A.N.S.W.E.R.

ANSWER stands for Act Now to Stop War & End Racism.

See ANSWER in the Wikipedia.

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Stalinist Party Connections

It should be noted that this group has been formed by members of the Workers World Party (WWP is an offshoot of the Socialist Workers Party). The WWP formed to support the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. To quote from the LA Weekly, an article there has some interesting comments on the WWP, as follows: -- The party advocates socialist revolution and abolishing private property. It is a fan of Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba, and it hails North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il for preserving his country's "socialist system," which, according to the party's newspaper, has kept North Korea "from falling under the sway of the transnational banks and corporations that dictate to most of the world." The WWP has campaigned against the war-crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. A recent Workers World editorial declared, "Iraq has done absolutely nothing wrong."

From that same article, regarding ANSWER, it stated: -- Several key ANSWER officials -- including spokesperson Brian Becker -- are WWP members. Many local offices for ANSWER's protest were housed in WWP offices. Earlier this year, when ANSWER conducted a press briefing, at least five of the 13 speakers were WWP activists.

A link to the above article discussing the relationship between the WWP and ANSWER is here: http://www.laweekly.com/ink/02/50/news-corn.php

Opposition from Anarchists

Many within the anarchist movement have taken issue with ANSWER's authoritarian management style, and support of authoritarian regimes.[1][2] Despite such criticism ANSWER continues to attempt to speak for all groups in the anti-war movement, often times making press releases without the input of others, or taking up exceedingly large chunks of time at press conferences (at a recent conference for the 2005 Counter Inaugural Protests, other groups spoke for 1 to 2 minutes, while an ANSWER affiliated organization spoke for nearly 25).

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Call for the U.S. to Pullout from Iraq
• occupation watch
• Operation Iraqi Freedom
• peace movement
• September 24 National Coalition
• Washington, DC, Anti-War Rally September 24, 2005

External Links

• International A.N.S.W.E.R
• A.N.S.W.E.R's response to Red-baiting
• What you should know about A.N.S.W.E.R, the Workers World Party and the International Action Center - A compilation of anarchist and other anti-authoritarian perspectives
• War Is Not The Answer - And Neither is ANSWER