IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) WHY WE'RE STILL MARCHING
2) MAKE 15 FEBRUARY IRAQ DAY
3) END THE SEIGE OF GAZA NOW
4) PLEASE DONATE TO OUR APPEAL
5) THE CAIRO CONFERENCE

*********************************
1) WHY WE'RE STILL MARCHING
*********************************
On his recent trip to the Middle East, George Bush said: "Iraq
is now a different place. Levels of violence are significantly
reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad."
http://tinyurl.com/2j5lqa

Try telling that to residents of the southern outskirts of
Baghdad, whose homes were flattened on January 10, when US
bombers unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives in the biggest
aerial attack since March 2003, killing or injuring dozens of
civilians, many of them women, children and the elderly.

Try telling it to the thousands of Iraqis who were the victims
of US bombing raids in 2007, which quadrupled compared to
2006, rising from four attacks a week to four attacks a day.
(http://tinyurl.com/yqbonu)

It's the same story in Afghanistan, where the Washington Post
reported recently the number of air strikes doubled in 2007 to
a staggering 3,572 -- an average of close to 10 per day. In
2005, by comparison, there were around 200 air strikes.
http://tinyurl.com/yqbonu

These increasing levels of carnage come from the man who
accuses Iran and Syria of "fomenting violence" in the region
and whose main purpose in his visit to the Middle East was to
set up arms deals with a number of countries, which will get
weapons of mass violence at an estimated cost of 20 billion
dollars. (http://tinyurl.com/26gvcg)

These include Israel, visited by Bush at the very time that
its siege of Gaza was facing worldwide condemnation (see
below) for what United Nations representatives called "illegal
measures and practices against the Palestinian civilian
population". Bush's gift to Israel in the cause of promoting
peace in the region was to confirm that under a 100 million
dollar arms package, Israel would get a new consignment of the
very latest "smart" missiles, which it used to such horrific
effect in its 2006 attack on Lebanon.

We keep marching and protesting because these policies of mass
murder and devastation are opposed by the vast majority of
people in this country, the USA and worldwide.

It is why on Saturday 15 March, the Stop the War Coalition has
joined with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the
British Muslim Initiative in calling a national demonstration
in London, as part of the worldwide day of protest against
George Bush's wars on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq
invasion, when there will be demonstrations from Washington to
Beirut, from Sydney to Seoul.

WORLD AGAINST WAR DEMONSTRATION
Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND and BMI
SATURDAY 15 MARCH
ASSEMBLE TRAFALGAR SQUARE 12 NOON
MARCH TO PARLIAMENT
More details: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

TRANSPORT: Coaches to the WORLD AGAINST WAR are being
organised around the country. For details, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2da68c

*********************************
2) MAKE 15 FEBRUARY IRAQ DAY
*********************************
February 15 is the fifth anniversary of the largest
demonstration in British history, when up to two million
people marched in London against the Bush-Blair plans to
invade Iraq. The voice of the anti-war majority was ignored
then by Tony Blair and the majority of MPs but the protests
that have continued here and throughout the world over the
past few years have had a major impact, not least in
contributing to Tony Blair's early exit from power and the
defeats of pro-war governments in Spain, Italy, Australia,
Poland and elsewhere.

Stop the War is asking its supporters to mark February 15 with
local activities across the country, highlighting the
continuing hypocrisy of the warmongers, who claim that their
aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan is to help bring
democracy to the region, while refusing to recognise the views
of the majority of people in their own countries who want
these wars to stop.

In London, a Stop the War delegation, led by Tony Benn, will
hand an open letter to Gordon Brown at Downing Street, calling
for the prime minister to heed the views of the majority and
end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ON 15 FEBRUARY:
* Join local vigils, naming the dead ceremonies and protests
in local town centres;
* Write letters of protest to pro war MPs, media outlets,
etc;
* Help organise a meeting with anti-war speakers in your
workplace, school, college, etc;
* Wear an anti-war badge on the day (there are special offers
on the Stop the War enamel badge - contact 020 7278 6694)

REMEMBERING 15 FEBRUARY: ONLINE ARCHIVE
We want to publish on our website memorabilia and comments
from our supporters. Please send pictures, videos, written
recollections of the demonstration etc for our 15 February
2003 online archive. Please keep written contributions to less
than 400 words.

