Youth Against War and Racism is organized around the following Points of Unity.

End the occupation of Iraq - Bring the troops home now!
The occupation of Iraq is about oil and U.S. corporate interests in the Middle East. It’s doing nothing to bring genuine democracy to Iraq. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis want U.S. troops to go, and any truly representative Iraqi government would make this demand their top priority. The Iraqi people will never give in to colonial domination. Prolonging the occupation will only mean deepening the cycle of violence.

Money for jobs and education, not war!
The U.S. military receives half a trillion dollars each year of our tax money. Meanwhile public education continues to crumble. Schools are closing, class sizes are growing, and programs are being cut. College tuition is rising, pushing many out of higher education. Most young people are forced into dead-end jobs with no prospect of a decent future. With the money spent on the Iraq war alone, over 75 million young people could have gotten four-year scholarships at public universities.

 

Military recruiters out of our schools!
The failing occupation in Iraq means the Pentagon is dramatically stepping up recruitment efforts in our schools. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act” forces schools to give students’ personal information to military recruiters. These recruiters have to fulfill quotas and get bonuses for signing us up, so they tend to say just about anything to trick us into joining. Instead of explaining the horrific realities of war, they make exaggerated promises of college money and job training. In reality, two thirds of recruits never get a cent for college and even less receive relevant job training. Recruiters target schools in working class communities, and black and Latino youth in particular. For working class youth faced with a choice between unemployment, dead-end jobs, and enlistment, targeted recruitment amounts to nothing less than a poverty draft!

Say NO to racism and attacks on our civil liberties!
Since September 11th, there has been a racist backlash against immigrants, and particularly against Arabs and Muslims. The USA Patriot Act and other repressive immigration policies have led to thousands being rounded-up and secretly thrown into jail on secret evidence, as well as mass deportations. This repression has created a climate of fear for millions more, amid widespread racial and religious profiling, harassment, and discrimination in jobs and housing. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are racist wars, and Bush promotes a racist nationalism to justify U.S. violence abroad.