From Stop the War Coalition

June 11 Day Conference: Afghanistan and the war on terror ten years on

 

Ten years ago the events of 9/11 triggered a series of events which changed the world profoundly. The war in Afghanistan marked the start of a decade of war which has resulted in death, injury and displacement for millions of people across south Asia and the Middle East. The latest of these wars has now been launched on Libya, while the first one that in Afghanistan is taking a growing human and economic toll in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Stop the War is holding an important conference on Afghanistan and the war on terror which aims to analyse and explain the war and its legacies. It will bring together different elements of the broad movement including journalists, activists, former soldiers and military families. The conference is important as an exchange of information and ideas. But it is also a means of organising future campaigns. Ten years on, we still have to build a mass movement to force the US and British governments to withdraw the troops and to stop future interventions.
Speakers include: Tariq Ali • author Pankaj Mishra • US anti war Campaigner David Swanson • Yasmin Khan War on Want • Lindsey German Stop the War Coalition • Tony Benn • Jemima Khan human rights activist • George Galloway • Greg Muttit, author of Fuel on the Fire: Oil and Politics in Occupied Iraq • artists Peter Kennard, Cat Phillips and David Gentleman • Faithless guitarist Dave Randall • poet Sanasino • Iraqi commentator Sami Ramadani • former soldier Joe Glenton who was jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan • Joan Humphries from Military Families against the War • Jeremy Corbyn MP

Timetable

9.30am: Registration

10.30am - 12 noon

Afghanistan, Pakistan and the War on Terror

Shadia Edwards-Dashti (Student Stop the
War), Pankaj Mishra (author of Temptations
of the West), Joan Humphries (Military Families
Against the War), Jane Shallice (Stop the War)
Tariq Ali, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Jemima Khan
Yasmin Khan (War on Want)

12.15 - 13.30pm

a) The Uprisings in the Middle East

John Rees (author of Imperialism
and Resistance), Fiona Edwards (Student
Broad Left) and others

b) Women and War

Joan Humphries, Judith Orr (Stop the War)
Sanum Ghafoor (video maker)

c) Campaigning around Parliament

Carol Turner (Stop the War)
Jeremy Corbyn MP

2.30 - 3.45pm

a) Iraq: the aftermath

Greg Muttit (author of Fuel on the Fire)
Sami Ramadani (Iraqi Democrats Against
the Occupation)

b) Imperialism in the 21st Century:

David Swanson (US writer and campaigner)
Steve Bell (Stop the War), Joe Glenton
(Soldier who refused to fight in Afghanistan)

c) Art against War:

Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips (artists)
Dave Randall (writer and producer of New
Single Freedom for Palestine)
David Gentleman (artist)

4.00 - 5.30pm

The Anti War Movement: Ten Years On

Tony Benn, Lindsey German (Stop the War)
David Swanson, Sanasino Al-Yemen (poet)
George Galloway, Mohammed Kozbar
(British Muslim Initiative)