Monday, July 24, 2006

International A.N.S.W.E.R. Exposed

The following is from Protest Warrior - D.C. Chapter

International A.N.S.W.E.R


Who are they? What are their goals?

  • Founded after the 9/11 attacks to oppose the War on Terror
  • A major organizer of the massive anti-Iraq war rallies
  • Opposes embargo against Communist Cuba
  • Supports convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal

International ANSWER (an acronym for "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism") is a front group for the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party (WWP), which uses the anti-war movement as the vehicle by which it promotes Communist ideals and condemns American society, American foreign policy, and capitalism.

Founded on September 14, 2001, three days after the World Trade Center attack, the group's initial mass demonstration was held on September 29, 2001 in Washington, D.C., to protest the Bush administration's impending war in Afghanistan. In July 2002, ANSWER's focus shifted to preventing a war in Iraq, as the likelihood of a U.S. invasion there grew.

The speakers include prominent members or leaders of various activist and Communist organizations; celebrities and entertainers; and politicians - often members of the Democratic Party's Progressive Caucus.

They maintain that America, more than any other country on earth, constitutes the greatest threat to world peace and humanity's survival.

While no speaker at the March 15, 2003 rally was publicly identified as a member of the WWP, at least seven are in fact party members (Brian Becker, Larry Holmes, Teresa Gutierrez, Sarah Sloan, Sara Flounders, Imani Henry, and Judi Cheng). Through these speakers and organizers, the WWP controls the tenor of ANSWER and its message. Thus it is not surprising that ANSWER's politics are broadly anti-capitalist and severely critical of American policies.

An investigation of ANSWER's member organizations and national organizers reveals its close links to the WWP. The initial call to form a new peace coalition, dated September 25, 2001 and located on the WWP Website, is signed by a number of prominent WWP members, including Teresa Gutierrez, Monica Moorehead, Gloria La Riva, Leslie Feinberg, and Deirdre Griswold. The first press releases put out by the coalition, on September 24, 2001, are from Ramsey Clark, Teresa Guiterrez, and Brian Becker.

Since the early 1990s Clark, the former Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, has worked closely with the Workers World Party - through the WWP-founded International Action Center (IAC). Guiterrez and Becker are members of the WWP's Secretariat - its highest decision-making body. Monica Moorehead and Deirdre Griswold are also Secretariat members. Typically, IAC staff and volunteers are WWP members. Another key player for ANSWER is founding member (and member of the organization's national steering committee) Richard Becker.

While the composition of ANSWER went unpublished through late 2001 and into 2002, by late February 2002 the organization's press releases began to contain references to a "steering committee" of several organizations. One of the earliest lists can be found in a call to action from February 27, 2002. While this committee has undergone a few changes since 2002, it has, overall, remained relatively stable. As of February 2004, it included the following organizations, all of them on the far left of the political spectrum: the Stalinist International Action Center (IAC) and its two sub-units, the Korea Truth Commission and the Partnership for Civil Justice Legal Defense and Education Fund; Bayan - USA / International; the Free Palestine Alliance; the Middle East Children's Alliance; the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing (IFCO) /Pastors for Peace; the Nicaragua Network; the Mexico Solidarity Network; the Kensington Welfare Rights Union; and the Muslim Student Association of the U.S. & Canada.

Notwithstanding the varying degrees of support provided by all the aforementioned groups, ANSWER's closest connections are, by far, with the WWP and the IAC (which is controlled by the WWP). This is clearly evident when one compares the contact information for ANSWER with the contact information for those other organizations.

ANSWER's Washington, D.C. office, at 1247 E Street SE, is the same as the IAC's Washington office; the two organizations also share the same phone and fax numbers. ANSWER's San Francisco office, at 2489 Mission St., room 30, is in the same building as the San Francisco offices of the IAC and WWP, which occupy rooms 24 and 28, respectively.

In other words, when a person calls ANSWER, he is in effect calling the International Action Center and the Workers World Party.

For more information:

Discover the Network

www.DiscoverTheNetwork.org

Protest Warrior—DC Chapter

www.ProtestWarrior.com
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