[Marxism] ANTIWAR - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly By the Editors Socialist Viewpoint January/February 2008 Socialistviewpoint.org

[Bonnie Weinstein <giobon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
By the Editors
Socialist Viewpoint
January/February 2008
Socialistviewpoint.org

First, the bad: 

The wars of aggression the United States Government is waging against the
peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq. Also the wars the U.S. are threatening
against Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and elsewhere. Also,
propping up and supporting the countries waging wars and occupations such as
Israel. And the perpetual war against the poor and working peoples of the
world, the theft of their resources, the exploitation of their labor.

The majority of the world¹s people oppose these wars. A majority of the
people in the United States oppose the war on Iraq and are looking for ways
to end it.

Second, the good: 

Resistance and opposition to war and social injustice. A World Against War
Conference held in December 2007, called for international demonstrations
March 15-22, 2008. This is a very important call to action by delegates
numbering over 1200 from 26 countries. [See call for international
demonstrations following this editorial] The date set for the demonstrations
falls on the 5th anniversary of a war waged by the U.S., Britain, and a few
other puppet governments, against Iraq and the people of the world, ten
million of whom demonstrated their opposition on Feb. 15, 2003, one month
before the invasion began on March 19, 2003.

Third, the ugly: 

Somehow, the plans of the ruling class to co-opt and derail the U.S. antiwar
movement have succeeded, and the call from the UK international conference
will not be carried out in the U.S. The largest national antiwar groups here
have prevented united efforts in the United States for mass protest
demonstrations here to end the war and pull out all troops immediately. [See
below the call for international demonstrations.] This is a tragedy for the
people of Iraq, but also for the American people. Sure, small local
demonstrations will take place here, but the plan to unite disparate groups
around a common call to action?to get the U.S. out of Iraq?has been thwarted
and opposed by United for Peace and Justice, the largest U.S. antiwar
coalition. Their opposition to united action has caused the other large
national antiwar group, International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End
Racism), to call off the plans for a national antiwar protest demonstration
in Washington, D.C. originally set for March 15.

How do we know that this shameful default on the part of the U.S. antiwar
movement is a result of the plans of the ruling class? It makes sense when
you consider what the ruling class is doing to convince the American people
that the war can be ended through the electoral process.

The ³debate² of the Democratic Party Presidential candidates, on the eve of
the New Hampshire primaries, is a lesson in obfuscation. Clinton,
Richardson, Obama, and Edwards all tried to appear as strongly antiwar.
Richardson is a Governor, but the others have all voted for the war in the
form of voting for war spending! Clinton even exposed Obama for that despite
her own support for the war until the American people started to oppose it.
Kucinich, the most ³antiwar² of all the Democratic contenders threw his
support to Obama in the Iowa caucuses. All of the debaters listed above gave
reasons to continue the war (by not calling for immediate withdrawal of
troops). All had slightly different proposals: redeployment, begin to
withdraw in 6 months, one year, begin 60 days after elected, etc. In other
words, all are working hard to convince the antiwar majority that a vote for
one of them is a vote against war when this is clearly false given their
actual voting records.

The ruling class is on a full court press, media in tow, including
³alternative² media like ³Democracy Now,² to convince the American people
that the road to peace is through the electoral machinations of the ruling
class. ³Democracy Now² after running a powerful expose on the policy
directors of all the candidates (one and all with ruling class credentials
of the CIA,  FBI, and other counter-revolutionary institutions), Republicans
and Democrats, ran a whole show of the speeches of the winners in the Iowa
caucuses (Obama, Edwards, Clinton, Huckabee, and Romney), allowing one
minute (exactly, no joke!) for the antiwar protests of the candidates that
took place in Iowa on the caucus day.

The lower levels of the state, all run by the political parties of the
ruling class are part of the plan to derail and deflect all protest and
independence. They did this by moving up the primary votes in many states in
order to give the illusion that the people actually have some say about the
basic political decisions of war and peace, social services and rights (like
health care, housing and education), and economics, by voting for one
representative of the corporate ruling class or another. Voting for one
multi-millionaire or another.  But the deck is entirely stacked against any
democracy, any real decision making, by the working class, the majority of
the people.

That is why political movements that represent the interests of the working
people, movements for peace and social justice, economic power and
democratic rights must be organized completely independently from the ruling
class political parties. Such independent action is expressed in mass street
demonstrations against the war. Now, such actions are more important than
ever.

