March 17, 4:00-5:30 pm
Federal Plaza, Chicago
The US government and corporate media speaks with one voice against Russia, just as they did against Saddam Hussein and the fake news of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. There is no mention that the US commanded NATO military alliance pumped tons of lethal weapons and US advisors into Ukraine, on Russia’s western border, for eight years.
There is no mention of US government opposition to negotiated solution to the war.
There is no mention of the US and NATO rejection of Russia’s demand that Ukraine not join NATO, return to being a neutral state, and that Ukraine stop military attacks on the mainly Russian-speaking Ukrainians of the Donbass region.
The 2014 US backed coup in Ukraine, which overthrew Ukraine’s elected government, instituted discriminatory programs against Ukrainians of ethnic Russian background. (One in six Ukrainians is an ethnic Russian, and one in three Ukrainians speak Russian as a native language.) In response, the more Russian speaking areas of Ukraine to separated. The US aided Ukrainian forces in shelling these areas of Ukraine adjacent to Russia, resulting in an eight year civil war in the Donbass region, with over 14,000 killed. The US and Ukraine signed, but refused to abide by the Minsk Agreement ceasefire, which would have demilitarized the area. This led to the present war.
The Ukraine war did not begin five weeks ago, but months before when Ukraine increased its attacks in the Donbass. The US government and corporate media and do not tell us that. They do not tell us that neo-Nazis forces are in the Ukrainian military (Azoz Battalion) and government. They do not tell us Ukraine President Zelensky banned opposition media and political leaders, encouraged to do so by the US.
If they were telling us the truth about the war, they wouldn’t be censoring Russian media.
One purpose of this war instigated by the US is to disrupt economic integration of Russia with the rest of Europe. Europe buys 40% of its gas from Russia, and the US is trying to force Europe to depend on more expensive US gas. As with the Iraq war, the people of the United States are being lied into a war, in part over fossil fuels. The US rulers felt their control in Europe threatened by Russia becoming integrated into Europe, becoming partners with Germany, France, and Italy.
NATO now spends a trillion dollars a year in arms and facilities, and much of that has been thrust into eastern European border nations next to Russia. US-dominated NATO has held war maneuvers near Russia’s borders and coastlines for years.
This war would end today if the US would commit to stop aggressive military actions on Russia’s border, and if the Ukraine agreed not to join NATO and exist as a neutral state. The US military is using Ukraine as a pawn to attack Russia.
War in Ukraine could lead to a major nuclear confrontation between the US and Russia, akin to the Cuban missile crisis, which almost caused a world holocaust.
The US people have nothing to gain from a new US war. Only the big banks and corporations, especially the arms industry, stand to benefit, as President Eisenhower warned when he identified the military-industrial complex more than 60 years ago.
Sanctions on Russia will hurt us, not just the Russian people. Already we are experiencing inflation and record gas prices, which will soon drive up prices for most goods and services.
Shouldn’t the US be spending billions on ending global warming, not on feeding a new war? We need money for health care, for jobs, $15 an hour minimum wage, modernized infrastructure, affordable education and housing, and action to combat global warming. We now fund the military and subsidize military contractors $814 billion a year, while government student debt forgiveness has been only $17 billion. HUD says $20 billion would end homelessness, Hunger Free America says the cost of ending hunger is $25 billion, $5.6 billion to replace all Chicago’s lead pipes.
This emergency protest is organized by people from different anti-war organizations. For more information, Stan Smith 773-322-3168, stansfieldsmith100@gmail.com
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 