IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) A MESSAGE FROM TONY BENN
2) STOP THE WAR STATEMENT ON GEORGIA
3) AFGHANISTAN: ANOTHER DISASTER FOR NATO
4) THE STORY BURIED BY THE UK MEDIA
5) NO TO NATO: INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION

*************************************
1) A MESSAGE FROM TONY BENN.

Tony Benn sends the following message urging people to join
the Stop the War demonstration at the Labour party
conference in Manchester on Saturday 20 September.

STOP THE SPREAD OF WAR
War in the Caucasus has highlighted the growing danger of
war spreading. Seven years after the start of the war on
terror, occupation continues to bring misery to Iraq and
Afghanistan, but the consequences of the war are spreading.
US policy of expanding NATO eastwards has been an important
feature of the conflict between Russia and Georgia, as has
the West's desire to control the oil and other natural
resources of the region.

The British government continues its uncritical support for
George Bush, with foreign minister David Miliband echoing
Bush's claim that invading other people's countries is not
acceptable in the 21st century. Their hypocrisy is
staggering.

The war on terror has been a failure and the majority of
people in Britain want the British troops out of Iraq and
Afghanistan. Their view is matched by the majority of
citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan, where high levels of
violence, death, refugees and lack of basic facilities are
all part of everyday life for millions. Despite all this,
the US is stepping up its threats against Iran.

When he came to office, Gordon Brown promised to plan troop
withdrawal from Iraq. He has reneged on that promise. We are
demonstrating in Manchester to make clear we want to stop
war spreading and we want all the troops home now. We urge
you to join us. - TONY BENN.

DEMONSTRATE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER. ASSEMBLE 12.30PM
ALL SAINTS, CAVENDISH STREET, MANCHESTER M15

LEAFLETS
Leaflets for the demonstration are available from the Stop
the War office: Tel 020 7278 6694. Email
office@stopwar.org.uk

A copy of the leaflet can be downloaded from:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/images/download.pdf

TRANSPORT:
Transport is being organised to the demonstration from
across the country. For details see
http://tinyurl.com/696px8 or call the Stop the War office:
020 7278 6694.

FOR DEMONSTRATION UPDATES GO TO:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

*************************************
2) STOP THE WAR STATEMENT ON GEORGIA

A report on the Stop the War meeting, GEORGIA, NATO & THE
SPREAD OF WAR, with videos of all the platform speakers is
now available online:
http://tinyurl.com/6p77y8

Stop the War has published a statement on the Georgia
crisis, highlighting "a new stage in the growth of
instability around the world, threatening confrontation
between the United States and the Russian Federation". The
statement can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/6jxtww

*************************************
3) AFGHANISTAN: ANOTHER DISASTER FOR NATO

The deaths of ten French soldiers in one battle and growing
British and US casualties reveal the military reality behind
the rhetoric of George Bush's 'Operation Enduring Freedom'.

Despite Geoff Hoon's recent claims that progress is being
made, resistance to the occupation is becoming bolder and
more effective. The French soldiers lost their lives in a 36
hour gun battle just 30 miles from the capital Kabul. Most
of the south and east of the country -- which we were told a
few years ago had been 'pacified' -- is now officially
recognised as being under rebel control.

NATO air strikes are causing so much bitterness at the
number of innocent civilians being killed that even
Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai -- who was installed to
be the stooge of the US government -- has publicly demanded
that the bombing stops. The violence created by occupation
is making an already dire situation desperate for the Afghan
people. Malnutrition is widespread and child mortality rates
and life expectancy are lower now than they were before the
so called 'liberation' of the country in 2001. Security has
deteriorated so badly that aid agencies and NGOs are having
to cancel sorely needed relief programmes.

According to Gordon Brown, "We are winning the battle in
Afghanistan". In truth, as the Guardian's Seamus Milne wrote
this week, "The war in Afghanistan, which claimed more than
6,500 lives last year, cannot be won. It has brought neither
peace, development nor freedom, and has no prospect of doing
so… The only real chance for peace in Afghanistan is the
withdrawal of foreign forces." (See
http://tinyurl.com/6hgb5v)

This is the message we will be taking to Gordon Brown when
we demonstrate at the Labour Party conference in Manchester
on Saturday 20 September.

*************************************
4) THE STORY BURIED BY THE UK MEDIA

In a new book, American journalist Ron Suskind has
demolished any remaining shred of credibility for the attack
on Iraq in 2003. His book proves that both M16 and the CIA
knew there were no weapons of mass destruction before the
invasion and that both agencies made this clear to the Bush
administration. The media in Britain has largely ignored the
story, but you can see Suskind discussing his book on the US
Daily Show, available online here:
http://tinyurl.com/553g2n

*************************************
5) NO TO NATO: INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION

The eastwards push of NATO is the prime cause of the recent
war in the Caucasus. UK foreign secretary David Miliband is
particularly keen to rush through Georgia's membership of
NATO. This is despite many commentators pointing out that,
if Georgia had been a NATO member when its invasion of South
Ossetia provoked a Russian response, all the countries in
the alliance would have been obligated to go to war with
Russia -- in other words, it could have led to World War
III.

