Don't Attack Iran
Troops Out of Afghanistan
No Intervention in the Middle East

Protest and Rally Saturday 19 May 1pm
US Embassy Grosvenor Square London W1

Called by Stop the War Coalition and CND

On May 20/21, Barack Obama will host the 25th summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Chicago.

At a cost of $100 million, representatives from 28 member states will discuss the war in Afghanistan and NATO strategy for intervening across the world.

"NATO is an essential source of stability, says the summit website. "In order to maintain its capacity to safeguard the security and values of its members, it needs to continue developing the means to do so and building partnerships beyond the North Atlantic region."

The three main themes of the summit are given as:

This "commitment to Afghanistan" is a code for the planned permanent occupation beyond the supposed 2014 exit date for foreign troops. The need for NATO to "defend its population and territory" ignores the fact that no country is threatening any of the member states.

In reality -- as shown in the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya -- it is the US-led Alliance that has attacked other countries and their populations, none of which were a threat to NATO.

The claim that NATO "is an essential source of stability" is laughable in the context of its history of aggression and threats. The talk of "building partnerships beyond the North Atlantic region" is chilling, given NATO's role in pushing for new wars in Iran and Syria.

When NATO was established in April 1949, it called itself a "political and military alliance for peace and security." But from the start its policies were not defensive as it claimed, but always offensive -- first justified by Cold War hysteria before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and since then by new bogus threats to justify NATO's existence, not least in the "war on terror".

NATO originally had five member states. It now has 28. Rather than a source of stablity and security, NATO is an instrument of the American empire, which has over 900 US military bases around the world in over 130 countries. It is a permanent threat to world peace.

This is why the Chicago summit will be greeted by a mass demonstration and a No To NATO march on 20 May, to counter the media propaganda that NATO fosters democratic values, liberation, and peace, when in reality it's about wars, death, destruction and human misery.

And it is why protests are being called across the world, including the No To Nato protest outside the US Embassy in London on Saturday 19 March, which has been called by Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Join us.

From Stop the War Site

A People's History of London by Lindsey German and John Rees will be published this month. A series of events are planned to launch the book

• John and Lindsey will be talking about the book on Robert Elms BBC London radio programme at around 11am on Saturday 11th May.

• The main launch of A People's History of London will be at the magnificent Bishopsgate Insititute (near Liverpool Street) on Wednesday 23 May.
  More information on the Bishopsgate website.

• They will also be discussing London's radical history at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival, which takes place over the weekend of Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd June. There's more info on the festival's website.

• Houseman's Bookshop are running a London Season and Lindsey and John will be talking about the book in the shop on 11th July.

• Philosophy Football are hosting an evening of Olympian Dissent including photography, film, comedy, music, food and drink on the 26th July, the night before the Olympic Games open. John and Lindsey will be taking part in a discussion of London as a host of the Games. More details here soon.

Counterfire has organised a series of London meetings to deepen our grasp of the 21st Century world by developing our understanding of Marxism.

All meetings will take place SOAS at 6:30pm
Room T102 
SOAS, 22 Russell Sq.
London
WC1H

Tuesday 8 May:

Imperialism and 'Third World' liberation

Speaker: Chris Bambery

Imperialism and 'Third Worldism': many millions of people have opposed the 'war of terror' over the last ten years. But what is the imperialist system which produced these contemporary wars? And does opposing imperialism automatically mean supporting those against whom the wars are fought? Should we support Syria's President Assad? Or the Taliban? And what do we say if some of those who are fighting these regimes call for western intervention?

Tuesday 15 May:

Marxism and oppression

Speaker: Lindsey German

Marxism and Oppression: capitalism not only exploits economically, it also discriminates on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, language and religion. Some the most vibrant movements of the last 50 years have been around such issues. Yet oppression remains. Why?

Tuesday 22 May:

An introduction to Marx's philosophy

Speaker: John Rees

Marxism and philosophy: no fact of life ever comes without a context. And no context comes without a history. Marxism has a particular approach to the context and history of the political facts as they confront us in our day to day struggles. Here we look at that approach, the basis of Marxist philosophy.

Spaces are limited so to ensure a space or for further info please email Alastair or contact on 07957780532