The meeting was a debacle simply because it was the standard SWP stitch-up and allowed for no real debate.

The chair of the meeting and a great many of the speakers were members of the SWP and the meeting was run along the usual lines. (ie allow no real dissent, shout down opposition, quickly pass resolutions and create a steering committee prior to the 'open debate' and then maintain control)

The resolutions that were passed were quickly moved through in spite of a huge number of people wanting to debate each point and have the opportunity to vote for more than one option.

In the smaller groups I talked to dozens of individuals and groups that want to form a real coalition built along non-heirarchical lines were people can debate freely and legitimately.

The Stop the War meeting was a sham. Calls for unity are fine but we must not be forced by circumstances to unite 'under' the SWP/GR/Stop the War banner.

Let's form a real coalition. Our diversity is our strength.

email: carnivalista@yahoo.co.uk

Don't allow pacifists and leninists to destroy the
anti-war movement! The only way defeat war is
to defeat the source of war - capitalism.

NO WAR BUT THE CLASS WAR

Open meeting on Sunday 7th October at 5pm at The
Exchange, Sebbon Street, Islington, London N1.
Nearest tube: Highbury and Islington.

NEITHER BUSH, BLAIR NOR BIN LADEN

In declaring a ‘war against terrorism’ the ruling class
has really declared a war on workers across the
world. Workers and peasants in Afghanistan, and
possibly other countries, will be directly murdered
by the military machines of our rulers. At ‘home’ the
war is already being used as a cover for the
economic crisis. Nationalism, racism and fear have
the role of dividing working class people and
undermining resistance to the sackings and cuts in
social spending that have already begun. There is a
giant propaganda effort for a false unity based on
‘the nation’ and a resulting increase in racist attacks.
Draconian laws, whose definition of terrorism
includes criminal damage to state property with the
aim of seriously altering or destroying the political,
economic or social structure, are being introduced
across Europe.

There is a need for us to resist all these attacks, to
come together against the divisions that they
attempt to impose, on the basis of a class opposition
to all nationalist and religious ideologies.

No War But The Class War invites you to an open
meeting with the purpose of developing working
class resistance to the war.

DON’T TAKE SIDES, MAKE SIDES

This has been supported by a coalition of direct action
activists, Anarchist groups, and grassroots resistance
groups. It will be run on non-hierarchical lines.

It's easy and disastrous to get to hung up on forms of organisation. At a time like this we most need unity in action. Some will join the Stop the War Coalition, others may form their own coalitions or stay separate; but none of that matters much as long as we come together for demos, marches etc.

I don't want to criticise a fellow anarchist, but it's just bollocks to say that capitalism is the cause of war. Wars existed long before capitalism. Bringing stuff down to economics is getting close to the shite the SWP et al come out with.

I'd suggest an analysis that looks at imbalances of power, at hierarchy and domination (one form of which is capitalism) is closer to the mark. It's having a group of self-serving arseholes telling other people what to do that's usually the problem. Funny that hierarchical authoritarian parties shy away from that one.

My concern is that if the only way to prevent further terrorist atrocities and promote peace is to remove the causes of terrorism. Although the SWP may use objectionable methods at least they have the right analysis on two key points. the terrorism is political not religious and it is about American policy on Palestine and Iraq.
Of course we want long term solutions to global exploitation, my shopping list would include a clampdown on tax havens and the Tobin tax on currency speculation. There is now an opportunity for these to go forward.
In the short term the problem is that Israel has captured US foreign policy, this is really what the war in Iraq was all about. The power of Israel which uses emotional blackmail to recruit jewish people into its secret service mossad is incredibly far reaching. They undoubtedly have sleepers in the peace movement.
The Israel/US strategy is to establish the following premises during the long phoney war we are possibly now in.
1. there is no connection between obl and Israel
2. obl is a madman and there is no point trying to meet any of his demands
Unfortunately the position taken by arrow and some peace campaigners is playing into this strategy.
It is quite possible that there will be more attacks in the name of obl either genuine or by Mossad (remember the history of the Red Brigades in Italy). An anti-war position based purely on pacifist principles is unlikely to withstand this pressure.