WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) Anti-war activists will hold rallies on January 25 in dozens of cities in the United States and worldwide to oppose aggressive US foreign policy, a possible military intervention in Iran and to demonstrate the growth of the anti-war movement, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) coordinator Joe Lombardo told Sputnik.
"At this point, there are 119 actions planed in the United States on January 25," Lombardo said on Tuesday. "For some of the actions, the local peace groups have gotten permits for others they have not, but actions will happen in all places. In addition to the actions in the United States, there will be actions in eight cities in Canada and in 11 other countries that we know of."
Lombardo noted that the peace movement in the United States experienced a "qualitative advance" during the anti-war rally it organized on January 4, when thousands of participants took to the streets in some 80 cities after the US government attacked Iraqi militias and killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.
The moves have been seen as exacerbating the already tense situation in the middle East that may likely lead to a direct war between the United States and Iran.
"Actions then took place in more than 80 cities and they were bigger than in recent times," Lombardo said. "We believe that the antiwar movement in the United States is growing and achieving important unity. Next month, UNAC will be holding our national conference in New York, where we hope some of these gains can be discussed and solidified."
Lombardo also said the raised prospect of war with Iran has not only alarmed the American people but brought all antiwar organizations in the country together in calling for action on October 25.
"My own organization, The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is a coalition of about 160 local, regional and national groups. We along with Code Pink, the ANSWER coalition and all other groups are organizing these actions together."
Lombardo revealed that on Saturday actions will take place in big cities and small towns, and the local organizers determine what is possible to do in their location. For example, some events will be vigils, other marches and rallies with speakers and the like.
"We believe that the US government is afraid of the reaction of the American people. This is why they have moved away from invasions and occupations of countries and more toward using proxy forces, drones, air wars, economic sanctions and coups to try for regime change," Lombardo said. "The news media in the United States is very controlled, so unless the actions are massive, they will not cover them, except in some of the smaller locations where the local media will cover them."
Lombardo pointed out that the planned rallies will show that there is a strong opposition to the US government's aggressive polices around that will only help build the peace movement in the United States.
"It is only through a strong mass movement that we can have an effect on US policy, as we did during the movement in opposition to the US war on Vietnam. Our goal is to build that kind of mass movement," he said.
On January 3, the United States used a drone strike to assassinate Iran's top commander Qasem Soleimani. Five days later, Iran launched ballistic missile attacks against two military bases in Iraq housing US troops.
In response to the Iranian missile attacks, the United States announced new sanctions against Iran, designating eight senior Iranian officials involved in the assault, and 17 Iranian iron and steel companies.
