Union To Shut Down Ports If No Iraq Withdrawal

Union To Shut Down Ports If No Iraq Withdrawal

www.roguegovernment.com

In a major step for the U.S. labor movement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has announced that it will shut down West Coast ports on May 1, to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East. In a February 22 letter to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, ILWU International president Robert McEllrath reported that at a recent coast-wide union meeting, "One of the resolutions adopted by caucus delegates called on longshore workers to stop work during the day shift on May 1, 2008 to express their opposition to the war in Iraq."

This is the first time in decades that an American union has decided to undertake industrial action against a U.S. war. It is doubly important that this mobilization of labor's power is to take place on May Day, the international workers day, which is not honored in the U.S. Moreover, the resolution voted by the ILWU delegates opposes not only the hugely unpopular war in Iraq, but also the war and occupation of Afghanistan (which Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Republican John McCain all want to expand). The motion to shut down the ports also demands the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the entire region, including the oil sheikdoms of the strategically important Persian/Arab Gulf.

The Internationalist Group has fought from the moment U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in September 2002 for American unions to strike against the war. Despite the fact that millions have marched in the streets of Europe and the United States against the war in Iraq, the war goes on. Neither of the twin war parties of U.S. imperialism - Democrats and Republicans - and none of the capitalist candidates will stop this horrendous slaughter that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The only way to stop the Pentagon killing machine is by mobilizing the power of a greater force - that of the international working class.

(visit the link for the full news article)

mod edit: shorten lengthy quote

[edit on 9-3-2008 by DontTreadOnMe]

I can see this becoming a mess. The war in Iraq I can agree with then they lose me after that. The war in Afghanistan I think that is the war on terror. And a war on terror i've never had a problem with A Mexican Mayday I still have problems with atleast in this country. I think ICE should check out some of the people behind this shut down the ports Mayday.

www.roguegovernment.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by JBA2848


Here's my problem with Afghanistan...wasn't it supposed to be an independent country? And, if so, why are we still there?

reply to post by chromatico


I think you forget they want us there to help fight the Taliban unlike in Iraq. The Taliban are the drug lords growing poppy to produce herion so they can make money. And the forces there are small and not every where.

reply to post by JBA2848


Can you post the memo where they asked for our help ?

I must not have got that one. ?

[edit on 8-3-2008 by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR]

reply to post by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, a military campaign to destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan. The US military also threatened to overthrow the Taliban government for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden and several al-Qaida members. The US made a common cause with the former Afghan Mujahideen to achieve its ends, including the Northern Alliance, a militia still recognized by the UN as the Afghan government.
In late 2001, US Special Forces invaded Afghanistan to aid anti-Taliban militias, backed by US air strikes against Taliban and Al Qaeda targets, culminating in the seizure of Kabul by the Northern Alliance and the overthrow of the Taliban, with many local warlords switching allegiance from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance.

the recent 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.

From Wikipedia

Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution and a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. On 7 December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005.

Pakistan, with UN and other international assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees with less than a million still remaining, many at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their border; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to monitor remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and stem terrorist and other illegal activities

world's largest producer of opium; cultivation dropped 48% to 107,400 hectares in 2005; better weather and lack of widespread disease returned opium yields to normal levels, meaning potential opium production declined by only 10% to 4,475 metric tons; if the entire poppy crop were processed, it is estimated that 526 metric tons of heroin could be processed; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade is a source of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the trade; significant domestic use of opiates; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial networks; source of hashish

From CIA- World Fact Book
So as you can see after 911 going into Afghanistan was part of war on terror. And because of the war in Iraq Afghanistan has been goning back to the way it was.

[edit on 8-3-2008 by JBA2848]

I see this as a great move on the union's part. I'm all for ending both wars. We've done enough damage as it is.


reply to post by JBA2848


I think you're mistaken on your facts here.

The Taliban is anti-poppy. Before 911, Afghanistan had little to no opium production. After our invasion, opium production skyrocketed.

The Northern Alliance (US ally) are the ones doing the poppy growing and/or smuggling with the help of the CIA.

Do a little bit of research on ATS and you'll find a wealth of information implicating the US/UK and not the Taliban as progenitors of the opium trade.

You're citing wikipedia and the CIA factbook as credible sources?

Give me a break.

[edit on 3/8/2008 by biggie smalls]

reply to post by biggie smalls


Well im sure the CIA knows who there getting it from. I never said they weren't corrupt and neck deep in drug trafficing. But what is intelligence business all about but knowing whos got what or where to get it. Corruption is the act of saying i'll make how much.

[edit on 8-3-2008 by JBA2848]

There have been rumors of the Oregon National Guard being mobilized.

There was a report that the National Guard was being removed from border patrol in July, six months earlier than planned.


Could either, or both of these reports be related in any way to what the government expects/fears might happen as a result of this Union's actions?


Portland, OR Is a major US west coast port.

The NG could be under mobilization to "keep the peace" and perhaps, even to minimize the impact of a union work stoppage, by taking over the cargo-handling duties themselves.


Good practice for "future events" under martial law!

reply to post by biggie smalls


heres a diferent souce for you www.infoplease.com...

