IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) AFGHANISTAN: WHY WE SHOULD GET OUT
2) DON'T MENTION THE WAR
3) HOW'S TONY BLAIR DOING TODAY?
4) CAMPAIGNING FOR A WORLD WITHOUT WAR
5) WIN A DVD DONATED BY NEIL YOUNG
6) UNDER SIEGE: ISLAM, WAR AND THE MEDIA
7) STOP THE WAR'S XMAS PARTY
8) YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT UP: NO. 3487

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1) AFGHANISTAN: WHY WE SHOULD GET OUT

"We will not walk away from Afghanistan, as the outside
world has done so many times before," Tony Blair said
famously in 2001, just before the country was invaded by the
United States, disguised as "the international community".
This was of course a complete inversion of history, which in
the past 200 years has not been a story of invading forces
"walking away" but of foreign armies being driven out by the
opposition and resistance of the Afghan people. We are
witnessing history repeating itself, with the more
indiscreet army commanders in America and Britain admitting,
"We are not winning in Afghanistan."

In the meantime, the suffering to the Afghan people caused
by the refusal of the warmongers to "walk away" is
everywhere to be seen in a country designated by the United
Nations as fourth from last on its Human Poverty Index of
178 nations:

* Average life expectancy is little more than 40 years.
* 700 children and 60 women die each day from hunger and
lack of health care.
* The illiteracy rate is 70 percent in the cities and up to
99 percent in the countryside.
* Only a quarter of the population has access to clean water
* Only 10 percent of the population have access to
electricity.

Instead of "walking away, as a recent poll suggested the
majority of Afghan people want to happen immediately,
America and Britain have announced plans to escalate the
war, by sending more troops to kill and be killed, and by
extending the killing fields into Pakistan.

The sharply rising numbers of British army casualties show
where these war policies are leading, with Private Ben Ford
two weeks ago becoming -- at 18 years and barely out of
school -- the youngest soldier to die in Afghanistan since
the invasion in 2001.

AFGHANISTAN: WHY WE SHOULD GET OUT
A new pamphlet published by Stop the War is now available,
with an introduction by campaigning journalist John Pilger.
It covers the war, women's rights, the opium boom, the
country's shattered infrastructure, the horrific cost in
Afghan lives and the cost to British tax payers, the
majority of whom want Britain out of Afghanistan. It is an
invaluable resource to those who want to learn more about
the invasion and its aftermath.

Get your copy today for only £1 plus 50p p&p. (Bulk orders
are available at a reduced rate). Contact Stop the War on
020 7278 6694 for single or bulk orders.

DIARY DATE: Stop the War will be organising a day school on
Afghanistan in London on Saturday 29 November. Full details
to follow shortly.

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2) DON'T MENTION THE WAR

The anti-war demonstration at the Labour Party Conference
last Saturday -- organised by Stop the War, CND and the
British Muslim Initiative - was joined by thousands calling
on Gordon Brown to end Britain's participation in the
catastrophic conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. ( SEE
http://tinyurl.com/4juflg )

Trade unionists, students, pensioners, Muslim activists and
peace campaigners marched through Manchester to represent
the vast majority in this country opposed to the
government's war policies, and to deliver a letter for
Gordon Brown which said, "We urge you to deliver on your
commitment to withdraw all British troops from the illegal
and catastrophic occupation of Iraq. We also urge you to
recognise that the occupation of Afghanistan has involved
Britain in an unwinnable and devastating war in a country
where the population is clearly opposed to our presence."

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were noticeably absent in
most of the media coverage of Labour speeches at the
conference, understandable enough, given how little the
issues were on the agenda. In a fleeting mention, foreign
secretary David Miliband did spout this nonsense: "Talk to
Afghans and they want what we want: a decent future free
from fear. But they need young British men and women [i.e.
British soldiers] to make that future possible."

If Miliband ever spoke to ordinary Afghans, he'd soon hear
what they want: "Get all the foreign invaders out of our
country. You are the source of fear that is making our
future impossible."

As for defence secretary Des Browne -- rarely off television
screens these days, expressing "deep regret" at yet more
British soldiers being killed in Afghanistan -- he had this
gem of self-delusion (or blatant lying) on Iraq: "Free from
thuggery and intimidation, normal life is returning."

