International Action Center
55 W. 17th St., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011
212-633-6646 www.iacenter.org
A New Year’s Message from IAC founder Ramsey Clark
Dear friends,
The year 2007 has been another marked by endless war, lawlessness and cruelty by the Bush administration. Thousands more Iraqis have been killed or injured. The enormous humanitarian crisis effects millions of Iraqis, including children, who lack basic necessities--housing, healthcare, electricity, even food. More U.S. soldiers are dying or injured, then facing inadequate care and benefits. The administration continues to use deception and lies to whip up hostility to Iran, as they did prior to the Shock and Awe bombings of Iraq in 2003. Bush and his cronies continue to defy international law and human rights with the brutal, illegal detentions at Guantanamo, and widespread use of torture.
Contrary to the will of the people in the U.S. who oppose this horrific war, the administration has no plans to withdraw the troops and end this criminal occupation. Bush is demanding tens of billions of dollars more for war, on top of the $476 billion which has already been spent for destruction, while millions here need healthcare and housing, and those devastated by Hurricane Katrina have been abandoned by the government.
But there is reason to be hopeful. There is great opposition here to the government’s endless war and brutality, and outrage at its attacks on civil liberties and basic rights here at home, including the merciless witch-hunt against immigrants. It is crucial that this opposition grows and strongly challenges the Bush administration’s every move. We must all demand accountability for the current war and the impeachment of President Bush and his partners-in-crime; this is a powerful way to stop an attack on Iran and prevent other wars of aggression by future administrations.
The International Action (IAC) Center has been a major organizing force against U.S. wars and military interventions for 16 years, going back to its anti-sanctions campaign and protests of the first Gulf war. This principled organization of activists has stood up and bravely opposed U.S. aggression against Iraq, Cuba, Panama, Haiti, Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Iran and Korea.
The IAC has organized countless demonstrations, meetings, and forums in numerous cities against the U.S. intervention in Iraq. Its organizers have produced videos and books--translated into many languages--for anti-war protesters here and around the world. It has made an excellent contribution for activists and educators with “Poison Dust,” a video produced by the People’s Video Network, on the perilous effects of U.S. depleted uranium weapons.
IAC leaders and I just returned from an international conference in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, called by the All-India Anti-Imperialism Forum, which has asked the IAC to play a leading role in a worldwide organization to end colonialism and globalization which they established.
The IAC has taken on struggles against racism, injustice, and much more—from standing with Hurricane Katrina survivors in their quest for justice, to supporting immigrants’ rights, to opposing the death penalty and challenging military recruitment. Wherever the IAC is needed, it’s there, with its program of organizing and activism!
The IAC looks forward to a new year of struggle against war and injustice.
Our New Year’s Resolution for 2007 must be to organize together tirelessly to end this horrendous war and bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq NOW!
We must act together to stop a new war against Iran or any other nation. We must strive to promote international friendship, sharing and true respect for humankind and to oppose the policies of domination, globalization, and war.
We must all do more! We invite you to join in the new year of activism with the IAC and to support its vital work.
You can make a difference!
'Poison DUst' director explains video Community members and political activists attended the Milwaukee premier film screening of the Peoples Video Network (PVN) documentary “Poison DUst” on April 21 at the Center Street Library, an important gathering space for the Black community. The event was dedicated to long-time International Action Center organizer Rachael Nasca, who died unexpectedly on March 22. A slate of community activists spoke before Sue Harris, director of “Poison DUst,” screened the documentary and engaged in a question and answer session. IAC-Milwaukee member Bryan G. Pfeifer opened the program by describing the origins, history and mission of the IAC. He hailed recent youth actions in Wisconsin—including a recent protest against an Army recruiting station for which 21 youth were arrested, youth protesting restrictive racist policies at Mayfair Mall, and the occupation of the multi-millionaire Sen. Herb Kohl’s Madison office by dozens of members of the Campus Anti-War Network. He ended by calling on all those present to support the May 1 “Day without Latinos” statewide civil rights march and boycott sponsored by Milwaukee-based Voces de la Frontera. Leaflets for the May 1 action were distributed, as were “Stop the War on Iran” posters and announcements of upcoming events sponsored by the Industrial Workers of the World, the Latin American Solidarity Committee at UW-Milwaukee and Africans on the Move. People’s poet De’Shawn Ewing (Pyramid) electrified the crowd with two of his poems connecting the domestic war and the U.S. war on Iraq and other countries. Ewing’s words interspersed these themes with themes of the Black freedom struggle, including the murder of Emmett Till. Ammar Nsoroma, a member of Africans on the Move and the Pan African Revolutionary Socialist Party and a well-known people’s artist in Milwaukee with many murals throughout the city to his credit, said that the war on Iraq is an outgrowth of capitalism and imperialism and that to end all wars for profit these economic systems must be abolished and replaced with socialism. During the question and answer session Harris described how “Poison DUst” has been screened numerous times publicly throughout the United States and internationally, including in Cuba, Korea and Japan. One woman described her outrage at not hearing about depleted uranium anywhere in the corporate media until she received a leaflet for this event. She said she would now be getting the word out and asked for more information, as did many others. During and after the event many took copies of “Poison DUst” for personal viewing but also to screen for loved ones, veterans and at other community spaces. Longtime community activist and people’s poet Eric Jefferson closed with his poem “Blessed Summer.” The Peoples Video Network donated a copy of “Poison DUst” to the Center Street Library and a copy to the Central Library that could potentially be circulated throughout the 30 branches in the Milwaukee County Library System. To obtain a copy of “Poison DUst” call PVN at 212-633-6646 or see www.peoplesvideo.org.