THEIR WAR MOVES ARE NOT A GAME The yellow ribbons and flag decals are in our faces. T- shirts glorifying "Desert Storm" reappear as the newspaper headlines boldly declare "Iraqi crisis over for now, but air strikes inevitable." U.S. troops are playing war games in Kuwait, purportedly to help the security and stability of the Persian Gulf region. Bush has been maniacal in his insistence that this so-called crisis with Iraq can only be solved with military force. Presidential candidate Clinton, with all his talk of "change in leadership" and being "for the people," is wholeheartedly supporting these actions and threats. The U.S. rulers are seriously preparing for the use of force against Iraq and are priming us and the "world coalition" for that eventuality. THEY ARE PREPARED TO DO IT AGAIN The U.S. admits to having at least 41 warships strategically poised for attack in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is still classified as a "combat pay" zone. There are three military training exercises happening in the Gulf, with over 20,000 U.S. troops in the area. The latest one means an additional 2,400 Army troops will be sent to Kuwait to participate in "Intrinsic Action," originally planned for September. Take a look around the world, where's the crisis? Is it the thousands dying daily in Somalia from starvation? Or the nationalist wars and "ethnic cleansing" of Eastern Europe where UN forces are assisting in creating thousands of new refugees in the battle between Yugoslavian Serbs and Muslims? Or South Africa, where the long standing racist institution of Apartheid continues to rule with bloody force? Or Peru, under martial law with the U.S. continuing to supply military aid to the Fujimora regime, where the so-called "War on Drugs" is really a war against the people and their struggle for liberation. No, they say the crisis for the U.S. is with Iraq. Why? Saddam isn't treating his people right and seems more determined than ever to suppress and destroy the opposition to his rule in complete violation of the UN resolutions, this defiance cannot continue. The Iraqi programme for the development of "weapons of mass destruction" must be completely destroyed! This outpouring of concern for the plight of national minorities and rebels is pure bullshit. Until the U.S. could use the Kurds and Shiites as an excuse for action, it never even raised a peep in condemnation of this brutality. Now the U.S. feigns shock and disgust at these peoples hideous treatment by Saddam and his government. Will the U.S. mouth pieces compare this to the recent deployment and use of their military against the people of L.A.? No, of course not! Yet the U.S. media and government officials condemn the blockades against the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq and talk about how horrifying it is that Saddam and his government are suppressing revolts in Iraq. What in the fuck do they think the National Guard and the LAPD were doing this past May in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.? Wasn't L.A. a revolt? Isn't the Pico Union area of South Central L.A. literally barricaded off from the rest of the city so that the powers can exert their control? Let's talk about brutality here, and the "Rodney Kings" that happen every day in this country! All the while the UN, which is really nothing more than the U.S.'s lackey, continues the barbaric embargo against Iraq. Crisis? For the Iraqis, the crisis is food, medicine, heath care and a chance to live. The ecological damage to Iraq from the Gulf war and the severe shortages of food and medicine have caused thousands of Iraqi children, born since 1990, to suffer from heart, brain, bone and digestive malformations. Is the U.S. really trying to keep antibiotics from Saddam? No, this is all aimed at an already devastated people, the ordinary citizens of Iraq. During one week this July, because of the conditions created and fostered by the U.S., close to 30,000 people died in Iraq, one third of them children under five! THE GREAT WEAPON HUNT CONTINUES The U.S. is the world's largest holder, user and seller of weapons; nuclear, gas, biological and conventional. It is now leading a pack of inspectors in rooting around Iraq, looking for military hardware and technology that they either sold to Iraq in the first place or at least guaranteed the loans for its purchase. You can bet the UN team has a checklist, just like any repo man would .Yes, there's a crisis here, but it's one of the imperialists own making. Iraq is one of the cracks in their New World Order that they are desperate to plug. Another round of bombing will just be another attempt to send a message to Saddam and all the world's peopleÑdon't you dare! Nothing less then total and complete submission will be tolerated by the U.S.'s New World Order. Well, George and company, the people of the world don't seem to be following your orders. Even here in the U.S., people are not rolling over to your crimes and abuse. George, been to South Central L.A. lately? How about Las Vegas? You seem to have some control problems here at home too, huh? And it wasn't exactly the welcome wagon that met you in Panama or Rio, was it?. So I guess the people of the world have got a message for you too, To hell with you and your imperialist war moves, we've got a few moves of our own. STOP THE BOMBING BEFORE IT STARTS As anti-imperialist veterans, we have no illusions about the true nature of the U.S. Many of us, as Vietnam vets, vowed "never again!" and have fought ever since against all imperialist moves. Two years ago, during the build-up for the Persian Gulf war, a lot of us were already opposing the U.S.'s war preparations. We vowed then to "stop the war before it starts." Many of you took this stand along with us. The protests and actions of the anti-war movement and the 2,500 military resisters who rejected their orders had an impact on the ability of the U.S. to carry out it's full agenda. What can we do now? Some people ask, "We werenÕt able to stop it last time, so why bother?" We gotta break through that bullshit. There is no fence to sit on. What message do we want to send to the people of Iraq and the world? That we're complicit with these criminal actions? Think about Tahan K. Jones, one of thousands of active duty GI's who refused to participate in the Gulf massacre. He is one of many GI resisters still serving time in brigs and prisons around the world. These resisters give us heart and are the "Real Heroes" in the anti-war effort. VVAW AI is calling on people to once again take their threats seriously. The U.S. can and will drop its bombs on the people of Iraq. We will not let these criminal actions go unopposed! THE ARAB PEOPLE ARE NOT OUR ENEMY THEY ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS STOP THE BOMBING BEFORE IT STARTS STOP THE US WAR MACHINE NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES U.S., GET YOUR BLOODY HANDS OFF IRAQ * Call for actions NOW. * Set up day of decision demonstrations. * Get the word outÑThis Will Not Go Down Unopposed ! Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist P.O. BOX 95172 Seattle, WA 98145-2172 phone (206) 328-4377 fax (206) 528-1342