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Demonstrate for Troops Out! London, Saturday, March 15, 2008

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Five years after the invasion of Iraq the world has become much more
dangerous and volatile. Latest estimates suggest as many as one million have
died violent deaths as a result of the occupation of Iraq. The country¹s
infrastructure and civil society are in shreds. Brown has promised British
withdrawals but there are still 5,000 British soldiers in Iraq.

Despite talk of a change of attitude to the Bush¹s wars, Brown is Bush¹s key
partner in NATO¹s escalation in Afghanistan, and that hidden war is fast
becoming a disaster mirroring that in Iraq. Meanwhile the political chaos in
Pakistan is partly a product of the War on Terror and risks further military
interventions. The Stop the War Coalition has joined with CND in calling a
demonstration to mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion in London on
Saturday March 15.

The demonstration will coincide with World Against War marches around the
world agreed at the International Peace Conference in London on December
1st. It will be calling for all foreign troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan,
and demanding there is no attack on Iran. Stop the War is asking all groups
to start mobilizing for this demonstration now. More details and a leaflet
will be available shortly.

World Against War Conference, December 2007
A call for international demonstrations on March 15-22, 2008

Over 1,200 delegates from the anti war movement across the globe came to
London for the World Against War International Peace Conference in London.

Delegates from 26 countries addressed the conference, reported on
developments in their regions and discussed strategy for the movement. The
conference issued a declaration, which is included below. There was
unanimous agreement to organize demonstrations for Troops out of Iraq and
Afghanistan and against an attack on Iran in every country around the fifth
anniversary of the attack on Iraq between March 15-22.

Delegates attended from Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Egypt, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon,
Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Somalia, South Korea,
Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Declaration of World Against War conference
This conference of delegates from peace, anti-war, anti-imperialist and
liberation movements across the world declares its opposition to the
³endless war² prosecuted by the U.S. government against states, peoples and
movements in all parts of our planet.

We oppose the interference of the U.S. and its allies in sovereign states,
and assert the right of all peoples to self-determination. We support all
people fighting for peace and against imperialism.

In particular, we demand:

? An immediate end to the illegal military occupation of Iraq, which has
caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people, a
withdrawal of all foreign troops and the full transfer of sovereignty to the
Iraqi people and their representatives.

? A halt to all preparations for an attack against Iran, and a commitment to
solve any issues through exclusively diplomatic means.

? A withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, allowing the Afghan
people to determine their own future.

? Justice for the Palestinian people, and an end to Israeli aggression
throughout the Middle East.

? An end to plans for U.S. missile defence, and that all states actively
pursue nuclear disarmament.

We affirm the solidarity of all those fighting for peace, social justice and
self-determination worldwide, and commit ourselves to strengthening our
unity and developing new forms of co-operation.

We therefore designate the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq as a
worldwide day of action in support of the demands NO ATTACK on IRAN and
TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN and call on all national anti-war movements
to hold mass protests and demonstrations on that day.

?Stop the War Coalition, December 2007

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Open Letters to the Antiwar Movement
By Iraq Veterans Against the War, Tiffany Burns and United for Peace and
Justice

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

To Allies of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Winter Soldiers:

The United States has been occupying Iraq for nearly five years, and
Afghanistan for over six. It often amazes us, as veterans and active duty
troops, that we are engaged in two foreign occupations that continue to
grind on with no end in sight.

Some of us were in junior high or high school when these wars began, and now
we have to watch as our peers continue to fight and die overseas while our
politicians continue to refuse to bring our troops home.

For many of us, the most frustrating, depressing thing is to see the level
of detachment and apathy that is so common among the American people. The
anti-war movement seems no closer to ending the occupation, and more and
more people seem content to believe that things in Iraq are improving and
they no longer need to bother themselves with worrying about it.

The voices of those who have been to war, have participated in occupation,
and have been the victims and survivors of U.S. foreign aggression are not
being heard.

Those of us who know, first hand, the brutal realities of war have been
ignored and marginalized, and it is well past time that we are given the
space and opportunity to tell our stories.

This is why Iraq Veterans Against the War is marking the fifth year of the
Iraq invasion and occupation by holding Winter Soldier: Iraq and
Afghanistan, March 13-16 in Washington, DC.

We will offer first-hand, eyewitness accounts to tell the truth about these
occupations; their impact on the troops, their families, our nation, and the
people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Military resistance to the war in Iraq is
just waiting to be organized and WS is an important action in IVAW's overall
strategy to end the war and bring our troops home now.