*********************************
3) END THE SEIGE OF GAZA NOW
*********************************
Gaza -- a tiny strip of land 25 miles long and 6 miles wide --
is on the brink of becoming the first territory to be
intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, A
United Nations report makes clear what Israel's blatant
violation of international law means for the 1.5 million
civilians living in Gaza:

"Palestinians are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Food
imports cover only 41% of demand. 80% of Gazans receive food
aid and 80% live below the poverty line. People who are
seriously ill are being prevented from accessing essential
medical treatment outside Gaza. Over 40 Gazans have died as a
result of being denied medical treatment by the Israeli
authorities and 20% of essential drugs and 31% of essential
medical supplies are no longer available inside Gaza. Israel
is cutting fuel and electricity supplies, affecting essential
health and water facilities. 210,000 people are able to access
drinking water for only 1-2 hours a day.
(http://tinyurl.com/27waxx)

The recent desperate dismantling of the border wall with Egypt
has only brought small respite to this suffering. Meanwhile
the Israeli army continues its attacks on the imprisoned
Palestinian people of Gaza, demolishing homes, factories and
agricultural land and carrying out arrests. Fatal bombing
raids continue, killing Palestinian men, women and children,
without a word of reproach from George Bush or Gordon Brown.

The call for an immediate end to the siege of Gaza will be
included in the WAR AGAINST WAR demonstration in London on
Saturday 15 March (see above).

*********************************
4) PLEASE DONATE TO OUR APPEAL
*********************************
The response from our supporters to our appeal for funds has
been tremendous. In just two weeks we have raised thousands of
pounds. Many thanks to everyone who contributed, which will
help us pay for the demonstration on 15 March, cover the costs
of bringing speakers from the Middle East, and fund other
activities we are planning for the coming months. We still
need more funding urgently and, if you have not already done
so, we would encourage you to make a donation now. One of the
best ways to help fund our campaign is to become a national
member of the Stop the War Coalition (see below).

MAKE A DONATION TO STOP THE WAR
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn
TELEPHONE: 020 7278 6694
BY POST: Make cheque to "Stop the War Coalition". Send to Stop
the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP

BECOME A NATIONAL STOP THE WAR MEMBER
TELEPHONE: 020 7278 6694
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

*********************************
5) CAIRO CONFERENCE 27-30 MARCH
*********************************
The Cairo Conference is a key meeting place for those opposing
war and occupation from Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and the
international anti-war movement. The event, which has been
held for the past six years, brings together delegates from
the global social movements, the international anti-war
movement, the trade unions, the left and radical parties and
the national liberation movements. It takes place this year
between 27-30 March. For a booking form and details of
transport, accommodation etc go to: http://tinyurl.com/3y5xoz

The Cairo Conference also facilitates The Forum, an open space
accessible to all who agree on the principles of the
conference. In previous years writers and artists, independent
workers' groups and trade unionists, the Egyptian Doctors'
Union; the Egyptian Bar Association, the Egyptian Journalists
Union, independent women's organizations and activists,
independent farmers' groups, human rights activists, cinema,
theatre and cultural groups have organised events at the
Forum.

For more information:
EMAIL: cairoconference@stopwar.org.uk
TELEPHONE 020 7278 6694
DOWNLOAD LEAFLET: http://tinyurl.com/344gf9
BOOKING FORM & PRACTICAL DETAILS: http://tinyurl.com/3y5xoz

*********************************
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1) CHANNEL 4 NEWS POLITICAL PERSONALITY OF THE DECADE AWARD - DON'T FORGET TO
VOTE
SEE http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh

Anti-war protesters have been shortlisted for this award. If you have not yet
voted, make sure to get your vote in as soon as possible as lines close at
11.59pm on Friday 18 January.

You can cast your vote for the anti-war movement:
- by phoning 09011 27 27 06
- by following this link http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh
- by sending an e-mail to news@channel4.com with "I am voting for the Anti-war
marchers" in the subject field. No need to write a message.

2) STWC FINANCIAL APPEAL

Thank you very much to everyone who has already donated to Stop the War's
financial appeal. However, in order to fully fund the demonstration and all the
other events we plan around the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq we
still need thousands of pounds.

Please consider a one-off donation to help us:

- fund speakers from the Middle East for a speaking tour around Britain
- support the School Students Campaign to get the army out of schools
- host the World Against War website to coordinate the international protests
on 15 March
- produce hundreds of thousands of World Against War leaflets to publicise the
demonstration in London

For more information: http://tinyurl.com/388fhw

YOU CAN DONATE ....
BY CHEQUE: Please make out to "Stop the War Coalition" and send to Stop the
War, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP
BY CREDIT/DEBIT CARD: Please call 020 7278 6694
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

We would also ask you to consider joining Stop the War nationally if you are
not already a member.

