Feb. 15, an opportunity to hawk literature?

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Vol. 67/No. 6           February 17, 2003

The Militiant Editorial

War drive stirs many to protest

Washington and London are marching into the end game of their prewar
military preparations. Hundreds of thousands of troops and massive sea
and air power are being accumulated in the Arab-Persian Gulf. Already
U.S. ground operations are well under way in the north of Iraq,
targeting the oil fields and preparing to help block any upsurge in the
fight for Kurdish national self-determination. This movement of military
equipment and personnel is in addition to the relentless "patrols" and
bombing attacks of U.S. and British planes in the so-called "no-fly" zones.

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Many young people and others who are repelled by the brutality of this
system are mobilizing for large antiwar actions in the United States and
elsewhere. The coming national action in New York on February 15 will
draw many such forces, and other cities will also see large protests.

As in the past, Democratic party politicians and other pro-capitalist
forces will play a prominent part in these actions, fostering illusions
that the war drive can be stopped with a different leader at the helm,
promoting the UN "inspections" as a peaceful alternative, and--above
all--appealing to patriotic sentiments. These figures, along with
middle-class pacifist forces, will largely fall in behind the war effort
once the shooting starts, arguing that a quick and clean war is the best
way to get "our boys" home safe and well.

By contrast, many young people and others who take part in such actions
are not dyed-in-the-wool pacifists or wedded to the capitalist system.
They are looking for a way to fight the war and oppression being dealt
by the capitalists, and can be won to a clear revolutionary
working-class alternative.

As people pile into buses, cars, and trains for the action, and march to
express their opposition to the war, many will want to take a look at
revolutionary literature and to discuss these ideas. The February 15
actions are big opportunities to extend that discussion and to build
opposition to the war course of imperialism. Socialist workers and youth
in New York are organizing forums and classes where this discussion will
be encouraged.

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