Anti-War Demos Planned for 11 Cities Saturday

NEW YORK, Oct 26 (OneWorld) - Preparation for nationwide protests against the Bush administration's war plans against Iran and the continued occupation of Iraq are in full swing.

Antiwar groups will hold rallies and demonstrations Saturday in 11 major cities across the United States to build pressure on Congress to take decisive measures against the Bush administration's military-led policies.

"Every month, nearly 100 service-people and countless more Iraqis are killed, some 12 billion of our tax dollars are spent, and the death and destruction continue," said Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, an anti-war group that has organized several demonstrations since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"People everywhere want the war to end, but Washington has failed to take decisive action," Benjamin added in a statement. "We want this war to end. Our goal for the 11 regional peace demonstrations is to focus national attention on the urgency of ending the war and to highlight the impact of war spending on domestic needs."

The October 27 antiwar protests will take place in Boston; Chicago; Jonesborough, Tennessee; Los Angeles; New Orleans; New York; Orlando; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; and Seattle.

Organizers said they expect that people in all the 11 cities will participate in the rallies in large numbers because working and middle-class Americans are suffering from economic hardship due to the massive spending of tax dollars on military operations abroad.

The protests come at a time when the Bush administration is seeking Congressional approval for additional spending on military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush has asked for $196.4 billion for war-related operations this budget year.

On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost more than $2 trillion through the next decade. According to the CBO, the United States has already spent about $604 billion on the wars, just $39 billion of which has been dedicated to diplomatic operations and foreign aid.

The administration has dismissed that analysis by saying it was based on "speculation."

"It's just a ton of speculation," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "We don't know how much the war is going to cost in the future."

Democratic politicians pointed out the vast difference between today's estimates and those the White House offered before the war began in 2003.

"That estimate is a far cry from the administration's original claim of a $50 billion price that the Iraqis could pay themselves," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The depth of this tragedy is stunning, particularly for our military families -- and for prospects for peace in the region."

However, despite their opposition to the war, Democrats have not given any clear indication that they would take a firm stand against Bush's request for additional money for war.

Analysts say the proposed additional spending on military operations indicates that the plans to carry out an attack on Iran cannot be ruled out. On Thursday, the Bush administration declared its readiness to roll out an unprecedented package of unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

Independent foreign experts have repeatedly warned about the consequences of such measures, arguing that it would fuel anti-Americanism throughout the Muslim world, and place at further risk the lives of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We can't bomb a country simply because we don't like it," said Carah Ong, an analyst at the Washington, DC-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a policy think tank. "Doing so would be recklessly shortsighted and only strengthen the hands of hard-liners in Iran.

Last week, Bush suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to "World War III." Vice President Dick Cheney also used threatening language against Tehran saying that Iran would face "serious consequences" if the government there does not abandon its nuclear program.

Iran has repeatedly said it has no intention to build nuclear weapons and that its atomic program is meant for peaceful purposes, which is its right under the UN treaty on nuclear nonproliferation (NPT).

The Center and many other organizations are currently trying to build pressure on Congress to prevent a military attack against Iran and opt for a diplomatic solution. The group has also started a signature campaign to send a petition to Congress demanding as much.

"If we want to see a change in Iran's behavior," said Ong, "we must pursue courageous diplomatic leadership to establish a serious, sustained dialogue."