Fwd: *Alert: New threats of imminent war

Stop War on Iran
*/Sign the Petition Now
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Tell Congress & President Bush: Stop War on Iran!
/*

*Bush gives OK for attack on Iran: /Take Action Today/ -
*
*Stop War on Iran*

*Recent news makes it clear why it is more important than ever that we
take to the streets on August 2. * According to press reports,
_President Bush has given the Israeli military the go-ahead to prepare
for an imminent attack on Iran_.* *Israel is also using U.S. bases in
Iraq to prepare for the attack.

The British Sunday Times of July 13, 2008 reported:

"Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread skepticism
that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic
consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an
"amber light" to an Israeli plan to attack Iran's main nuclear sites
with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times.

"Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate
attack and tell us when you're ready," the official said.

The Jerusalem Post of July 13, 2008 reported:

"On Friday, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news
network that IAF war planes were practicing in Iraqi airspace were
landing on US airbases in the country as a preparation for a potential
strike on Iran."

Once again the most powerful forces of US corporate power -- the
military-industrial-petroleum complex -are using Israel as their proxy
to threaten war on surrounding countries in the region. Israel is
armed, financed, and politically and diplomatically supported by
Washington. It can not act on its own or without explicit permission
from Washington. U.S. tax dollars finance Israel wars against
surrounding nations, and Israeli repression of the Palestinians, to keep
the area "safe" for U.S. oil companies.

This is why it is vital to link the struggle against the war in Iraq and
a potential war against Iran with the struggle of the Palestinian people
for the right to return.

At the same time Washington is giving the Israeli military a go-ahead to
bomb Iran, the U.S. Congress is moving ahead to escalate tensions in the
region and possibly provoke an incident that would justify U.S. military
action. House Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 both require
that the President begin blockade of Iran.

The House Resolution "demands" that the President impose "stringent
inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains,
and cargo entering or departing Iran." *Enforcing this would require a
U.S. Naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, which is an act of war
according to international law.* Approximately one-fourth of the
world's oil, including that from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar
and Bahrain, pass through the Straits of Hormuz, which is 21 miles
across at its narrowest point (the shipping channel is less than 2 miles
wide).

*These two resolutions have received widespread bipartisan support from
members of both Houses, and are expected to pass without debate or
vote.* A staffer in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office said that once
the Resolution hits the floor, it will "pass like a hot knife through
butter." Some have speculated that the bill will be put on the floor
under suspension --- meaning that it will pass without even a vote.

Both resolutions accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, despite the
fact that Washington's National Intelligence Estimate report last
December that made it clear that every major U.S. intelligence agency
believes that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program.

Nor do the resolutions refer to the real nuclear threat in the region --
the U.S., which is the only country that has used nuclear weapons and
currently has a massive nuclear-armed naval armada in the region. It
also does not mention the apartheid settler state of Israel, which is
thought to have more than 200 nuclear weapons.

*At the same time, two leading Senators announced on Tuesday, July 15,
that they had reached a bipartisan agreement to expand economic
sanctions targeting Iran.** * Sens. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn.,
chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and Richard Shelby, R-Ala.,
called Iran "a threat to U.S. interests." Dodd, a former candidate for
the Democratic nomination for President, said, "This bipartisan bill
strengthens economic sanctions against Iran, and authorizes divestment
from companies that do business with Iran's key oil sector."

*Meanwhile, the U.S. is involved in "covert operations" -- acts of
terrorism -- inside Iran. * In the July 7 New Yorker, Seymour Hersh
revealed that Congress has approved $400 million to fund covert
operations in Iran. These operations include: providing support to
armed groups opposed to the Iranian government, kidnapping members of
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and taking them across the border to
Iraq for interrogation, the manipulation of Iran's currency, and other
acts intended to destabilize the regime. Hersh reports that these types
of operations have been ongoing at least since last year, but the recent
Congressional appropriation signals a significant expansion of these
actions.

It is clear that the Bush Administration is determined to push forward
with its agenda of endless war to control the oil reserves of the Middle
East. It is equally clear that members of Congress -- both Democrats and
Republicans -- are collaborating with the Administration, just as they
collaborated in authorizing and funding the invasion and occupation of
Iraq.

It is imperative that progressive activists and organizations,
particularly in the U.S., mobilize to stop another brutal war, and to
demand an end to the illegal sanctions and covert operations targeting
Iran.

Stop War on Iran, an international grassroots campaign, issued an
Emergency Call to for protests, marches, and other actions on the
weekend of August 2. Response to the call has been enthusiastic, and
local organizers are planning events in more than *50 cities*, including
Los Angeles, Tucson , San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta,
Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Jersey
City, Albuquerque, Buffalo, New York City, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham,
Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Houston, Salt Lake City,
Virginia Beach, Washington DC, and more -- an updated list is available
at www.StopWarOnIran.org .

*Now is the time to take to the streets, because only a massive
grassroots mobilization can stop another bloody and illegal war.*

In the next few days and weeks, we need to do everything we can to *take
to the streets to Stop a War on Iran. * We have a real opportunity to
help build a massive grassroots movement to oppose the warmongers in
Washington.

If you haven't done so, please consider organizing a local action on
August 2 - or if there is already one in your area, contact local
organizers to find out
how you can help.

Also, please sign the online petition at
http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml and help us spread the word
. Signing the petition will send
messages to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Board of
Directors of Halliburton, and the media.

In the next few days, we will be preparing placards and banners,
printing leaflets and educational materials, and holding organizing
meetings to prepare for the August 2 protests. Please consider making a
donation at *http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml* to help us with the
enormous expenses of mobilizing a national response to Bush's war threats.

If you have a website, blog, MySpace, or other site, you can help us get
the word out by linking to us. Graphics are available at
http://stopwaroniran.org/link.html.

Above all, *join us in the streets on August 2* -for more information
and updates, see StopWarOnIran.org .

*AUGUST 2:*
/*An Emergency Call to Action
*/

*Stop War on IRAN
Troops Out of IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN!
No to U.S. war through Israel!
Money for Jobs, Housing & Healthcare, NOT War
/
Mass March in NYC & across the U.S. -
/see growing list of actions at/
/http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008orgcents.shtml
*

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*
Endorse** the Emergency Call to Action for August 2 at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008endorse.shtml


List your local action at
http://stopwaroniran.org/aug22008volorgcent.shtml


Sign the Petition at **http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml


Make an Emergency Donation at http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml


Tell a Friend
http://stopwaroniran.org/friend.shtml


Sign up for updates
http://stopwaroniran.org/updates.shtml*





*DONATE *
*Please help build a grassroots campaign to Stop War on Iran
http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml
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