On May 14, members of ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) distributed 1,000 leaflets at a campaign rally held by Illinois Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Obama has campaigned as an opponent of the Iraq War and has said that he will “end the war.” However, he has no intention of ending the Iraq War. Obama calls for the “withdrawal” of “combat troops” (a classification that is never defined) over a 16-month period that will go into 2009. Obama has said that he will keep a residual force either in Iraq or “in the region” to attack “al-Qaeda” and protect diplomatic and military installations. Estimates from people within and outside of the Obama campaign suggest that this residual force could be as high as 60,000-80,000. Furthermore, as the attention focused on Blackwater has shown us–the US occupation depends on military contractors. However, Obama has refused to rule out their continued use in Iraq. So, what is Obama’s Iraq policy? It is the continued occupation of Iraq.
Our leaflet read:
IRAQ: WE NEED A CHANGE!
The numbers speak for themselves…
-Over 1 million dead Iraqis &
over 4 million displaced
-Over 4,000 US dead & 30,000 wounded
-Over $519 billion spent on the warObama wants us to hope for change, to believe that there can be peace…
According to his plan:
-The withdrawal would include only “combat troops”–a classification that is never defined and would happen gradually throughout 2009.
-”American troops may remain in Iraq or the region” and the troops will “protect American diplomatic and military personnel in Iraq, and continue striking at al Qaeda in Iraq.”
-There’s nothing about withdrawing contractors such as Blackwater from Iraq and he has refused to rule out their continued use in Iraq.
-Obama has also declined to say specifically how many troops would remain in Iraq under his plan, nor has he announced a timetable for the withdrawal of all troops, combat or not.
Let’s make sure the US GETS OUT NOW!
Support an immediate withdrawal,
which is supported by a majority of Iraqis
and an increasing number of US troops.IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL means:
NO benchmarks or conditions,
NO US military bases,
NO troops, and NO advisors.Only we can make the change!
Let’s make it NOW!
It is important that the antiwar movement not be fooled–Obama will not end the war, nor will any politician. Our power lies in the streets and at the grassroots, we can pressure elected officials, but once we put our faith in them and our energy in getting them elected–we have lost.
A Note on Timing: Some of our allies in the antiwar movement have suggested that the time to pressure candidates is after the election and have argued that right now, we need to focus all of our efforts on getting Obama elected. However, while we know that none of the presidential candidates will end the Iraq War, we also know that they will certainly not do so if the antiwar movement acquiesces and makes no demands of candidates seeking office. If we don’t pressure candidates now, we can be certain that once they are in office they will ignore our demands.