A clandestine operative (can I use that word?) from ProtestWarrior.com infiltrated the A.N.S.W.E.R. Strategy Conference and recorded it. I'm reproducing it below from their web site. I have edited out the ProtestWarrior commentary which, frankly, is not that sophisticated. In any case, I think this stuff speaks for itself.

International A.N.S.W.E.R. Strategy Conference
New York City, May 17-18, 2003

OPENING PLENARY "Good morning. Welcome back to day two of the International A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition, national organizing conference against war, colonial occupation, and imperialism.

Those of us here in this room are the most important people in the United States today.

We are the people who will build a permanent, anti-imperialist, anti-racist, movement here in the heart of the empire. We are the ones who will build a true solidarity movement with the people who are struggling for self-determination and civil liberties.

We have traveled from all over the country, some of us thousands of miles, to stand here and analyze where we are as a movement and where we need to go to build a stronger movement to stand shoulder to shoulder with our sisters and brothers who are on the front lines with the struggle against empire.

Okay. So let's get started on the portion of the agenda where we all get a chance to talk, and I would like to appeal to my fellow European American males to not be the first ones to shoot your hands up or to get up on the floor, but to give everyone else a chance to speak first and try not to dominate the discussion.

Okay. So let's get started as quickly as we can so we have as much time to discuss things as possible. Thank you.

WORKSHOP

SARAH (Head of International A.N.S.W.E.R outreach):
Okay so we're gonna start.

First off I'd like to explain a little more about the purpose of this discussion group.

Especially in the last year, through our efforts we have been able to create in the United States, and in coordination with the anti-war organizations around the world, a global movement. The good part about what has happened in the last year is that people are listening to each other around the world. When we called for October 26th, a national action democracy weekend in San Francisco, people were happy and excited that there was an initial presence in the U.S. for mass globalization and many groups in many countries decided to coordinate with us.

WOMAN:
. . . the next step in a longer process initiated by the ultra right-wing foreign policy team in the White House and the Pentagon who seek to overthrow the Cuban government and return Cuba to a state of colonialism. The global anti-war movement that now exists in all countries can, through its united actions, strengthen solidarity with the Cuban people at this critical hour. We encourage people to consider federal buildings and other central locations for demonstrations in your city or town.

YOUNG GUY:
The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition congratulates the local Philadelphia organizations who have come together to issue a call for thousands of people to join in a national march on July 4th in Philadelphia protesting U.S. wars at home and abroad. The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition urges its organizing centers and all people of conscience to be in the streets of Philadelphia . In addition to the July 4th national protest, a number of groups are sponsoring local and regional protests on that weekend.

OLD WOMAN:
September 27th, internationally coordinated day of action against occupation and empire and in solidarity with those who resist. From Palestine to Iraq to the Philippines to Cuba, and everywhere. September 27th, which is my daughter's birthday . . .

[laughter -- "That's a coincidence."]

. . . .is the third anniversary of the beginning of the second Intifada of the Palestinian people whose resistance against colonial occupation in the past decades has been the very center of the anti-colonial struggle throughout the Middle East. This will be an global action of solidarity with all of those who are resisting empire.

BRIAN (One of the top A.N.S.W.E.R. officials):
So the action plan shouldn't be viewed as just a series of demos; like here's a demo, here's another demo, here's one issue, here's another issue. It's the concept of peoples' power, it's the concept of grassroots organizing. And there may be many demonstrations and this may not even be the key to it. July 4th is not going to be the key because it's right before. If there's a crisis in Korea or this thing with Cuba heats up and there's some sort of military confrontation, just as we did with Iraq, we'll switch, we'll shift over and focus on that global, globally-central issue.

MAN:
We really should focus not just on the war and occupation which should be our main thing because it's act now to stop war, but the flip side of that is instead of that, let's fund human needs! And I think that should be stressed more at our next big rally in Philadelphia or wherever.

ARAB MAN:
So maybe we need to marry the concept of discrediting the election with the concept of educating people about where the real power lies. It's in the streets and people mobilizing, as an alternative instead of backing candidates, do a power-to-the-people campaign where we run the people, the masses as the candidate, so that the people take charge.

OLD MAN:
I hate to point out that the Constitution itself sucks; there's a lot wrong with it. There's no right to healthcare, no right to education, no right to jobs, none of that is in there. Racism, anti-gay bigotry, none of that is outlawed by the Constitution. Those are the things that need to be in a real peoples' constitution. It's important to point out because we keep defending the Constitution, but it's a Constitution that's extremely weak and does not represent what people need. And when we defend the Constitution we have to go one step further and say "this is what a real constitution should look like."

