It should be obvious that when Congress commits $600 billion-fully two-thirds of its $900 billion discretionary revenues-each year to growing the military-industrial complex, the pursuit of war by our government will continue until ordinary people demand a fundamental change in our nationís priorities. Yet, the best demand the current anti-war movement can propose is “bring the troops home.” And while we certainly share the sense of urgency for ending this war, we are also moved by the realization that peace must be greater than the mere cessation of hostilities. To this end, the pursuit of peace is inseparable from a pursuit of justice.

Just as in the aftermath of Vietnam, withdrawing US occupation forces and ending the war in Iraq will not alter the basic equation of war-racism-exploitation or the logic of weapons production/weapons use; the movement we build must emphasize shrinking the military-industrial complex by controlling the funding of US military forces so they are only able to perform assigned peace-keeping duties under UN-command, and assist in global disaster relief efforts. We must end discretionary spending for discretionary violence.

Likewise, we recognize that economic conditions rooted in government policies which emphasize private interests over the public good will continue to drive our youth into the “poverty draft” or the “prison pipeline.” For the sake of families trapped at the margins of society, families bearing the brunt of economic privation, families whose voices are rarely heard or considered, we must demand full employment or an adequate guaranteed income for all people. Further, we must demand that the government take responsibility for its people by redirecting priorities and public resources toward producing good paying jobs—with adequate benefits—for every resident seeking employment, rather than just increasing corporate welfare and influence.

History also teaches that all US institutions were founded on the principle of white male supremacy and bolstered by the use of coercive violence directed by a controlling oligarchy of the rich and powerful. Over time these institutions have changed more in form than in function, suggesting that the only “democracy” the US is capable of proposing is democracy at gunpoint—a self-serving, cynical and short-sighted strategy ultimately endangering the lives and livelihoods of the poor and people of color everywhere.

To this end, we insist that the government demonstrate the will to sever the roots of white supremacy by dismantling the institutions, legal structures and social customs that reward, sustain or reproduce white supremacy; moreover, that these structures of oppression must be replaced by well resourced, autonomous, anti-racist, class conscious, and anti-sexist institutions built from the ground up.

Therefore: we urge you to join us in refusing to participate in any “anti-war” demonstration or initiative that does not express as its central planks (1) a demand that Congress cut the military budget, limiting the core mission of the military services to peace-keeping under UN authority and global disaster relief; and, because peace will only be realized in a climate of justice, (2) a demand that our government develop domestic and foreign policies designed to create economic justice and peace throughout the world, and (3) a demand that our government develop the will to dismantle the racist and classist structures that hold white supremacy and its controlling oligarchy firmly in a place in this Dcountry and the world.