1.

EVALUATION OF THE JUNE 28-29, 2008, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO END THE IRAQ WAR AND OCCUPATION
By Jerry Gordon, Marilyn Levin and Jeff Mackler

Members of the Administrative Committee of the Assembly’s 50-Member Coordinating Committee

Our overall assessment is that the conference was an overwhelming success. Over 400 people from many parts of the country and Canada attended, including a bus of 44 -- mostly youth -- from Connecticut (see breakdown by states below). The conference met its main objective, which was to urge united and massive mobilizations in the spring to “Bring the Troops Home Now,” as well as supporting actions that build towards that date. It also provided a prototype for how an antiwar movement can function effectively and democratically. The one person-one vote voting formula made everyone feel involved, able to have a voice, and capable of influencing decisions on critical issues. People left the conference sky high, and with renewed energy and determination to build the movement.

Conference highlights included the following:

1. Ensured that it was action-oriented by urging support for demonstrations at the Republican and Democratic Party conventions (September 1-4, 2008 and August 25-28, 2008 respectively), other actions preceding the elections -- especially those called for October 11 -- and proposing December 9-14 as dates for local actions across the country demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. These December actions provide the best potential for uniting the entire movement in the months ahead. ANSWER and the Troops Out Now Coalition have endorsed them and the hope is that UFPJ will do the same. The need now is to take these proposed dates to local antiwar coalitions; labor groups, especially U.S. Labor Against the War; veterans and military families organizations: the faith community; Black, Hispanic, Asian, Arab, Muslim and other nationalities, racial and ethnic groups; students; women’s peace organizations; the Moratorium; and all other social forces that can be drawn into antiwar activities. All actions are viewed as springboards for building massive, united, independent and bi-coastal Spring 2009 demonstrations against the war.

2. Expressed its strong opposition to attacks against Iran, as well as sanctions and other forms of intervention into that country’s internal affairs; registered determination to join other antiwar forces in massive united, protest actions in the event that the U.S. or its proxy, Israel, bombs Iran; and urged that if this occurs an emergency meeting of all the major antiwar forces be called to plan such actions.

3. Added Afghanistan to the name of the Assembly because the U.S. is fighting two unjust, illegal, and brutal wars simultaneously and both must be opposed. We are now the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations.

4. Voted to integrate the issue of Palestine into the broader antiwar struggle and to challenge U.S. support for the Israeli occupation.

5. Included in the conference program and agenda a number of workshops of interest to attendees, with the workshops designed to show the interconnection between the wars and occupations and other issues of concern. Here is the list of workshops: The Cost of the War and the Deepening Economic Crisis; War Rages While Racism, Anti-Immigrant Attacks and the War at Home Escalate; Building the Antiwar Movement in Labor Organizations: International Solidarity and the Common Needs of U.S. and Iraqi Workers; Lessons From the Vietnam Antiwar Movement; Students, the Economic Draft and Military Recruitment in Our Schools; Confronting the Assault on Civil Liberties and the U.S. Constitution: the War on Terror -- Today’s Justification for Washington’s Wars at Home and Abroad; Palestine, the Middle East and Iraq: Drawing the Connections; The Critical Role of Veterans and Military Families Opposed to the War; Latin America and the Caribbean: the Next U.S. War of Intervention?; The Next Oil Wars: Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Expansion of U.S. Military Intervention in Africa; This is What Democracy Looks Like: Effective Lobbying to End the Occupation; Local Organizing and the Iraq Moratorium; Nonviolent Direct Action: Is It Effective?; Outsourcing Our Sovereignty: Blackwater and the Privatization of War with Public Money; War, Militarism, Violence Against Women, and Women’s Resistance; The St. Paul Republican National Convention Protest; and the Movement and the Media.

6. Attracted a broad range of movement activists as well as the leadership of the nation’s most prominent antiwar coalitions -- UFPJ, ANSWER and TONC -- as well as leaders and representatives of U.S. Labor Against the War, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, and Military Families Speak Out.