And what was Gordon Brown's take on the wars he is waging in
Iraq and Afghanistan? His "make-or-break" conference speech,
which according to many commentators could determine whether
or not he remained Labour Party leader had not a single word
on Iraq and Afghanistan. Not one. No doubt it was Alistair
Campbell, one of his speech writers -- and notorious as a
warmonger in his own right, being the architect of the
"dodgy" dossiers Tony Blair used to dupe parliament into
supporting the Iraq war - who whispered continually in
Brown's ear, "Don't mention the war, don't mention the war."
And he didn't.

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3) HOW'S TONY BLAIR DOING TODAY?

Tony Blair is no doubt thankful that his war politics are
safe in Gordon Brown's hands but it seems that he still has
an itchy trigger finger. Hence this exchange last week with
TV satirist Jon Stewart:

BLAIR: Al-Qaida are precisely those forces of terrorism in
Iraq, based on a perversion of Islam and Iranian-backed
militia, and they're the people fighting in Afghanistan, and
whether it's in the Yemen or Algeria or Palestine or
Pakistan, there's a struggle going on.

STEWART: What was that list?

BLAIR: No, I'm not saying you have to take military action
on all of them!

STEWART: So it's one country at a time?

BLAIR: No, no I don't say that ...

Stewart's tender barbs stopped well short of the key
questions to ask Blair. Like "Why did you lie to parliament
and the British people when making the case for war against
Iraq?" Or "How does it feel to be implicated in the
slaughter of over one million people?" Or "Why did you
support Israel's barbaric attack on Lebanon in 2006?"

And when Blair admitted that he was "shocked" at the
"bloodshed that there's been and the difficulty" in Iraq,
Stewart could have asked if he regretted ignoring the vast
majority of the British people, who took to the streets in
unprecedented numbers to oppose Blair's illegal and immoral
warmongering, and who predicted before the "shock and awe"
onslaught of March 2003, that mass slaughter and destruction
on an unimaginable scale would be the inevitable outcome for
the Iraqi people.

Blair did however have one moment of truth in the interview
when he said, "I can tell you there's a fundamental struggle
going on. There are two sides." There are indeed. On one
side are the war criminals like George Bush and Tony Blair,
who violate innumerable international laws and whose endless
"war on terror" has killed hundreds of thousands of
civilians, created millions of refugees and made the world
frighteningly unstable. On the other side are those who
oppose these warmongers and who believe that Blair and Bush
should be IN-side -- facing trial for their unprovoked
aggression against other nations, regarded by international
law as the supreme war crime.

For now Blair has other worries on his mind. He is
apparently only just scraping by on the six million pounds
he's earned in the past year, from a book deal (4.5m),
public speaking (1m), part-time advisor to the US investment
bank JP Morgan* (half a million), plus the small change of
£150,000 a year he gets from the British taxpayer for his
pension and office expenses. Blair has to find £16,000 a
month to pay the mortgage on his main London home, added to
which is now the mortgage on his newly acquired country
mansion, which cost 5.75 million pounds earlier this year.
Then there's his private office in Mayfair, costing half a
million a year in rent. (SEE http://tinyurl.com/42x56w )

Oh dear, how the war criminals of the world suffer for their
crimes against humanity.

*NOTE: Bankers JP Morgan pay Blair half a million pounds a
year for 2-3 days work a month. In return he is providing
"strategic advice and insight on global political issues and
emerging trends". No doubt this is payback for Blair's
undying support of the Iraq war, remembering that in 2004
JP Morgan was chosen by George Bush to manage the Iraq trade
bank, through which a consortium of foreign private banks
control Iraq's imports and exports, not least the oil
revenues.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=9848

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4) CAMPAIGNING FOR A WORLD WITHOUT WAR

The need for the anti-war movement to be sustained was never
greater, with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan still
raging without respite, and threats hovering to spread more
war to Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus. Whoever leads the
governments in America and Britain, all current leaders and
prospective candidates are agreed that these war policies
are going to continue unabated.

Stop The War is asking all of its supporters to turn
themselves into national members of the Coalition by taking
out a monthly standing order, which can cost as little as £2
a month.