YOU CAN JOIN ....
BY PHONE: 020 7278 6694
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn
If you would like to be sent a membership form, call 020 7278 6694.
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CHANNEL 4 NEWS POLITICAL PERSONALITY OF THE DECADE AWARD
SEE http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh

OUR THANKS AND HOW TO SOLVE VOTING PROBLEMS

It is worth repeating that the only way to get voice
confirmation that your vote has been registered is by
telephoning your vote at a cost of 25p: The number for Stop
the War and the anti-Iraq war protestors is 09011 27 27 06

We are now getting flooded with messages of support from
people who have voted for Stop the War Coalition and the
anti-Iraq war protestors in the Channel 4 News Award for
Political Personality of the Decade. (SEE
http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh). Many of these messages tell us of
whole families and groups of friends voting and circulating
the information at work, college, church, mosque, via Facebook
and MySpace etc. Many thanks to you all and keep spreading the
word.

A very small number of voters seem to be experiencing problems
voting by email, particularly if they use webmail, e.g.
hotmail, yahoo or gmail. A solution which seems to work in
most cases is as follows:

1. Compose a new email message as you usually do and address
it to: news@channel4.com

2. In the Subject box type exactly as it is written here:

I am voting for the Anti-war marchers

3. Send the email. No need to write a message.

CLOSING DATE FRIDAY 18 JANUARY
VOTE FOR THE ANTI-IRAQ WAR PROTESTORS
CHANNEL 4 NEWS POLITICAL PERSONALITY OF THE DECADE AWARD
SEE: http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh
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HAVING PROBLEMS VOTING FOR STOP THE WAR IN
CHANNEL 4 NEWS POLITICAL AWARDS?
http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh

Can you please notify us if you have any difficulty in voting,
either by telephone or by email, for Stop the War Coalition
and anti-war marchers in the Channel 4 News Political
Personality of the Last Decade Award (see our Newsletter No
1030 sent previously),

One of our supporters has reported that the email link did not
act as it should for him. When clicked it should display your
email message box with "I am voting for the Anti-war marchers"
as the Subject title which you just send to register your
vote. If that is not automatically displayed in the Subject
title, you should either click the link on the Channel 4
website again to see if that corrects the error
(http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh) or type in the Subject title
yourself.

We're very pleased to report that many of you have already
contacted us to say you have voted for the peace candidate and
are encouraging every one you know to do the same. We have
till January 18 to ensure that Tony Blair is humiliated yet
again by a national poll, just as he was by peace campaigner
Brian Haw in last year's Channel 4 News Political Awards.

GO HERE TO VOTE FOR STOP THE WAR AND ANTI-WAR MARCHERS
http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh
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HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOTE FOR PEACE COUNT: SEE BELOW
CHANNEL 4 NEWS AWARD FOR POLITICAL PERSONALITY OF THE DECADE
THE VOICE OF THE ANTI-WAR MAJORITY IS SHORTLISTED
SEE: http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh

The shortlist is in for the Channel 4 News Award for most
inspiring political personality of the last decade and Stop
the War Coalition and the majority of people in Britain who
have opposed the illegal and immoral war in Iraq from the
start are on the shortlist. So is Tony Blair? Who will win?
You decide. We have nine days to give voice on national
television to the majority peace movement in Britain. The
closing date for voting is 18 January.

Brian Haw, Parliament Square's permanent peace protester, won
the 2007 Channel 4 News award for Most Inspiring Political
Figure, with Tony Blair receiving only 8 per cent of the vote.
Let's ensure we have a similar result this year. Please vote
for peace and spread the word among your family, friends, work
colleagues, fellow students, trade union, community group,
church or mosque.

There are 5000 British troops in Iraq and 8000 in Afghanistan.
Let us remind Gordon Brown, as we did Tony Blair before him,
that this warmongering is not in our name.

HOW TO VOTE:

BY EMAIL: IT'S FREE
Go to the Channel 4 News Political Awards Page:
http://tinyurl.com/3yl9gh
Under Anti-Iraq war protestors, click Email

BY TELEPHONE (Cost 25p)
Call 09011 27 27 06
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*****************************************
Stop Press:
STOP THE WAR COALITION NOMINATED FOR CHANNEL 4 NEWS MOST
INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL FIGURES OF THE DECADE AWARD
It has just been announced that the Stop the War Coalition has
been nominated and shortlisted for the highly prestigious
Channel 4 News award for most influential political figures of
the decade. This is subject to a public vote to decide the
winner, which will be announced on the night of the awards at
Channel 4 on the 23 January 2008, and the awards themselves
will be televised on the 27 January. We urge all our
supporters, local groups and affiliated organisations to do
all they can in the next two weeks to mobilise the vote for
Stop the War Coalition. At a time when warmongering
politicians, with the help of the mainstream media, are
downplaying the continuing nightmare of war and occupation in
Iraq and Afghanistan, this will be an opportunity to show that
the majority of people in Britain want these wars to end and
all British troops to be withdrawn.
See http://www.channel4.com/news/