7. Featured an impressive array of speakers representing critical constituencies, several of whom pledged future collaboration. These included: Donna Dewitt, President of the South Carolina AFL-CIO and Co-Chair, South Carolina Progressive Network; Fred Mason, President, Maryland AFL-CIO and Co-Convenor, U.S. Labor Against the War; Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace (by video tape); Jonathon Hutto, Navy Petty Officer, Author of Anti-War Soldier and Co-Founder of Appeal for Redress; Elliott Adams, President, Veterans for Peace; Beth Lerman, Coordinator of Military Families Speak Out in Ohio; Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice; Jesse Diaz, Organizer of the May 1, 2006 immigrant rights boycott; Marilyn Levin, Boston United for Justice with Peace, New England United, and Middle East Crisis Coalition; Brian Becker, National Coordinator, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition; Colia Lafayette Clark, Richard Wright Centennial Committee; Jorge Mujica, Chicago March 10 Coalition; Jeremy Scahill, Author, of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army;” Clarence Thomas, Executive Board Member, ILWU Local 10, the trade union that initiated the May 1 one-day antiwar strike that closed all U.S. West Coast ports from Canada to Mexico; Riham Barghouti, Adalah, New York City; Lynne Stewart, attorney and 30-year veteran of civil liberties and civil rights defense work; Josh Davidson, Shaker Heights High School Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Larry Holmes, Coordinator, Troops Out Now Coalition; Jeff Mackler, Coordinating Committee, National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation; and Jerry Gordon, Steering Committee, U.S. Labor Against the War and Co-Coordinator of the Vietnam-era National Peace Action Coalition. Saturday Night Performer: Son of Nun.

8. Projected an atmosphere where spirited and sometimes sharp debate could take place in a civil manner on substantive issues. The few attempts to deprecate groups or individuals encountered a strong negative response.

9. Voted to maintain the Assembly as a network with its mission intact and continuing: to be a catalyst and unifier, striving always to unite the movement in the streets. Our abiding conviction is that a united movement is a stronger movement and one better able to reach out to and involve the broader forces that must be won if we are to put an end to the wars and occupations.

10. Elected a 13-member Administrative Body (AB), composed of Zaineb Alani, Colia Clark, Greg Coleridge, Donna Dewitt, Jamilla El-Shafei, Mike Ferner, Jerry Gordon, Jonathan Hutto, Marilyn Levin, Jeff Mackler, Fred Mason, Mary Nichols-Rhodes and Lynne Stewart.

11. Raised enough money to pay all the bills for what was a very expensive undertaking, with the total cost being an estimated $23,500.

HITCHES ALONG THE WAY

Of course, there were flaws in the planning and preparation for the conference and, in retrospect, there were things we would have done differently. The most serious problem was not making it clear beforehand what was meant by an action proposal as differentiated from requests for endorsements of events, minor word changes, and proposals outside the realistic scope of the conference. This resulted in an avalanche of proposals and later of amendments to the action proposal the conference voted to focus on. Because all of these amendments could not be taken up in the allotted time, many were referred to the incoming Administrative Body.

Then, too, the Saturday night program lasted too long and the concluding speakers, as well as Son of Nun, who performed magnificently at the end, were heard by dwindling numbers. We also underestimated the turnout and although we prepared 400 kits going into the conference at a time when registrations totaled about 300, there were not enough kits to go around (especially since a number of people took more than one so they could pass them along to activists back home).

We will learn from all this and make the necessary changes the next time around. After all, this was the Assembly’s founding conference. We are confident the next one will be bigger and better.

WHERE DOES THE ASSEMBLY GO FROM HERE?

As we see it, the immediate priorities are completing work on the action and structure proposals and posting them on the Assembly website; circulating them widely throughout the movement; securing endorsements for the December 9-14 actions and acting as a clearinghouse for listing and promoting the December actions; encouraging groups which are in agreement with the five points that unite us -- “Out Now!” as the movement’s unifying demand, mass action as the central strategy, unity of the movement, democratic decision making, and independence from all political parties -- to elect representatives to the Assembly’s Continuations Body and help guide us as we move forward; and preparing a DVD featuring highlights of the conference for distribution and sale.

