Stop the War Annual General Conference + Update

The Stop the War annual general conference will take place on Saturday 14 September in Central London. It is the Coalition's annual general meeting where we review our work from the past year and plan activities for the year ahead. Delegates will be able to discuss resolutions from our  affiliated organisations and it is also the place where we elect our new Steering Committee for the coming year.

The conference will come at a time of global instability. Despite the disasters of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the West continues to pursue the War on Terror.

Plans are being pushed for increased intervention in Syria, US drone attacks are spreading from Central Asia to Africa, and sanctions and a cyber war against Iran presages the possibility of open attacks by Israel or the West.

Anti-war organisation makes a difference. Pressure in and out of parliament has so far restrained Hague and Cameron from upping the stakes in Syria, as we saw from the debate just last week. The campaign against drones has at last generated a public debate. But so much remains to be done.

Our conference will be a chance to discuss this complex situation, to plan further action and to debate how best to strengthen the anti-war arguments and organisation.

Practicalities

The conference will take place on Saturday September 14th from 10 - 5pm at The Old Cinema University of Westminster 309 Regent St W1B 2UW.

How to register

Stop the War groups can send up to four delegates and other affiliated groups can send two delegates.

Conference is also open to individual members. Members must be paying a monthly or annual subscription - if in doubt please get in touch to check your membership status. Members who joined before 15th of July 2013 have full voting and speaking rights. Members who joined after this date can take part as observers.

All delegates must register by Friday 7th of September. Registration costs: £10 standard / £5 concessions.

To book call 020 7561 4830 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Discussion and resolutions

The conference will discuss the general state of the war on terror, movement priorities and how best to organise locally. STW groups and affiliated organisations can submit one resolution per organisation. The deadline for submission is Friday 30th of August.

We encourage all members to attend to ensure the best possible discussion and the strongest possible anti-war organisation.

Do to Syria what we did to Libya says British army general

Despite his own role in Afghanistan and Iraq, General Sir David Richards does not allow catastrophic failure to get in the way of calling for yet more war, this time against Syria, writes Lindsey German.

It's that time of year again. Another British army general retires, and marks the event with an interview in a right wing newspaper arguing the need for greater and more intense military interventions somewhere in the world.

This time it's General Sir David Richards, and his target is Syria. He tells the Daily Telegraph that a no fly zone in Syria won't be adequate 'to restrain the Syrian army'.

Given Richards' own role in an army which has presided over catastrophic wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and whose government's no fly zone in Libya led to a further 30,000 deaths there, you might think he would be thinking first and foremost about restraining his own institution. But no one could accuse the British army of hesitating in further conflicts just because of failure elsewhere.

Bradley Manning's Nobel Peace Prize

A campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to American whistleblower Bradley Manning is close to gaining 100,000 signatures in support of his nomination. The petition reads:

No individual has done more to push back against what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the madness of militarism" than Bradley Manning. And right now, remaining in prison and facing relentless prosecution by the U.S. government, no one is more in need of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Alfred Nobel's will left funding for a prize to be awarded to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

The intent of the prize was to fund this work. As a result of enormous legal expenses, Bradley Manning is in need of that funding.

I urge you to award the Peace Prize to Bradley Manning.