Houston protests attack on Syria

Houston, TX – Houston activists held two major actions in Houston to protest Trump’s illegal war against Syria, April 7.

The first action, called by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), was held in front of the Mickey Leland Federal Building. Activists held a Syrian flag and gave speeches denouncing the crimes of the U.S. government against the Syrian people.

Patrick Donovan, chair of SDS at the University of Houston, said, “Regardless of what one thinks about Assad, the U.S. has no right to invade Syria and drop bombs on its people. We demand an immediate end to the Israeli and U.S. bombings in Syria, and a complete end to the war”

The second action was held a little later and attended by well over 25 people. The protesters gathered in one of the busiest intersections in Houston to get the most visibility. They chanted, “Hey Trump, what do you say, how many bombs have you dropped today?” and “Hands off Syria.”

David Michael Smith, a member of the Houston Socialist Movement, stated, “For decades, the U.S. government has wanted to overthrow the government of Syria. In recent years, Washington has funded, trained, and supported reactionary forces trying to overthrow the Syrian regime. Now the flailing, discredited Trump administration has bombed Syria, using the pretext of recent civilian deaths there apparently caused by a chemical agent.”

Smith continued, “The war in Syria has claimed almost half a million lives. The country desperately needs peace and reconstruction – not an act of aggression by the most powerful imperialist country in the world. The racist, misogynist buffoon in the White House may find it in his interest to unleash more destruction and death on Syria, and to divert attention from the mounting scandals in his administration. But many people in the U.S. and throughout the world reject this brazen act of imperialist aggression.”