Was the conference a success? This will be determined less by what we discussed and voted upon there and more by what conference attendees do in the aftermath. If those who went through the experience of the conference are vocal and assertive in not only pressing for united actions in the future but demanding them and if, as a result, our fractured antiwar movement at last comes together in the streets, and stays there until the U.S. stops waging war on the peoples of the Middle East, as well as Afghanistan, then it may truly be said that the June 28-29 conference held in Cleveland, Ohio was, indeed, an historic event.

*Conference attendance: 417 people registered, 12 who did register did not come, so the total attendance was 405. One person came from Arizona, 29 from California, one from Colorado, 41 from Connecticut, 7 from Washington, D.C., 2 from Florida, 27 from Illinois, one from Indiana, 16 from Massachusetts, 5 from Maryland, 17 from Michigan, 14 from Minnesota, 6 from Missouri, 1 from North Carolina, 10 from New Jersey, 39 from New York, 140 from Ohio, 1 from Oregon, 21 from Pennsylvania, 6 from Rhode Island, 2 from South Carolina, 1 from Texas, 1 from Utah, 4 from Virginia, 3 from Washington State, 6 from Wisconsin, 4 from Ontario, Canada

2.

REPORT FROM ANTIWAR CONFERENCE IN CLEVELAND
By Phil Wilayto

** And its impact on our efforts to help prevent an attack on Iran **

Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality
July 3, 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3558730
or
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34503

Responding to a call by a newly-formed group called the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation (1), some 300 anti-war organizers from a broad array of organizations gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, June 28 and 29. The conference organizers had announced that their goal was to set a date for a massive protest that could bring out the largest number of people under the single demand of immediately withdrawing all U.S. forces from Iraq.

Despite the fact that some 70 percent of the people of the United States now say they want the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq, there has been no national anti-war mobilization in the U.S. this year. This is in part because the energies of many activists have unfortunately been diverted by the November presidential elections, and also because the anti-war movement is deeply divided, with competing national coalitions vying for influence.

In this context, it was significant not only that the Cleveland conference took place at all, but that it included among its speakers leaders of most of the major anti-war coalitions: Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (2), Troops Out Now Coalition (3), United for Peace and Justice (4), and U.S. Labor Against the War (5). Several state- and citywide coalitions and networks were also represented, as well as local organizations and individuals. (Still, it should be noted that the conference attracted relatively few youth or people of color.)

Besides the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, other issues were also to be addressed, either at one of 17 scheduled workshops or by speakers at the gathering's general sessions.

However, up until just a few days before the start of the conference, none of these many speakers or workshops were scheduled to address what many observers believe to be the very real threat of an imminent military attack on Iran, either by the U.S. or by Israel acting on its behalf.

Moreover, the action proposal being presented by the conference organizers included this paragraph:

“In the event of a U.S. government attack on Iran or another major international crisis triggered by U.S. military action, the Assembly will urge an emergency convening of all the major antiwar forces to plan the most massive, united, protest action possible.”

This statement was alarming for two reasons: there was no call for any protest to help prevent such an attack, and there was no mention of opposing an attack by Israel.

As a result, the Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran (6), meeting June 21 in Washington, D.C., decided to send two representatives to the Cleveland conference to raise the issue of Iran. The representatives were Rostam Pourzal, president of the U.S. chapter of CASMII, and Phil Wilayto, organizer of the 2007 People's Peace Delegation to Iran (7) and a member of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality in Richmond, Virginia (8). Both CASMII and the Defenders are affiliated with the Virginia Anti-War Network (9), an alliance of two dozen peace, community and labor groups. After consultation with VAWN's steering committee, it was agreed that Rostam and Phil would also represent VAWN at the Cleveland conference.

