IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) STOKING THE FIRES FOR MORE WAR
2) AFGHANISTAN:THE 'GOOD' WAR TURNS BAD
3) JOIN STOP THE WAR AND HELP STRENGTHEN THE MOVEMENT
4) SAY NO TO NATO: DEMONSTRATE 4-5 APRIL 2009
5) NATO, RUSSIA AND THE NEW THREAT OF WAR

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1) STOKING THE FIRES FOR MORE WAR

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD - STOP THE SPREAD OF WAR
DEMONSTRATE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER: ASSEMBLE 12.30PM
ALL SAINTS, MANCHESTER M15

Events in Georgia have raised the terrifying prospect of big
power confrontation between the US and Russia. NATO
expansion was the prime cause of the crisis in the first
place, disgracefully, the British Government's response has
stoked up more tension.

David Miliband's trip to the Ukraine, aimed at building an
alliance to contain Russia, was obviously going to be highly
provocative. As the Guardian recently argued, the
frightening thing is that NATO and Russia are on a collision
course over the Caucasus.

Our government's response to the crisis in Georgia and
Gordon Brown's recent announcement of 4,000 extra troops for
Afghanistan, confirms the policy of continuing subservience
to Washington.

In these circumstances the demonstration to the Labour Party
Conference on September 20 -- called by Stop the War, CND
and the British Muslim Initiative -- takes on a new
significance.

Stop the War Coalition is asking all our supporters to come
to Manchester to make sure that the Labour Party understands
that the overwhelming majority in this country believes that
Labour should break with the disastrous war policies of the
Bush years and withdraw all British support, whether it be
in Iraq, Afghanistan or any other threatened region.

FOR LEAFLETS AND LOCAL TRANSPORT DETAILS:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ or tel: 020 7278 6694

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2) AFGHANISTAN: THE 'GOOD' WAR TURNS BAD

The situation in Afghanistan is reaching breaking point.
Civilian and military casualties have risen sharply over the
last few months. The death of another British soldier this
week brings to 200 the number of foreign soldiers killed in
Afghanistan this year.

The level of NATO bombing is up 40% on last year's levels
and the mainstream press here has had to start reporting on
the innocent dead as a result. Two weeks ago a raid in
western Herat Province left 90 dead. US sources are still
claiming that only Taliban were killed in the village. A
joint UN/Afghan investigation found the dead were civilians.
Local residents were able to confirm the number of
casualties, including their names, age and gender. In the
last few days, other attacks have been reported, including
one bombardment in Helmand that is believed to have led to
the death of 70 people.

The war in Afghanistan risks spreading violence across the
region. On Wednesday 3 September, heavily armed US
commandoes launched a surprise attack on Jala Khel, a
Pakistani town, killing at least 20 people. This was the
first such ground raid on Pakistan by US forces. The
governor of the neighbouring province in Pakistan gave this
response: "This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of
Pakistan and the people of Pakistan expect that the armed
forces ... would rise to defend the sovereignty of the
country and give a befitting reply." SEE
http://tinyurl.com/6zc8tl

Meanwhile, The Times and The Observer have reported that
Kabul is virtually under siege by various armed groups
opposing the occupation and vital aid work has almost ground
to a halt because of the increased level of violence.

The call for all troops to come out of Afghanistan will be
one of the central demands of the demonstration in
Manchester on 20 September.

Stop the War is rushing out a pamphlet called 'Why we should
get out of Afghanistan', with an introduction by John
Pilger, which will be available in a week's time cost £1. To
place your order, telephone 020 7278 6694.

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3) JOIN STOP THE WAR AND HELP STRENGTHEN THE MOVEMENT

As the risk of the spread of war becomes clearer the Stop
the War Coalition is launching a drive to widen our
membership base. We need a larger regular income to be able
to respond to any emergencies and to strengthen our
infrastructure.

Immediate projects include rationalising our database and
renewing our website. We also need more active members to
help build the coalition in every town and city around the
country.

We are urging all our supporters and e-subscribers to join
Stop The War in September, for just £5 per month or £3
student/unwaged, who will in return receive a free t-shirt,
free copies of our pamphlets and regular newsletters.

Monthly contributions provide our campaign with regular
income and have minimal administrative costs. This means
that maximum time and resources can be spent fighting
against George Bush's wars and our government's
unquestioning support for policies which have brought
horrifying levels of death, destruction and insecurity.

BECOME A NATIONAL MEMBER OF STOP THE WAR:
* ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/6krppn
* BY CREDIT/DEBIT CARD: Call 020 7278 6694
* BY CHEQUE OR STANDING ORDER: Email for a membership form
to office@stopwar.org.uk

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4) SAY NO TO NATO: DEMONSTRATE 4-5 APRIL 2009

The Stop the War Coalition will be mobilising for the No To
NATO, Troops out of Afghanistan demonstration at the 60th
NATO conference in Strasbourg on 4-5 April next year. Given
the crisis in the Caucasus and the disaster in Afghanistan,
we expect this to be a very serious mobilisation.

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5) NATO, RUSSIA AND THE NEW THREAT OF WAR
All are welcome to this public meeting in London, organised
by Media Workers Against the War.

NATO, RUSSIA AND THE NEW THREAT OF WAR
Speakers:
PETER WILBY
Former editor of the New Statesman and the Independent on
Sunday,
now columnist for the Media Guardian
TOM DE WAAL
Caucasus editor at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting
STOP THE WAR COALITION SPEAKER (tbc)

Tuesday 9 September 7pm
Pearson Lecture Theatre
University College London
North East Entrance
Gower Street WC1
Map: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps/ucl-maps/map2_low_res

FOR MORE DETAILS: mediawar@riseup.net, or tel 07801 789 297

ARTICLES:
PETE WILBY on the media coverage of war in the Caucasus:
http://www.mwaw.net/2008/08/25/wilby-2/

TOM DE WAAL:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8efea3fe-68ce-11dd-a4e5-0000779fd18c.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/10/georgia.russia

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