[Stopwar-l] No to War Threats Against Syria and Iran!

[StopWar]

***Please circulate widely***

No to War Threats Against Syria and Iran!
 
December 15, 2011
 
The drumbeats of preparations for military intervention and war against Syria
and Iran are becoming louder. StopWar, Vancouver's broad-based anti-war
coalition, which was founded in the movement to prevent the disastrous war
against Iraq in 2003, appeals to all Canadians to help reverse this dangerous
process. We call for the internal disputes in Syria and Iran to be left for
their own populations to settle, without recourse to foreign military intervention. 
 
The consequences of a new war in this region would be far reaching for the
entire world. A NATO-led military aggression against Syria or Iran would result
in massive human casualties, and enormous economic damage on a local and global
scale. The impact would not be confined to the immediate military targets of the
NATO powers and their allies; such a war could spread across borders, inflicting
new suffering and chaos throughout the region. 
 
There is no justification for such a reckless and potentially catastrophic
course of action. In our view, military intervention by NATO in the Middle East
and Central Asia is being driven by the interests of transnational energy and
resource corporations. NATO is acting to defend and advance these interests, not
to "protect human rights".
 
To those who argue that the so-called "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine
obliges Canada to intervene in the name of human rights and wage yet another
war, we point out that many of the leaders who are escalating tensions against
Syria and Iran are themselves accused of widespread violations of human rights,
or even of committing serious breaches of international law. 
 
The United States, for example, stands accused by world public opinion and many
legal experts and scholars of practicing systematic torture. In 2003, it
committed the supreme war crime of unprovoked military aggression against Iraq -
a crime which has resulted in millions of deaths, vast population displacements,
and enormous damage to economic and social infrastructures. Israel, one of the
most vocal critics of Syria and Iran, has for decades illegally occupied
Palestinian territories, imposing a deadly apartheid-style oppression against
the Palestinian people. 

The NATO countries killed thousands of people recently in Libya in an attack that 
was a blatantly aggressive intervention aimed at 'regime change', despite the fact 
that it was initially presented as a limited mission to provide a 'No Fly Zone'. Libya 
risks becoming a precedent that NATO countries cite in order to justify new 
aggressive wars and interventions. 
Far from advancing the cause of human rights, imperialist military threats and
interventions often simply give excuses to authoritarian rulers to suppress
struggles for freedom. We stand in solidarity with Iranians and Syrians, while
we oppose any kind of sanctions and military interventions.
 
What right do the United States and Israel - or their faithful ally the Harper
government of Canada - have to intervene in the internal problems of Syria and
Iran? Why should Canada and the United States, which have led the destructive
military occupation of Afghanistan for over a decade, have any right to choose
where their military forces will intervene next to topple local governments and
impose western-friendly regimes? 
 
Genuine social justice and peace are not created by crippling economic santions
or endless wars and militarism. Instead, military spending and the arms trade
must be dramatically reduced, and all weapons of mass destruction must be
eliminated, including the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
The peoples of the world must mobilize to change our planet's priorities and
tackle the urgent needs of those who are today the most oppressed and
poverty-stricken.
 
This is the view of StopWar. We urge all our supporters and friends to join with
us in demanding that the Harper government end its vocal support for the war
drive against Syria and Iran. Canada must instead begin to support steps which
will de-escalate tensions in the region, including the immediate removal of all
Canadian military forces from Afghanistan, and a complete end to Israeli
occupation of Palestinian territories.

www.stopwar.ca 







 		 	   		  
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