'Having a great time here in Iraq!'
TONY BLAIR: THE NIGHTMARE WE DID SEE COMING
STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No.1168
02 September 2010
Email office@stopwar.org.uk Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) TONY BLAIR: THE NIGHTMARE WE DID SEE COMING
2) MORE SIGNS OF “PROGRESS” IN AFGHANISTAN
3) LETTER TO MPs FROM MILITARY FAMILIES
4) OBAMA’S FAKE END TO THE IRAQ WAR
5) ARTIST SIGNED PRINT OF ICONIC BLAIR PICTURE
6) NEW NATIONAL MEMBERS HELP RAISE URGENT FUNDS
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1) TONY BLAIR: THE NIGHTMARE WE DID SEE COMING
Tony Blair says in his memoirs that Iraq was the nightmare he did not see coming. The majority of people in Britain had no difficulty in seeing that the nightmare we faced was not Iraq, but Tony Blair and his war policies.
Blair’s legacy will be that of a war criminal who waged an illegal war which killed hundreds of thousands and left Iraq in pieces, and who when he left office exploited his crimes to accumulate wealth soon expected to top £60 million.
We will not forget Blair’s crimes or the victims, whether Iraqi civilians or British soldiers, and we will continue to campaign for his indictment for the violation of countless international laws.
Which is why on Wednesday 8 September Stop the War will hold a protest outside Waterstone’s bookshop in London’s Piccadilly, when Blair will be doing a book-signing.
Tony Blair is not like any other author promoting a new book, but a war criminal who should be behind bars awaiting trial.
* EMAIL WATERSTONE’S NOW USING OUR E-LOBBY TOOL
It takes a couple of minutes using our model letter to send an instant message to Waterstone’s urging them to cancel Tony Blair’s book-signing.
GOTO: http://bit.ly/93tbfF
* JOIN THE PROTEST AT WATERSTONE’S ON 8 SEPTEMBER
If Blair’s book-signing is not being cancelled, Stop the War will organise a protest at 12.30pm outside Waterstone’s in Piccadilly, London. Please join us, if you can.
SEE NO BOOK-SIGNING FOR TONY BLAIR: http://bit.ly/bGC6W2
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2) MORE SIGNS OF “PROGRESS” IN AFGHANISTAN
Parliament will debate the war in Afghanistan next week against the background of claims by the politicians and military waging war that the invading armies are “making progress”.
Twenty-one US soldiers were killed over last weekend — adding to the number killed this year, which is fast approaching the total for the whole of 2009. This exposes the reality in Afghanistan, as do the continually rising numbers of Afghan civilians being killed at a higher rate than in any previous year of the war.
Stop the War has organised a public meeting in the House of Commons the day before MPs debate the Afghan war. The title will be Afghanistan: Time To Go, and the speakers will include MPs Caroline Lucas, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Flynn, who will be joined by Joan Humphries, from Military Families Against the War, whose grandson was killed in Afghanistan.
The meeting is part of the campaign mobilising support for the Afghanistan: Time To Go national demonstration in London on 20 November.
PUBLIC MEETING: 08 SEPTEMBER 7.00PM
AFGHANISTAN: TIME TO GO
HOUSE OF COMMONS, LONDON
RIGHT SIDE ENTRANCE (Ask for Stop the War meeting)
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3) LETTER TO MPs FROM MILITARY FAMILIES
A group of military families have come together to produce a letter to MPs in the run up to next week’s debate and vote on Afghanistan in Parliament.
The letter calls for the troops to come home, and ends by saying:
“Politicians who send and keep the British Military in Afghanistan should take heed of the majority of the population
who want the troops home, remembering that they are elected as our servants not our masters. This pointless waste of life must end now before too many more suffer.” (SEE LETTER HERE: http://tinyurl.com/35zhv39)
The families are asking others who have military connections to add their names to the letter. If you are in contact with military families who have relatives serving in Afghanistan, or about to be deployed there, please bring this letter to their attention.
DOWNLOAD LETTER FOR PRINTING HERE: http://tinyurl.com/35zhv39
Any members of military families who would like further information, can contact Joan Humphries, whose grandson was killed in Afghanistan: Tel 07859 168 440, Email joanhumphreys2001@yahoo.co.uk
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4) OBAMA’S FAKE END TO THE IRAQ WAR
Barack Obama’s speech this week announcing that the Iraq War is over is, as Robert Fisk says, just “tomfoolery”: SEE
http://bit.ly/cQPjXT
The Americans are not leaving, the occupation is not over and the fighting continues. And as Hadani Ditmars reports in her article, Iraq in Pieces, the legacy of the illegal war is a nightmare for the Iraqi people, SEE http://bit.ly/aBJVe2
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5) ARTIST SIGNED PRINT OF ICONIC BLAIR PICTURE
Artists Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips have made available to Stop the War 100 signed copies of their iconic picture of Tony Blair photographing himself with his mobile phone against a backdrop of Iraq in flames. SEE PRINT HERE: http://bit.ly/dBYeit
These limited edition 51cm x 51cm prints are available to Stop the War supporters, on a strict first come first served basis, at a cost of £10 plus £2.50 postage, from the national office: Tel: 020 7801 2768
Demand is likely to be very high for signed prints of this now legendary image, so if you would like one, it is advisable to apply immediately.
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6) NEW NATIONAL MEMBERS HELP RAISE URGENT FUNDS
We have had a tremendous response to our appeal in our last newsletter for supporters of Stop the War to become national members, as one of the best ways to help fund our activities.
We are still in urgent need of raising funds for the events we have planned for the coming months, not least the national demonstration on 20 November.
If you have not yet contributed and would like to support our fund raising drive, by becoming a national member or by making a donation, you can do so in three ways:
* ONLINE: http://bit.ly/11eQoy
* BY PHONE: 020 7801 2768
* BY CHEQUE: Payable to “Stop the War Coalition”, send to: 231 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EH
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Posted here by Glenn Rikowski
The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk
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