Next year is the 60th anniversary of NATO's formation and it
will be celebrated as an organisation founded to preserve
peace. In reality it is engaged in spreading conflict and
war well beyond the countries of the north Atlantic. Antiwar
and peace movements across Europe -- including Stop the War
and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - are organising a
demonstration at NATO's conference in Strasburg on 4-5 April
to call for an end to NATO expansion and the withdrawal of
all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

Further details of the NO TO NATO demonstration will be
available shortly. A briefing on NATO's expansion by Kate
Hudson, the chair of CND, is available here:
http://tinyurl.com/5unyde

*************************************--
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GEORGIA, NATO & THE SPREAD OF WAR

Friends Meeting House (Small Hall)
173 Euston Road London NW1 2BJ
6.30 pm, Thursday 14 August, 2008

with

MARK ALMOND, lecturer in History, Oxford University and expert on the Caucasus

KATE HUDSON, Chair of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

BORIS KAGARLITSKI, former director Institute of Globalisation Studies, Moscow
and author of, ˜Empire of the Periphery: Russia and the World System"

JOHN REES, Officer of Stop the War Coalition and author of ˜Imperialism and
Resistance"

The outbreak of war in Georgia is already a disaster for the people of the
region. It risks being turned into a still broader problem by Dick Cheney's
threats. The conflict is in large measure the product of George Bush's policy
of US global hegemony, in the Caucasus as in the Middle East. Attempts to
extend NATO eastwards, specifically incorporating Georgia, directly challenge
Russian interests. Please come to the meeting to discuss this latest flashpoint
in an increasingly dangerous world and forward this message to your contacts.
--

David Wilson
Press / Events
Stop the War Coalition
27 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JP
T: +44(0)20 7278 6694
M: +44(0)7951 579 064
www.stopwar.org.uk
--
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GEORGIA, NATO & THE SPREAD OF WAR

Friends Meeting House (Small Hall)
6.30 pm, Thursday 14 August, 2008

with

MARK ALMOND, lecturer in History, Oxford University and expert on the Caucasus

KATE HUDSON, Chair of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

BORIS KAGARLITSKI, former director Institute of Globalisation Studies, Moscow
and author of, 'Empire of the Periphery: Russia and the World System'

JOHN REES, Officer of Stop the War Coalition and author of 'Imperialism and
Resistance'

The outbreak of war in Georgia is already a disaster for the people of the
region. It risks being turned into a still broader problem by Dick Cheney's
threats. The conflict is in large measure the product of George Bush's policy
of US global hegemony, in the Caucasus as in the Middle East. Attempts to
extend NATO eastwards, specifically incorporating Georgia, directly challenge
Russian interests. Please come to the meeting to discuss this latest flashpoint
in an increasingly dangerous world and forward this message to your contacts.
--
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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) DEMONSTRATE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
2) HELP FUND THE OPPOSITION
3) OIL AND THE WAR
4) A DOG'S LIFE
5) UNDER SIEGE - CIVIL LIBERTIES, WAR AND THE MEDIA

*************************************
1) DEMONSTRATE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER ASSEMBLE 12.30PM
ALL SAINTS, CAVENDISH STREET, MANCHESTER M15

The Stop the War Coalition is calling on all its members and supporters to turn
the Manchester Troops Out demonstration on Saturday 20 September, (the eve of
the Labour Party annual national conference), into the biggest possible protest
against this government's continuing participation in the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

The Iraq war remains a disaster. Politicians and generals talk up the success
of the 'surge', but Iraqis are still dying in large numbers every week. People
lack clean water, electricity, and a working health system because the country
has been wrecked by occupation. The majority of Iraqis want foreign troops to
go, but the US and its allies are insisting on permanent military bases and the
US control of Iraqi oil.

Meanwhile we are told Afghanistan is 'the good war'. The facts tell a
different story. Aid agencies announced last week that violence in Afghanistan
has reached its worst level since 2001. This is reflected in the rising death
toll of British troops, now averaging two per week.

The media hardly mention the number of Afghan dead, but it is rising fast
partly because bombing raids have been stepped up. As the joint NGO statement
from ACBAR, released last week, says: NATO air strikes are up 40 per cent on
last year and "searches conducted by Afghan and international forces have on
some occasions involved excessive use of force, extra judicial killings,
destruction of property and/or mistreatment of suspects". SEE
http://www.acbar.org/

The UN also reports that the violence is making aid efforts almost impossible
at a time when drought and high food prices are forcing thousands into
life-threatening poverty. While supporters of the war in the west talk of
reconstruction, on the ground the few schools and clinics that have been
functioning are being threatened with closure by the violence caused by
occupation.