All of our campaigns and events, such as last Saturday's
demonstration at the Labour Party conference, are funded by
donations from our members and supporters. We have no big
benefactors to bail us out, unlike super-rich bankers and
city speculators, now being showered with dollars and
pounds, whose corrupt gambling has squandered trillions of
ordinary people's money.

We are planning a series of events for the autumn and
winter, including the launch of anti-war campaigns at army
bases and a day school on Afghanistan. We will also be
mobilising support for the international anti-Nato
demonstration in Strasburg next April. An increase in our
regular income from national memberships will help us
tremendously in funding these campaigns and in our aim to
raise higher the profile of the anti-war message.

If you are not a Stop the War member, please consider
becoming one now. It only costs £2 a month (please give more
if you can). You can join in the following ways:

* ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn
* BY DEBIT / CREDIT CARD: Call 020 7278 6694
* BY CHEQUE: £24 paid annually, made payable to "Stop the
War Coalition" and sent to Stop the War Coalition, 27
Britannia Street, London, UK, WC1X 9JP.

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5) WIN DVD DONATED BY NEIL YOUNG

CSNY: DÉJÀ VU is a milestone musical documentary, a feature
film of lasting political and social relevance. Directed by
Neil Young, one quarter of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,
CSNY: DÉJÀ VU documents the band's 2007 'Freedom Of Speech
Tour' tour of the United States. You can win one of five
copies of the DVD, to be released on Monday 29 September, by
answering the following question:

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF AFGHANS HAVE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY?

Email your answer to comp@stopwar.org.uk by Monday 29
September to have a chance of winning. Selection of winners
will be by lottery.

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6) UNDER SIEGE: ISLAM, WAR AND THE MEDIA

Early booking is recommended for the conference Under Siege:
Islam, War and the Media ( SEE http://tinyurl.com/3tavez ).
Hosted by Media Workers Against the War, it is open to all
and has a very impressive list of speakers, including:

* Sean Smith, award winning war photographer for The
Guardian
* Peter Oborne, Daily Mail columnist, former editor of the
Spectator and author
of Muslims Under Siege: Alienating Vulnerable Communities
* Inayat Bunglawala, Muslim Council of Britain
* Lauren Booth, Mail on Sunday journalist and Palestine
campaigner
* Nick Davies, investigative journalist and author of Flat
Earth News
* Moazzam Begg, author of Enemy Combatant and former
Guantanamo inmate
* Jeremy Dear, general secretary, NUJ
* Eamonn McCann, leading Irish journalist and Raytheon 9
campaigner
* Explo Nani-Kofi, editor of the Kilombo, a Pan-African
Journal

With this line-up the conference is very likely to be
over-subscribed, so book now by email or online to avoid
disappointment (details below).

UNDER SIEGE: ISLAM, WAR AND THE MEDIA
Conference hosted by Media Workers Against the War
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2008
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
2PM TO 6.30PM

TO BOOK TICKETS: £15 / £10 concessions
* Email info@mwaw.net OR
*Pay securely online using PayPal: http://tinyurl.com/3tavez

MORE DETAILS: http://tinyurl.com/3tavez

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7) STOP THE WAR'S XMAS PARTY

FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER, 6.30 - 10.30 PM
Canal Museum, 12/13 New Wharf Road
London N1 9RT
MUSIC: GREEN (current and ex-members of Amy Winehouse's
Band)
Bar. Tickets are limited, so early booking advisable.

BOOKING: Tickets - £10 (includes food).
* CHEQUES: Made payable to "Stop the War Coalition" and sent
to Stop the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London, UK,
WC1X 9JP.
* BY DEBIT / CREDIT CARD: Call 020 7278 6694

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8) YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT UP: NO. 3487

Tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, missiles, remotely piloted
aircraft, warships -- just some of the 32 billion dollars
worth of weapons and other military equipment which the US
Department of Defense is selling or transferring to foreign
governments this year. This is nearly three times US arms
sales in 2005. About 60 countries get annual military aid
from the United States, totalling 4.5 billion dollars a
year, to help them buy American weapons. Israel and Egypt
receive more than 80 percent of that aid.

When asked to explain the leap in arms sales and transfers,
Bruce S. Lemkin, the US Air Force deputy under secretary,
who coordinates many of the biggest deals, said, "This is
not about being gunrunners," said. "This is about building a
more secure world." ( SEE http://tinyurl.com/3em9ej )

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