Stop the War Coalition

The Stop the War Coalition (StWC; informally Stop the War) is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.

The coalition has campaigned against the wars that are part of the so-called "War on Terror" of the United States and its allies. It has campaigned against the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. The demonstration against the latter on 15 February 2003, organised with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), is claimed to be the largest public demonstration in British history.

Formation and leading members

The impetus to form the Stop the War Coalition came following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. The Coalition was launched at a public meeting of 2,000 people at Friends House on Euston Road in London, on 21 September which was chaired by Lindsey German, then active in the Socialist Workers Party. "The Stop the War Coalition has been formed to encourage and mobilise the largest possible movement against the war", said the founding statement. "Its aim is simple-to draw together everyone who wants to stop this madness, and to present the anti-war arguments which are squeezed out of the media." Among the sponsors of the coalition were the Labour MPs George Galloway, Tam Dalyell and Jeremy Corbyn, in addition to Tariq Ali, Harold Pinter, Suresh Grover, and Andrew Murray.

Stop the War Coalition (Australia)

Stop the War Coalition (StWC) is an Australian anti-war group initially formed in Sydney in 2003 and later in Melbourne in 2004 mainly in response to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the general "War on Terror" of which the Australian Government has been a strong ally. This proceeded the biggest protests in Australia's history, where almost one million people were reported to have taken part in demonstrations across the country's towns and cities during the global 15 February protests in 2003 in response to the imminent attack on Iraq by the Coalition of the Willing.

Campaigns

Obama administration

StWC was involved in organising a protest of US President Barack Obama when he was to visit Australia in March 2010. StWC criticized the Obama Administration for "dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan", citing the authorization of more ariel bombings, and targeted killings in Pakistan than the former US President George W. Bush oversaw during his terms in office. StWC also accuses the Democrat Government of increasing military threats against Iran and of bombing Yemen and condemns both the US and Rudd-Gillard Labor Governments of supporting Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.