By mid-April 1992 Najibullah was ousted as Islamic rebels advanced on the capital. Almost immediately, the various rebel groups began fighting one another for control. Amid the chaos of competing factions, a group calling itself the Taliban—consisting of Islamic students—seized control of Kabul in Sept. 1996. It imposed harsh fundamentalist laws, including stoning for adultery and severing hands for theft. Women were prohibited from work and school, and they were required to cover themselves from head to foot in public. By fall 1998 the Taliban controlled about 90% of the country and, with its scorched-earth tactics and human rights abuses, had turned itself into an international pariah. Only three countries—Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAR—recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government.
On Aug. 20, 1998, U.S. cruise missiles struck a terrorist training complex in Afghanistan believed to have been financed by Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Islamic radical sheltered by the Taliban. The U.S. asked for the deportation of Bin Laden, whom it believed was involved in the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998. The UN also demanded the Taliban hand over Bin Laden for trial.

In Sept. 2001, legendary guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Masoud was killed by suicide bombers, a seeming death knell for the anti-Taliban forces, a loosely connected group referred to as the Northern Alliance. Days later, terrorists attacked New York's World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and Bin Laden emerged as the primary suspect in the tragedy.

On Oct. 7, after the Taliban repeatedly and defiantly refused to turn over Bin Laden, the U.S. and its allies began daily air strikes against Afghan military installations and terrorist training camps. Five weeks later, with the help of U.S. air support, the Northern Alliance managed with breathtaking speed to take the key cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul, the capital. On Dec. 7, the Taliban regime collapsed entirely when its troops fled their last stronghold, Kandahar. However, al-Qaeda members and other mujahideen from various parts of the Islamic world who had earlier fought alongside the Taliban persisted in pockets of fierce resistance, forcing U.S. and allied troops to maintain a presence in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar remained at large.

Mullah Dadullah, a top Taliban operational commander who has organized assassinations and abductions, was killed in a raid in Helmand Province in May 2007 carried out by Afghan security forces, NATO troops, and American soldiers.

An August 2007 report by the United Nations found that Afghanistan's opium production doubled in two years and that the country supplies 93% of the world's heroin. Southern Afghanistan, particularly Helmand Provice, saw the largest spike, and the report said the Taliban is involved in the business.

reply to post by Bhadhidar


I know the national gaurd is supossed to be used for the presidential elections I don't know if they have to train first or not. They annouced pulling troops fom the border for a long time ago on Lou Dobbs.

reply to post by JBA2848


I really do love to see working class Americans standing up against the oppressive government that we know today. As a veteran of the War in Iraq I support this move one hundred percent. I doubt that it will sway the government by itself, but if it becomes coupled with other efforts, hopefully some new ones inspired by this move, perhaps the government will really start supporting our troops and bring our fellow countrymen (and women) home.

reply to post by an3rkist


Well the way they try to mix things up though. Last May 1st Mayday they had illgeal immigrants marching in the streets for amensty. I took offence to that as a American or should I say U.S.Citizen. Now they decide this ad they through in stop the war on terror to. The war in Iraq shouldn't have ever happened but Bush is the decider I guess. Luckily not much longer.

Originally posted by biggie smalls
Do a little bit of research on ATS and you'll find a wealth of information implicating the US/UK and not the Taliban as progenitors of the opium trade.

You're citing wikipedia and the CIA factbook as credible sources?

Give me a break.

Dude, you're citing ATS as a credible source? Give ME a break!!!!

As a potential Iraq war veteran (I was smart enough to withdraw my signature) I am amazed that we haven't ended this blasphemous war yet.

Why are we still there? What good have we done the past 5 years?

Seriously, what are we doing?

---------------------
I didn't want to post here again OFF TOPIC, but I guess I'll have to.

jericho, when a thread on ATS is posted, usually there's source material posted as well. If you had done any of your own research, you would understand that. Apparently, you haven't done your homework.

JBA,

I don't think I ever mentioned the taliban as saints. They are not. Any group of people who treats women as second class citizens deserve poor treatment from the world community at large. However, that is no excuse for the US to carpet bomb the entire country and place a US backed government in its place. If the Afghanis liked the Taliban government, then so be it. It is their own country and they can decide to do with it as they please, although I do not agree with their policies.

However, that does not mean they had anything to do with opium. Sure there are always those who will make profit no matter what the group in general thinks/feels, but that does not place responsibility on every single taliban member.

Those who are loosely affiliated with the taliban, or at least support them, could be labeled as 'taliban,' but that is nowhere near the truth.

[edit on 3/8/2008 by biggie smalls]

This will never happen and if they try it they will be forced back to work or be drug by the head of their heads straight to prison. This would cause a economic crisis like you wouldn't believe and the president would have some heads on the platter of his choosing after he ordered the National Guard to force the ports open. Every American would be hurt financially from this and its the dumbest idea yet.

I have my doubts about the amount truth in the story. If there was going to be a strike it would be dynamite for CNN , Fox News e.t.c . A union job is to look out for the welfare of it members and nothing else. A union has no business entering the debate surrounding a country foreign policy what so ever.

During the Vietnam War unions in Australia pulled this trick. Aside from the fact it is some kind of low to delay the shipment of supply's that could risk the lives of US service personal. Doing such a thing is on the verge of Treason.

reply to post by Sky watcher


SW, it's just one day, more symbolic than anything else. Nevertheless, I support actions that might hurt the economy! This war has cost lives and enough already have died!

reply to post by Sky watcher


The War in Iraq has caused more of a financial burden on this nation than this would, by a long shot.

reply to post by biggie smalls


Heres some videos about the poppy problem in Afghanistan.
www.liveleak.com...

Heres one from Australian 7news seems there news team was watching the poppy farms being destroyed by NATO Forces when the Taliban started attacking so they called I US Forces to help doesn't seem like there firing on NATO Forces for destroying the poppy to me. Help me out biggie you see something I don't.
www.liveleak.com...