Rostam and Phil submitted a proposal to the conference organizers for a workshop titled “Is the Bush administration planning to attack Iran before the November elections?”

They also drew up a resolution asking the conference participants to declare their unequivocal opposition to:

(1) any military attack on Iran, by the U.S., Israel, or any other country acting at the behest of the U.S.;

(2) the imposition or continuation of sanctions, whether economic or military, against Iran; and

(3) any attempt by the U.S. government or any of its agencies to interfere with or otherwise attempt to influence the internal political process in Iran.

The workshop proposal was accepted. However, that meant there were now 18 workshops scheduled for the same time on Saturday afternoon, all vying for the attention of the 300 conference participants. Divided equally, that would have meant about 16 participants in each workshop. Further, our proposal was never posted on the conference Web site, nor was it listed in the printed material distributed to each attendee at the conference. We were told that all workshops would be listed in a later version of the printed material, but that did not happen. We did post signs about the workshop around the conference area and also leafleted the conference attendees with copies of the resolution. Several friends attending the conference helped us spread the word about the workshop. And we obtained a commitment from the workshops coordinator that our workshop would be announced from the podium, which it was.

In the end, the Iran workshop drew more than 30 people, an indication of the level of concern of among participants. Rostam made a presentation answering the major U.S. charges against Iran -- that it is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, that it is a military threat to the United States and Israel, that it sponsors terrorism, and that it is a source of instability in Iraq. Phil raised suggestions about how activists can more forcefully raise the issue of an attack on Iran in their ongoing work. The resolution on Iran was discussed and workshop participants were urged to support it when it came up for a vote. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

Also scheduled for Saturday was the presentation of the action proposals, which addressed a variety of issues. According to the ground rules of the conference, only one proposal would be adopted, but that proposal could then be amended by a vote of the participants.

The proposal selected by the participants was the one presented by the conference organizers -- to support all the many anti-war activities being called for this summer, fall, and winter, but to view them as building up to massive protests on both the East and West coasts in March of 2009 that would have the single demand of immediately ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Amendments were considered on Sunday morning, and this is where the major discussions and arguments took place. It was agreed that three amendments -- the ones the chair called the “most controversial” -- would be considered first.

The first amendment called for expanding the focus of the Assembly to include the U.S-led war and occupation of Afghanistan. This passed, and the new name became the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations.”

The second amendment called for including the struggle of the Palestinian people as a central issue to be addressed by the National Assembly. This also passed, but only after all references to the pro-Israeli lobby were removed, by a very close vote.

Then came the Iran amendment. At this point the conference chair referred to an amendment on Iran proposed by the conference coordinating committee itself. This was the first we had heard of another resolution on Iran. That amendment called for no war or sanctions on Iran, by the U.S., Israel, or any other country.

At this point one of the conference participants pointed out that there was another resolution on Iran (ours), which she described as more comprehensive, and asked that it be considered for a vote. Rostam took the microphone and presented our resolution. Phil also spoke, emphasizing the urgency of the issue in the light of the very real possibility of an attack taking place this summer.

In addition to the demands of no war, sanctions, or internal interference, our resolution stated that “The individuals and organizations attending this National Assembly agree to incorporate these demands into any future protests -- local, regional or national -- calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.” At the request of one of the conference organizers, this was changed to state that the Assembly “encourages” the inclusion of the three demands in any future ant-war protests, on the grounds that the conference did not in fact have the authority to impose this demand on its participants. Rostam and Phil agreed to the change. The amended resolution then passed by an overwhelming show of hands.

The resolution also called for copies of the resolution on Iran to be included with any press release about the results of the conference.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESOLUTION

Our main motivation in attending the Cleveland conference was our concern that the absence of any substantive mention of Iran could be interpreted by the Bush administration that the issue is of little importance to the U.S. anti-war movement. This mistaken impression could then become a factor in the administration's evaluation of the political consequences of ordering an attack on Iran.

Further, there is the urgency of the situation.

