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Socialist  Party USA: Statements
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Act Now to Stop the Wars and Defend Our Civil Liberties
Andrea Pason and Billy Wharton, co-chairs Socialist Party USA- July 28, 2010

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The recent disclosure of thousands of top-secret documents by Wikileaks and the Washington Post media project “Top Secret America,” makes one point perfectly clear – the American people need to act now to stop the US military and the growing security state. With hundreds of bases worldwide and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US military constitutes the greatest threat to peace in the world. Simultaneously, a growing security state threatens to shred any semblance of civil liberties and personal freedom at home and abroad.

The Wikileaks documents that were bravely secured by Bradley Manning and published by Julian Assange reveal a US military operation in Afghanistan that has violated nearly every tenet of international human rights. Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama both openly lied to the American people about the conduct of the military and the status of the wars. The use of CIA-trained death squads, the manipulation of the puppet government of Afghanistan and the consistent use of drone bombers all reveal a war that cannot be won being carried out by a military willing to commit acts of aggression against a defenseless civilian population. These documents prove decisively that the truth is indeed the first casualty of war.

The “Top Secret America” report reveals a growing security state that is as active domestically as it is internationally. This security apparatus constitutes the single greatest threat to civil liberties throughout the world. The post-9/11 US security state is responsible for torture, extraordinary renditions, false imprisonment, racial profiling and covert assassinations. All of this has been done secretly, in the name of the American people.

It is, therefore, the responsibility of the American people themselves to put an end to the military and security apparatus’ ability to operate. Building a mass movement that both demands the end of the current wars and reclaims civil liberties would be a first step in that direction. As democratic socialists, we believe that any non-violent action that seeks to disable or derail the US military machine is a just act.

Such a movement should also push for a permanent end to militarism by calling for an immediate 50% reduction in military spending as well as the closing of all American military bases abroad. The resulting “peace dividend” could be shared between necessary domestic social services and in repairing the global damage done by the US military. Once in motion, such a movement would find widespread support from peace loving people throughout the world. Only then, after the US is well along the road to disarmament, can serious discussions about global peace and reconciliation begin.

Now is the time to summon the courage of Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. To protect them against the repression of the US government. To demand an immediate end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, to put our bodies on the line in support of a vision of the future that moves beyond capitalism and the wars it fuels.

Past Statements
Act Now to Stop the Wars and Defend Our Civil Liberties by SPUSA Co-Chairs (July 28, 2010)
It’s not the Crimes, It’s Capitalism: The Gulf Oil Spill by the SPUSA National Committee (June 20, 2010)
Statement on Gay Pride 2010 by the SPUSA Queer Commission (June 2010)
Statement on Israel's Latest Outrage by the SPUSA International Commission (June 6, 2010)
The Latest act of Aggression by the State of Israel by the SPUSA Faith & Socialism Commission (June 3, 2010)
Statement on the IDF Attack on the Gaza Aid Flotilla by the SPUSA Co-Chairs (May 31, 2010)
Close the US Bases in Okinawa! by the SPUSA International Commission (May 25, 2010)
BP Oil Spill a Crime not a Disaster by the SPUSA National Action Commission (May 2010)
Repeal Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law by the SPUSA People of Color Commission (April 29, 2010)
May Day 2010 by the Socialist Party USA National Action Committe (April 2010)
Statement in Solidarity With Alberto Durango by Zelig Stern, Labor Commission Chair (March 1, 2010)
Call for an International Socialist Feminist Work Group by Susan Dorazio Women's Comm Chair (Feb. 26, 2010)
Statenent on President Obama's Healthcare Summit by SPUSA Co-Chair Billy Wharton (February 25, 2010)
Statement on the Austin IRS Building Incident
by the National Action Commitee (February 22, 2010)

Statement on Black History Month by the People of Color Commission (February 2010)
Solidarity with the People of Haiti by the National Action Commitee (January 13, 2010)
Response to Obama's Surge in Afghanistan by the National Action Committee (Dec 3, 2009)
Solidarity with the UC Student Protests; Education is our right! (Nov. 23, 2009)
Hyde Amendment and Obama’s Health Care Bill.. by the SPUSA Women's Commission (Nov. 20, 2009)
Vote No on Obama-care!  Healthcare is Our Human Right!  by the SPUSA National Action Committee (Nov 2009)
Response to the LGBT Referendum Results by the SPUSA Queer Commission (Nov. 2009)
All Out for Rosie Jimenez Day by the SPUSA Women's Commission (Sept. 13, 2009)
Solidarity w/ the People of Honduras by
the National Action Committee  (July 7, 2009)
Statement on United for Peace & Justice (July 31, 2009)
Statement on Iran by Eric Chester International Commission Chair (June 30, 2009)
Socialist-Feminist Response to U.S. Militarism and the Global Econ. Crisis by War @ Home Cmte (June, 2009)
Statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion by the Queer Commission (June, 2009)
Message to all Workers on Their Day by the National Action Committee (April 15, 2009)

Wars Abroad, War at Home: Building a Socialist Feminist Response (April 2009)
Statement on Financial Crisis by the National Committee (Jan. 25, 2009)
Our Love is Worth Fighting For
by the National Action Committee (Dec. 4, 2008)
Post Election Racist Attacks by the National Action Committee (Nov. 20, 2008)
No al plan de rescate de Wall Street! Por el partido socialista de Estados Unidos, Comité de Acción Nacional
Statement on Iran by the SPUSA International Commission (August 2008)
Statement on Religious Freedom by the SPUSA Faith & Socialism Commission (July 2008)
Statement on Bolivia
by the SPUSA International Commission (June 2008)
Statement on Tibet by the SPUSA International Commission/ National Action Committee (March 26, 2008)
Support the American Axel Workers by the SPUSA Labor Commission (March 2008)
Statement on the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Dec. 16, 2007)
Statement of Support for the Screenwrters Strike, SPUSA Labor Commission (Nov. 8, 2007)
Solidarity with the Protestors in Myanmar (Burma) by Tino Rozzo (Faith & Socialism Commission)
Mobilize To Support Auto Workers by Matthew Andrews, Chair, Labor Commission (Sept. 24, 2007)
Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion
by Amber Clifford-Napoleone Convener, Queer Commission (June 28, 2007)



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