*****************************************

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) BUILDING 15 MARCH WORLD AGAINST WAR PROTEST
2) MORE WAR IN 2008 FOR A WORLD AGAINST WAR
3) WHERE WERE YOU ON 15 FEBRUARY 2003?
4) STOP ARMY RECRUITMENT IN SCHOOLS
5) AN IMPORTANT APPEAL

******************************************
1) BUILDING 15 MARCH WORLD AGAINST WAR PROTEST
The fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion will be
commemorated with internationally co-ordinated WORLD AGAINST
WAR demonstrations (see below). The UK national demonstration
is in London and has been called for Saturday 15 March by the
Stop the War Coalition, supported by CND and the British
Muslim Initiative. Assembly for the demonstration will be in
Trafalgar Square at 12 noon. Further details will be available
shortly.

Stop the War is asking all its local groups and affiliated
organisations to organise activist meetings as soon as
possible to plan a timetable of events to build support for
the national demonstration, including regular street stalls
and local rallies and through the use of local media to
maximise publicity.

Leaflets for the London demonstration will be available for
collection and ordering from the Stop the War Coalition
national office from Friday 11 January: Tel 020 7278 6694

******************************************
2) MORE WAR IN 2008 FOR A WORLD AGAINST WAR
The US is spending 6000 dollars every second on its wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan (http://tinyurl.com/yo29ur). In December
2007 the US Congress voted George Bush a further 70 billion
dollars for his war plans, on top of the 620 billion dollars a
year it now takes to fund the US war machine.

What are the warmongers plans for the coming year?
* IRAQ: Continuing war and occupation, with Britain providing
thousands of troops for no other reason than to give political
cover to George Bush.
* AFGHANISTAN: Escalation of the war, not least by Gordon
Brown's government
* IRAN: Intensified threats against Iran, as shown by the
recent Straights of Hormuz "incident" (see
http://tinyurl.com/2t4lfs)
* PAKISTAN: Threats of "pre-emptive" intervention in
Pakistan, where political turmoil is to a large extent a
consequence of US interference and the "war on terror" . All
the candidates currently campaigning for nomination to be
George Bush's successor say they are prepared to launch
unilateral military strikes in Pakistan.
* KURDS: Continuing support for Turkey's air attacks on the
Kurdish region of Iraq and for Turkey's threats to invade.

Every indicator shows that the people of the world oppose this
warmongering, not least in Iraq, where all major polls over
the last four years have shown that the Iraqi people believe
the prime cause of mass death, destruction and instability in
their country is the US occupation (see
http://tinyurl.com/2mae8b). The myth, peddled by George Bush
and the ever compliant mainstream media, that the Iraq war is
no longer an important issue for the American people has been
destroyed by the current US presidential campaign, in which
Iraq has been shown as one of the top issues for voters. A
recent BBC poll showed that more than two thirds of people
around the world think American-led forces should pull out of
Iraq within a year, including 61 per cent in the US and 65 per
cent in Britain. (see http://tinyurl.com/2q9o6w)

This is the challenge for the international anti-war movement.
In 2008, a world against war faces a year of yet more war from
the same architects of the Iraq and Afghanistan disasters.
Which is why we need to continue mobilising the widest support
for active and visible opposition to the war plans of George
Bush and his most subservient ally, Gordon Brown. And it is
why the call for internationally co-ordinated protests on the
fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion was supported
unanimously by 1200 delegates at the international World
Against War Conference in London last December.

Plans for national WORLD AGAINST WAR protests in all five
continents are now being drawn up. Details of the UK
demonstration on Saturday 15 March have already been announced
(see above).

A dedicated WORLD AGAINST WAR website has been set up to
co-ordinate the international mobilisation on March 15-22,
which will be continually updated with details of the planned
protests and other information. The website is already in six
languages, including Arabic and Spanish and more languages
will be added in the near future: SEE
http://www.theworldagainstwar.org/

Please send details of any WORLD AGAINST WAR protests in your
area on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion to:
info@theworldaginstwar.org. We want to provide the fullest
picture of all activities and demonstrations, whatever their
size and wherever they are taking place.

