WASHINGTON—As Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched an all-out war on Iran on February 28, progressive anti-war groups sprang into action against it, starting that afternoon.
They staged mass mobilizations in the streets and demanded people flood the phones to Capitol Hill, opposing the carnage of Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury.”
Epic fury hit Iran, starting at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time. U.S. and Israeli warplanes launched massive assaults at the orders of President Trump and his rightist ally, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Droves of U.S. protesters responded, as grass-roots organizations mobilized thousands of people from Maine to Hawaii to campaign against the carnage and demand Congress halt it. Demonstrations began around noon local time on February 28, with organizers planning further rallies through March 2.
Prime march sites on that first day ranged from Bangor, Maine, and New York City to Federal Plaza in Chicago, plus in front of the White House and in Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, and Kapolei, Hawaii, among others.
Demonstrations were planned for Springfield, Mo., and six other cities on March 1 and Anchorage and Cleveland, plus others, including a second protest in Chicago—at Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue—on March 2.
The U.S. and Israeli military said their combined forces hit more than 500 targets in 28 of Iran’s 31 provinces, including airfields, Islamic Revolutionary Guard command and control centers, ballistic missile and drone launch sites, military airfields, and Iranian air defense systems.
But they also hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab in southern Iran. At least 50 girls died, and even more were injured. The Iranian Red Crescent said the nationwide death toll was at least 270 and counting, with double that number injured. The deaths of U.S. troops number at least four.
Trump has dropped his claims of concerns about control of nuclear capabilities, replacing them with calls for regime change in Iran. He bragged that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and top government officials have been killed in his attacks. Iran’s official Fars News Agency confirmed that Khamenei, his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were killed.
The launch of the war and the mass casualties catapulted many groups, including unions, the Democratic Socialists of America, the Progressive Democrats of America, J Street, MoveOn, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation, among others, into the streets.
Progressives denounced the war as a manifestation of U.S. and Israeli imperialism, and worse. Besides protests, the Progressive Democrats posted Congress’s switchboard number, 202-224-3121, for connections to lawmakers
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out strongly against the war.
“Today’s military strikes by the United States and Israel mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal act of war of aggression,” Mamdani said. “Bombing cities, killing civilians, opening up a new theater of war–Americans do not want this. Americans do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. We want an answer to the affordability crisis. We want peace.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the pro-peace Jewish group J Street, added: “The president is starting this war with no clear plan for achieving his goal, without a comprehensive discussion with the American public about the risks and alternatives; and illegally, without first seeking authorization from Congress or a mandate from the international community.”
J Street is the growing counterweight to the notorious American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a longtime lobbying heavyweight and staunch supporter of Netanyahu and the Israeli far-right. It’s a key piece of the GOP’s right-wing lobbying complex.
While calling Iran “a real security challenge” to both Israel and the U.S., “Iran does not present an imminent threat that requires launching a ‘preventive’ war,” added Ben-Ami.
But Trump and Netanyahu bombed Iran for 12 days last July, drawing a strong denunciation then from the independent United Electrical Workers. That still stands.
“Threats or use of military force are still a regular feature of U.S. foreign policy, under presidents of both major parties,” UE President Carl Rosen and other union officers said then in part. “All of this is done at the expense of the needs of working people in the U.S. and throughout the world.”
UE called Netanyahu’s warnings about Iran’s nuclear potential “a line” the Israeli chief “trots out every time” he wants U.S. support for his aggression. Netanyahu repeated that reason for this bombing, too.
And a decade ago, in a convention resolution, the AFL-CIO publicly repudiated its prior unconditional support of U.S. wars.
“It is vital that the workers and our unions promote a foreign policy independent of the political interests and foreign policy of Wall Street and corporate America,” the resolution said in part.
“Therefore, be it resolved, the AFL-CIO promotes and advocates for a foreign policy based on international solidarity of all workers, mutual respect of all nations and national sovereignty, and calls upon the president and Congress to make war truly the last resort in our country’s foreign relations, and that we seek peace and reconciliation wherever possible.”
Congressional foes were also outraged and demanded an immediate vote on curbing Trump, even if he vetoes a successful anti-war resolution.
They demanded the war stop, and that Congress halt it by passing a bipartisan War Powers resolution sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
And the progressives and congressional sponsors demanded lawmakers return to D.C. immediately for votes on the measures. “This is not ‘America First,’” libertarian Massie, a frequent Trump foe, tweeted on X.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., called on senators to “vote immediately” on Kaine’s version of a war powers resolution.
“Trump once again started a cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control,” Kim tweeted on X. “This is unacceptable.”
Anti-invasion Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, an Army veteran, tweeted: “Surely Congress can be troubled with a vote? Surely any administration can define the mission? Or, more of the same, ‘as much as it takes, as long as it takes’ in another place?” The “as long as it takes” quote was from Trump.
But proponents of the curbs do not yet have enough votes on Capitol Hill to pass the measures, which is where the public pressure would come to the fore.
Initially, as usual, the overwhelming majority of congressional Republicans—and their leaders—cheered the war on. So did renegade Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and, reportedly, three congressional Democrats who always agree with Netanyahu.
And any War Powers resolution would still leave Trump’s troops in the region poised for more attacks and atrocities for 60-90 days, if lawmakers passed that resolution and he signed it, which he won’t.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