The Middle East holds two-thirds of the world's known oil, a source not only of incredible wealth but also the resource necessary for the functioning of modern industrial societies. Whichever country or block of countries effectively controls this oil -- whether or not they own it outright -- can control the world. (Freely and equitably trading oil for money or other needed commodities seems beyond the thinking potential of the U.S. ruling establishment.)

The openly stated policy of the U.S. government is to prevent the emergence of any potential rival anywhere in the world. Now that the U.S. has eliminated Iraq as a potential rival, the only significant “threat” in the region is Iran.

Ever since the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, the U.S. has been intensifying its demonization of Iran, preparing world opinion for a confrontation. That confrontation has been delayed because of the unexpectedly strong Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation, by Israel's failure to subdue Hezbollah in its 2006 invasion of Lebanon, and by the inability of the U.S. and Israel to destroy Hamas as a viable political force in Palestine.

The Bush administration now has less than seven months left in office. The window of opportunity for an attack is rapidly closing. And so the signs pointing to an attack have been increasing. “All options are on the table,” we are told by the government that controls half the world's nuclear weapons. Bush has been touring the Middle East and Europe, lining up support for increased pressure on Iran. Israel, which recently bombed what the U.S. news media described as a suspected nuclear site in Syria, is now threatening to attack Iran, even as it carries out provocative military maneuvers in the region. Further, according to a current article in the *New Yorker* magazine by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, Congress agreed has agreed to fund a Bush request for a “major escalation of covert operations against Iran . . . designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership.”

In short, we seem to be watching a rerun of the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

Some in the anti-war movement may feel that the threat of a new war is remote, given the popular opposition to the war in Iraq and the fact that a new president will be elected in November. However, the month of August has in the past presented an attractive time frame for the U.S. government to carry out unpopular moves, both domestic and foreign. Congress is not in session. High school, college and university students are on vacation, as are many working people. The anti-war movement itself is in a less-organized mode, with many of its own activists taking time off for needed rest. For all these reasons, we believe that the possibility of an attack on Iran is credible, serious, and possibly imminent.

It should be emphasized here that there was no lack of concern among the Cleveland conference participants or organizers about the issue of an attack on Iran. Everyone attending the conference was strongly opposed to any such attack. Many have already been raising the issue through public meetings, protests, and in educational materials. TONC is calling for local protests on Aug. 2. UFPJ is discussing issuing a similar (though competing) call.

However, the fact that none of these organizations or coalitions suggested a workshop, offered a speaker, or submitted a proposal on the issue was disturbing. Since the Cleveland conference not only included representatives of coalitions that seldom work together, but also is the only major anti-war conference taking place in 2008 -- a presidential election year -- neglecting the issue of Iran could have had serious consequences. It might have sent a signal -- an incorrect one, but a signal nonetheless -- to the Bush administration or its successor that a possible attack on Iran was of no great concern to the U.S. anti-war movement. That signal then becomes a factor in the administration's calculation about the political cost of such an attack.

By attending and successfully intervening in this conference, CASMII, the Defenders, and VAWN have helped to avoid that mistaken impression.

Our task now is to implement the resolution and raise as forcefully as possible the demand of “No War, No Sanctions, No Internal Interference in Iran!”

(We would like to thank Jonathan Hutto, GI activist, author and member of the National Assembly coordinating committee, for encouraging VAWN to participate in this conference.) --

(1)National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation - www.natassembly.org
(2)Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) - www.internationalanswer.org
(3)Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) - www.troopsoutnow.org
(4)United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) - www.unitedforpeace.org
(5)U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) - www.uslaboragainstwar.org
(6)Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - www.campaigniran.org
(7)2007 People's Peace Delegation to Iran - www.vawn.org
(8)Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality - WWW.DefendersFJE.org
(9)Virginia Anti-War Network (9) - www.vawn.org

Submitted to CASMII, the Defenders and VAWN by:

Phil Wilayto
Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality; Organizer, 2007 People's Peace Delegation to Iran
E-mail: philwilayto@earthlink.net