It is a disgrace that New Labour is still supporting these wars. Gordon Brown
has promised to schedule getting the troops out of Iraq, but there are still
thousands there and the government has increased its war budget this year. The
billions being spent on war could be used to invest in housing, pensions and
services.

For all these reasons Stop the War is calling for the widest possible support
for the demonstration at Labour's conference on 20 September. Please tell your
friends and workmates about it. Transport details and a leaflet publicising the
demonstration are available on the website, SEE http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

*************************************
2) HELP FUND THE OPPOSITION

In order to finance the mobilisation for the Manchester demonstration, and to
reorganise our databases, Stop the War has launched an appeal for money. Last
week we raised over £3,000 pounds but we urgently need more. Please give
generously by phone, letter or on the website. For details, SEE
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

*************************************
3) OIL AND THE WAR

There is ever increasing evidence that oil was and is at the heart of the so
called War on Terror. Barely reported in the press, the Iraqi government has
announced a plan for foreign oil companies to invest in large chunks of the
Iraqi oil industry. If sealed, the offer would lead to foreign companies
getting a huge and guaranteed return on their investment. The plan covers the
six main oilfields in Iraq which produce up to 80% of the country's oil. The
scandal is that there is no technical or economic reason why the Iraqi Oil
Ministry needs this foreign help. The Ministry has an accumulation of funds and
the oil fields are already relatively well resourced.

A clue as to why the Iraqi government is colluding in this plan was given in
the New York Times two weeks ago, which revealed that US advisors had helped
'shape' the new contracts. The truth is the Iraqi government is at the mercy of
the US occupation and this oil deal is being driven by the US's agenda not by
the needs of the Iraqis themselves. For more go to
http://tinyurl.com/6zqpzt

*************************************
4) A DOG'S LIFE
It tells us all we need to know about the mainstream media's priorities in
reporting the war in Afghanistan that we learnt almost instantly the name of
the army sniffer dog killed with his handler last month -- it was Sasha, if you
didn't see the reports – but no newspaper or television news programme gave
the names of the four Afghan civilians killed a few days later when the British
army fired on their car. An excellent Media Lens article titled "Some matter
more -- when 47 victims are worth 43 words" shows how systemic such reporting
is in the mainstream media. SEE http://tinyurl.com/65jcuz

*************************************
5) UNDER SIEGE - CIVIL LIBERTIES, WAR AND THE MEDIA
Continuing its impressive series of conferences and meetings examining the role
of the media in the "war on terror", Media Workers Against the War have
announced a conference in the Autumn with such a strong line-up of speakers
that it is already taking advance booking for tickets. Early booking is highly
advisable.

UNDER SIEGE - CIVIL LIBERTIES, WAR AND THE MEDIA
SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Speakers agreed so far:
MOAZZAM BEGG, writer and former Guantanamo inmate
INAYAT BUNGLAWALA, Muslim Council of Britain
NICK DAVIES, author, Flat Earth News
JEREMY DEAR, general secretary, NUJ
EAMONN MCCANN, Irish journalist and writer
EXPLO NANI-KOFI, editor of the Kilombo, a Pan-African Journal
PETER OBORNE, Daily Mail columnist, former editor of the Spectator

For more details and updates see:
MEDIA WORKERS AGAINST THE WAR
http://www.mwaw.net

TO PRE-BOOK A TICKET: Send an email to mediawar@riseup.net.

If you would like to be involved in helping organise this event, reply to this
email
Send an email to mediawar@riseup.net

6) RIDING ON FIRE: IRAQI ART UNDER OCCUPATION
Artiquea Gallery: 'Riding on Fire: Iraqi Art Under Occupation', from
September 19 –31 October, 2008. Curated by the Iraqi sculptors Najim Alqaysi
and Redha Farhan. This is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on Iraqi
art after occupation. It will introduce artworks that have never been seen in
London - oil paintings and bronze statues by 21 well known artists who live and
work in Iraq and the exhibition will represent contemporary Iraqi art as it is
today.
'Riding on Fire' addresses the heroic efforts made by Iraqi artists to keep
art alive while everything is falling apart. It is a matter of life and death
in the real meaning of these words for, regardless of hurdles and hazards,
these artists have managed to remain creatively active and produce stunning
works of art in a hostile environment. The 42 works range in scale from the
bronze statues made by well known artists like Najim Alqaysi, Ali Rassan and
Ridha Farhan, Mondher Ali and Abdulkareem Khaleel, to the amazing paintings of
Fakher Mohammad, Sattar Darwish, Dhia Alkhozai and Wisam Zakko.
The exhibition is part of Artiquea Gallery's goal to uncover the huge talents
among Arab artists and is being supported by the Stop the War Coalition. Check
out more info at: http://tinyurl.com/6nyoco

Artiquea Gallery
82 Wandsworth Bridge Road
London SW6 2TF
Tel: 02077312090
info@artiquea.co.uk
http://www.artiquea.co.uk/
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