FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 03/20/2003 National Contact: Noel Rabinowitz, 917-653-5092 Judith Le Blanc, 917-806-8775

Warning that the true aim of Bush’s military invasion is not Iraqi freedom, but global power, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) issued a statement which condemns the war as a crime against humanity, and calls for a ‘coalition of the peaceful’ to stop the war.

The CPUSA statement says, ‘the underlying cause’ of the Iraq crisis ‘is the administration’s unchecked desire for regime change and its ambition for world empire…The White House aims to impose a new set of rules to govern and dominate the international community.’

Iraq is the first proving ground for Bush’s ‘new and exceedingly dangerous doctrine, whose three pillars are preemptive strikes, regime change, and the dominance of U.S. Imperialism,’ according to the CPUSA statement.

National Chairman of the CPUSA, Sam Webb, says that Bush’s attack on Iraq and planned occupation ‘violates the U.N. Charter which legalizes war only in case of self-defense or by resolution of the U.N. Security Council.

Preemptive attack on a sovereign state is illegal and growing millions of Americans do not wish to be made accomplice in this horrific crime.’

The CPUSA foresees that, in addition to causing the needless deaths of U.S. service people, the ‘Shock and Awe’ attack will ‘slaughter innocent Iraqis and destroy a country. Political instability and right-wing religious fundamentalism will grow. The spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will gain momentum. The chances of terrorist ‘blowback’ will increase.’

‘At home, the immediate casualties will be jobs, education, health care, democratic and immigrant rights, racial and gender equality — and the truth. Returning soldiers and their families, like the vets before them, won’t get any help from the right-wing gang in Washington,’ says the CPUSA.

In outreaching for the upcoming March 22nd peace marches with United for Peace and Justice, Judith Le Blanc, a CPUSA National Vice-Chair sees that a powerful ‘peace and justice movement is growing out of crisis after crisis in the post 9-11 world. It embodies popular desire for a new world order of peaceful coexistence, and basic rights to a decent life for ourselves and our families.’

The CPUSA statement suggests that a main avenue for stopping the war is ‘to demand Congressional repudiation of the doctrine of preemption and regime change. The peace movement in its millions must call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of the troops, the sending of a UN peacekeeping force and reconstruction team to Iraq.’

The CPUSA says, ‘to its surprise, the Bush administration has come up against an unprecedented worldwide peace movement that has not only forced it to maneuver, but has also stripped away much of its political and moral legitimacy and left it nearly alone in the world…this is no time for despair.’

‘No more Iraqs’ is a rallying point says the CPUSA, ‘for even as the Bush administration orders up this war, it is planning others — Iran, Syria, and North Korea are names bandied about by the chicken hawks. But a movement has been born…And if nurtured in the right way, an enduring peace will be won…The way to do this is to reach out to larger and larger sections of the American people in ways that will bring them into active opposition to the war.’

The full statement ‘Bush brings U.S. into illegal, unnecessary war’ can be seen at Communist Party’s website.

Click here to read the statement.

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