BLACK WOMAN:
It really clarified things when the economy starts to you know go sour and I actually picked up a copy of Communist Manifesto and started reading what Marx said, that every ten years there's a boom and bust system, and it's like, "Oh okay, I get it!" You know like I read it before and didn't get it, it didn't apply, you know? And now that I read it again it applies! It's like, "Oh okay, I get it!" You know, I think.

Also, some of you have gone around suggesting that, we've held all this protesting; it doesn't seem as though the administration is listening. So you know, why don't we just pick a day where everybody just withdraws their money from banks, just massively just go up to their money, go to banks, get their money out, and hold it for a weekend?

You know, that's something that we can do, you know? People can do, they can do it quietly so they don't have to go to a protest or anything you know, just do it. And you know, just don't buy anything for a few hours, and say, say you know, "We've against this administration, so why should we contribute, you know, to the economy of this country?"

ARAB WOMAN:
This country was founded on violence. This country has been doing this since it began and I think that people need to understand that. We should really put that book on the website, if you want the truth of what happened read this book.

BRIAN:
. . . issues so people are not voting about Iraq, the Iraq war, which is an alternative to what Congress did, but the affirmative thing that says we want this, this, this, and this. We want money for jobs, education, and housing; not for war, not for wars of aggression, and do you feel that way?

Because it's not going to be in the debates, it's not going to be in the primaries, it's not going to be explicit, it's not going to be on the ballot, it may be too late to even get it in referendum form except in some areas, but we can do an independent campaign and possibly get millions of people to sign this and then we can go to candidate forums and other things that where people can potentially join the debate, and go on and say, this is the missing voice, and that's an idea, something like that.

So we have demonstrations in New York, L.A., San Francisco, it may be too late for other cities that haven't already planned something but in general I mean, are people feeling all right with this as something we should be doing to stop the war?

[Rumblings of agreement]

Okay now, just a mention of September 27th. It looks like the Arab world is calling coordinated demonstrations at the anniversary of the beginning of the Intifada with the third and second Intifada that started a few years ago in Palestine; the uprising to evict Israel from the West Bank and Gaza, the occupied territories. The idea is, I've already talked with the European movement, they may be proclaiming September 27th as a day for their coordinated actions as well; so if it works out we might be able to have another global date.

It may not be the same numbers, maybe it will, maybe it won't, but the focus this time would be solidarity with all of those who are resisting occupation, from Iraq, Palestine, the Philippines, if the Philippines is reinvaded, and as Joe said in his remarks yesterday, they're turning the whole Philippines into a base.

And Cuba, Cuba is an occupied country, even though they had the revolution in '59, the naval base, the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo occupies a huge section of Cuba and the U.S. won't leave and that's where they built all the prisons.

It's trying to show that there is an empire, there is resistance to the empire, and that the people of the United States are not the beneficiaries of empire. We're standing with those who stand true against it.

CLOSING PLENARY
Next I'd like to introduce Richard Becker. Richard Becker is the co-director of the San Francisco office for the International Action Center.

[Applause - Standing Ovation.]

RICHARD:
Thank you. I would just like to talk a little about the lessons of the last year. You know as soon as the Iraq war fighting ended, the main fighting, the lessons of Iraq began to be issued.

John Bolton, the quote unquote Under Secretary of State for Disarmament, who is truly a fascist maniac, said "North Korea, Syria and Iran should learn the lessons of Iraq." And the next day the Israeli Defense Minister said, "The Palestinians should learn the lessons of Iraq." And the day after that, the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic said that "Cuba should learn the lessons of Iraq."

And what exactly are the lessons that they are talking about here?

I mean we should look at that. They're saying, "If you don't do what we want you to do, then we'll do to you what we did to Iraq. We'll destroy your country, we'll bomb your people, we'll impose sanctions, blockades, starvation."

I think that's called a terrorist threat.

[Wild Applause.]

VIDEO
Images of people and stock footage of nuclear and missile tests, intermixed with pictures of President Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong Ill and Stalin as a nuclear warning siren runs in the background, words flash across the screen quickly. A woman screaming starts up, words such as, "Pre-Emptive" and "These People" flash across the screen, more pictures of Islamic terrorists intercut with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell and Wolfowitz. A short segment of them accosting some Congressman about nuclear testing and atomic weapons.

[Wild Applause]

FEMALE A.N.S.W.E.R OFFICIAL:
See you in Omaha!

RICHARD BRECKER:
Thank you very much to everyone for coming! On to July 4th! On to September 27th! Stop the war! End the Colonial occupation from Iraq to Palestine! Thank you! This conference is closed."