALL THE MAIN SPEAKERS AT THE TIME TO GO RALLY, SEE: http://tinyurl.com/pp7vn

**************************************** 3) LEBANON: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE The last Israeli soldier left Lebanon this week. This followed the three week war in August, when Israel -- using the capture of two of its soldiers as an excuse -- was given the green light by George Bush and Tony Blair to unleash a long planned onslaught on Lebanon, which ended in terrible death and devastation for Lebanon but without Israel achieving any of its objectives.

Effectively Israel was defeated for the first time in its history by the resistance of Hezbollah fighters, who were supported by the overwhelming majority of Lebanese people. This defeat has opened up new prospects for the anti-war movement internationally. Trade unionists, campaigners and anti-war activists now have a new chance to deepen their links, co-ordinate action and to redouble their efforts to end the imperialist policies of the US and its allies in the Arab region.

An International Solidarity Conference in Beirut on 24-26 November has been called by the Cairo Conference in association with the broad based Samidoun relief organisation in the Lebanon. The Stop the War Coalition is supporting the conference on and believes that all anti-war movements around the world should make sure that they encourage the greatest number of activists to attend this crucial conference.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO TO THE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE IN BEIRUT ON 24-26 NOVEMBER, CONTACT THE STOP THE WAR OFFICE: EMAIL office@stopwar.org.uk

**************************************** 4) LEBANON AND GAZA: EYEWITNESS REPORTS Some of the best reporting from Lebanon and Gaza in recent months has been through the eyewitness accounts of freelance journalists and photographers. A slideshow and talk by photographer Guy Smallman and reporter Penny Quinton will take place at the National Union of Journalists head office on Monday 9 October at 6.30pm. The meeting is organised by Media Workers Against the War and all are welcome. To view Guy Smallman's pictures, go to: http://tinyurl.com/l23to

EYEWITNESSES IN LEBANON AND GAZA MONDAY 9 OCTOBER AT 6.30PM TALK AND SLIDESHOW with: Guy Smallman, photographer Penny Quinton, reporter NUJ, HEADLAND HOUSE 308-312 GRAYS INN ROAD LONDON WC1 More information: 07801 789 297 or email mwaw@btinternet.com

**************************************** 5) BLOCKADE TRIDENT: FASLANE 365 From October 2006, there will be a year-long continuous peaceful blockade at Faslane in Scotland, the base where Britain's nuclear weapons are deployed. The blockade is particularly timely because Tony Blair is hoping to push through a replacement for the Trident nuclear missiles -- at a cost now predicted to be up to �75 billion -- before he leaves office within the next year. (See http://tinyurl.com/nyab2 for details of Faslane 365.)

Groups and organisations from Scotland, England and Wales, and beyond will shut down the base for at least one 48-hour period each during the year. November 6/7 are the days when Stop the War will blockade the base. If you would like to be part of the Stop the War protest in Faslane on those days, email office@stopwar.org.uk with your contact details for further information.

**************************************** 6) TROOPS HOME NOW: BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire is the main transport base for sending troops in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. In August this year it was used by US planes taking munitions to the Israeli Defense Force to bomb Lebanon. A national TROOPS HOME NOW demonstration at Brize Norton been called on Saturday 2 December. It will have a simple message: � Stop using British bases to support the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. � Bring the British troops home now. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO http://tinyurl.com/kp2u2

**************************************** 7) FREE BABAR AHMAD Babar Ahmad deserves the support of everyone in the anti-war movement. He is threatened with being sent to the US to face trumped up terrorism charges under New Labour�s disgraceful treaty with the United States, which allows British citizens to be extradited to the US without the right to challenge the evidence against them in court. Babar's case is another example of Tony Blair's slavish support for George Bush's "war on terror", which has produced tyrannical abuses of our civil rights. If the extradition of Babar to the US goes ahead, he could face incarceration in the Guantanamo prison.

A crucial debate will be heard in parliament in October. Two amendments will be proposed to the extradition treaty which, if passed, will ensure that anyone facing extradition like Babar will have the chance to see and challenge U.S. evidence in a British court.

The FREE BABAR AHMAD campaign is asking for maximum pressure to be put on MPs to get these amendments passed. If just 50 Labour MPs support the amendments, they are likely to succeed.

For full details of the Babar Ahmad case, which has repercussions which could effect any of us, go the FREE BABAR AHMAD website, where you will also find details of how you can lobby your local MP to support the crucial amendments to the extradition bill: http://tinyurl.com/f4st3

**************************************** 8) A PYRAMID OF SHOES At Stop the War's CEASEFIRE NOW demonstration on August 5, we asked people to bring children's shoes to lay at the Cenotaph in Whitehall to signify the high proportion of fatalities among young children resulting from Israel's barbaric attacks on Lebanon's civilian areas, then taking place. The response was extraordinary and very moving and after the demonstration Stop the War collected a huge number of shoes.

We have now given the shoes collected at the CEASEFIRE NOW demonstration to Handicap International UK, which is organising the 2006 PYRAMID OF SHOES in Hyde Park on Saturday 14 October, to support the international campaign against cluster bombs. The main focus of the event is the construction of a PYRAMID OF SHOES, each shoe representing a life or limb lost to a cluster bomb.

The Pyramid of Shoes event has added significance for Stop the War, given the many protests that we organised against Israel's bombardment of Lebanon. One of Israel's innumerable war crimes was the carpet bombing of southern Lebanon with one million cluster bomblets, which it is predicted will kill and maim hundreds of civilians in the months, or even years, to come.

Members of the public are asked to participate in the Pyramid of Shoes event in Hyde Park on 14 October by bringing a pair of shoes to show their support for victims and populations under threat of cluster bombs worldwide.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CLUSTER BOMBS IN LEBANON AND THE WORK OF HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL UK, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/symtv

**************************************** 9) TIME TO GO T-SHIRTS One of the most striking features of the TIME TO GO demonstration on 23 September were the t-shirts with the TIME TO GO logo which were worn by hundreds of protestors. They were especially designed for the demonstration in a limited edition by the renowned artist David Gentleman. There are a few of these t-shirts still available. �7 short sleeve. �8 long sleeve. To buy telephone: 020 7278 6694 -- To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net