THE WORLD AGAINST WAR: INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR: 15-22 MARCH 2008
EMAIL: info@theworldaginstwar.org
WEB: http://www.theworldagainstwar.org/

**************************************************
3) WHERE WERE YOU ON 15 FEBRUARY 2003?
Following an initiative by Islington Stop the War Coalition,
we are planning to collect signatures for a letter to Gordon
Brown from people who on 15 February 2003 were among the two
million people who marched through the streets of London to
show their opposition to the attack on Iraq and who five years
on are still marching against the war and occupation by US and
UK forces.

Stop the War wants to gather stories and recollections of that
historic day for publishing on our website and getting into
the national and local media. We will include in the letter
to Gordon Brown messages from those who say -- like 102 year
old Hetty Bower, an ever-present on Stop the War
demonstrations -- that as long as the war continues they will
keep marching.

We are also proposing that all local Stop the War groups
organise film showings around the anniversary of the 15
February 2003 demonstration in Hyde Park. Recommended films
include Katya Nasim's documentary about the inspiring school
students' strikes in the run up to the 2003 Iraq invasion (see
http://tinyurl.com/ytx35t) and Norman Solomon's film "War Made
Easy", which is narrated by Sean Penn (see
http://tinyurl.com/yq7vjf).

******************************************
4) STOP ARMY RECRUITMENT IN SCHOOLS
Britain is the only European country which recruits youngsters
into the armed forces from the age of 16 and a report
published this week shows how the army glamorises war to
entice youngsters who are below the age of recruitment and who
are often drawn from the poorest sections of society (see
http://tinyurl.com/3cxahp).

The national organisation School Students Against the War is
planning a campaign to oppose the use of schools for army
recruitment, with support from Military Families Against the
War and a growing number of trade unions. The aim is to have a
nationwide campaign, collecting signatures for an
anti-recruitment petition in educational institutions and
organising local meetings across the country. If you would
like to be involved in this campaign or can offer any support,
please contact:

School Students Against War, c/o Stop the War Coalition,
27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP
EMAIL: london@ssaw.org.uk
TEL: Sam on 07947460945

***************************************
5) AN IMPORTANT APPEAL
The International Peace Conference in December, which
attracted 1200 delegates from across the world, agreed to hold
internationally co-ordinated anti-war demonstrations -- from
Baghdad to New York -- in March 2008, the fifth anniversary of
the Iraq invasion (see http://www.stopwar.org.uk). The UK
demonstration takes place in London on Saturday 15 March.

The International Peace Conference which took these decisions
could not have been organised without your support and without
the hard work which was, as always, accompanied by the
expenditure of a lot of money. For example, we needed to
facilitate simultaneous translation across three languages, to
ensure all delegates were able to participate fully in the
conference. This was expensive, as was, of course, the hire of
the hall and all the attendant publicity.

Ensuring that appropriate speakers were able to come to London
was logistically very difficult and once again a big drain on
our funds. As a result we have bills to pay and, at the same
time, have to find the funding for one of our most important
demonstrations since the war began five years ago.

We must organise meetings and rallies across the country from
now until 15 March and at the same time keep the Coalition
active and able to intervene in whatever way is necessary in
the event of any escalation in the "war on terror".

For all these reasons we need to raise some thousands of
pounds in short order. Stop the War is wholly dependent on
donations, money-raising events, affiliation fees from
individuals, peace groups, trade unions and other
organizations.

Unfortunately this is never enough. We are therefore asking
all our supporters to make a one-off donation to Stop the War
Coalition to enable us to cover our commitments, fund the
March 15 demonstration and make 2008 a year of renewed
peace-building that will hasten the end of the "war on
terror".

We would also ask you to consider joining Stop the War
nationally if you are not already a member. YOU CAN JOIN:
BY PHONE: 020 7278 6694
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

If you would like to be sent a membership form, call 020 7278
6694.

TO MAKE A DONATION TO STOP THE WAR:
BYCHEQUE: Please make out to "Stop the War Coalition" and send
to Stop the War, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP
BY CREDIT/DEBIT CARD: Please call 020 7278 6694
ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

***************************************************

VOTE FOR STOP THE WAR COALITION
CHANNEL 4 NEWS AWARDS:
MOST INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL FIGURES OF THE DECADE
Stop the War Coalition has been shortlisted for Channel 4 News
Most Influential Political figures of the Decade Award. The
winner will be decided by public vote, to be announced on the
23 January 2008. The awards themselves will be televised on
the 27 January.
See http://www.channel4.com/news/
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