Campus Antiwar Network - Politics

Politics

CAN's only formal political consensus stems from its Points of Unity, or Unity Statement, selected at the national conference. CAN periodically updates its Points of Unity based on the current state of the war and antiwar movement.

CAN is first and foremost a group opposed to the war in Iraq. However, besides calling for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq, Points of Unity have included opposition to the war in Afghanistan, opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestine, and other views. Although some opinions are more controversial than others, CAN strives to reflect the viewpoints of its democratic and varying membership. CAN affiliates are involved in actions around these issues to varying degrees, and individual members may or may not agree with all points; CAN chapters are welcome to choose their own political positions and affiliations beyond the Points of Unity that all chapters follow.

Throughout its history, CAN has focused on grassroots organizing, and put opposition to US military recruitment and building relationships with antiwar U.S. veterans and soldiers at the center of its strategy to end the war. CAN does not take official positions on elections of any kind, believing that such choices should be based on individual preferences. However, CAN actively encourages members and chapters to become as informed on elections as possible, and local chapters often incorporate political discussions into their own meetings.

After Hurricane Katrina, by decision of its coordinating committee, CAN adopted the slogan "Relief Not War!" for the September 25, 2005 protest in Washington, DC. This issue was connected to the war, for CAN members, by the repressive military nature of the relief efforts as well as by the diversion of resources abroad. In February 2006, CAN issued a statement on the Danish cartoons controversy, condemning "racism in any form, as recently displayed in the publication of a series of anti-Islamic cartoons," which it argued "are helping to promulgate state violence against Muslims and Arabs -- including the occupation of Iraq." The statement also attacked the Dubai Ports World controversy, describing widespread bipartisan opposition to allowing a company from the United Arab Emirates to take ownership of some U.S. port operations as "blatantly racist." Anti-racism points of unity were integrated into the Unity Statement in 2007.