We hope that you share our vision of the importance and significance of this
momentous event. Winter Soldier provides a unique opportunity to reveal the
reality of U.S. occupation, and our success will depend upon the hard work
of our members and the support of our allies.

In order to give our veterans the necessary space and attention we deserve
to tell our stories, we are requesting that, during Winter Soldier, March
13-16, the larger anti-war movement calls no national mobilizations and that
there are no local protests or civil disobedience actions in Washington DC.
IVAW will not endorse any mass mobilizations or DC-based actions that
conflict with Winter Soldier. We feel that large-scale activities will
compete with Winter Soldier and dilute the voices of those testifying.

The success of Winter Soldier rests beyond IVAW and will ultimately depend
on the support of our allies.

We realize that ending the war will take more than any one single event or
mobilization. However, Winter Soldier provides a venue like no other for
those who experienced war on the ground to expose the truth and consequences
of the War on Terror to the nation and the world. We hope that you share our
vision.

Respectfully,

Kelly Dougherty

Executive Director, IVAW

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

The Tiffany Burns Letter Regarding IVAW
Hi Everyone,

Most of you don't know this about me but; my father is a Vietnam Vet and a
career military man, he retired when I was a senior in high school and I
grew up on military bases around the world. My cousin died in the same
battle as Casey in Iraq and I have spent most of my adult life working with
homeless veterans in South Central Los Angeles until I dedicated myself to
the peace movement, so I have every right to speak out about this total
bullshit with IVAW. I've been silent out of respect to Cindy for the last
few days, but there seems to be a lack of clarity to this conversation that
I think is an important piece of what's really going on.

Jethro Heiko who is a consultant (not a veteran) working with IVAW has
suddenly come to the center of this and created this dissention. To my
knowledge no one in the core of the peace movement has ever even heard of
him prior to this and according to his blog his major objective is to tear
down the peace movement and rebuild it from a military directed leadership.
It sounds to me like his crack strategy of taking control of IVAW when there
is a clear lack of intelligent leadership is either straight from the Bush
administration or just a power grab?either way not a sincere motive for
stopping the illegal occupation of Iraq.

Not to mention Direct quote from Perry O'Brien representing IVAW on the real
reason that they don't want an action on the 15th. ³IVAW doesn't want any
association with a anti-war contingent lead by Cindy Sheehan, we don't think
it would have any credibility.² Given that Kelly Dougherty told me that the
main purpose of the Winter Soldier was to raise the profile of IVAW?NOT TO
IMPACT THE WAR, I think what Perry was really saying is that any action lead
by Cindy Sheehan on that weekend would take away attention from IVAW. Wow
that is so selfless!

Perry was also clear that many of the veterans participating in the Winter
Soldier were not anti-war and didn't want to deal with the ³peace movement.²
So are we to assume that they just want to sit around and pat themselves on
the back for committing war crimes to ease their conscience, not to make a
difference. Just in case any of them are actually brave enough to accept the
consequences of their crimes?let me be the first to volunteer to pay for a
ticket to the Hague where a confession might actually mean something.

The Camp Casey Peace Institute has removed ourselves from the Year 5
Committee because we absolutely will not bow in any way to support the
selfish and un-strategic plans of IVAW or anyone in support of them. We do
intend to an action in DC before or on the 15th, but we have the vision to
understand that it's only one day in 1760 days of an ongoing illegal
occupation and victimization of the Iraqi people.

Finally I would just ask you all to consider how disgusting it is that there
has been no conversation around how to support the Iraqi people, who did not
volunteer to be massacred and can't refuse to return for another tour of
duty or make immature demands to benefit their own need for glory.

Who really deserves our sympathy and voice?

Peace be with all of you,

Tiffany

*---------*---------*---------*---------*

Letter from UFPJ to Member Groups
Dear UFPJ Member Groups,

We hope you saw the notice that we sent out on Monday explaining the
decisions made at the UFPJ National Steering Committee last weekend. Those
decisions laid out a direction and a set of priorities for the coalition as
we move into 2008. All of this was based on a review of our work in this
past year as well as a look at some of the major challenges ahead.

While the direction and priorities have been articulated, there is still a
great deal of work to do in putting together the details of this work. As
one important part of this process, we hope the member groups of
UFPJ?including yours?will give us input by responding to a survey we've put
together. We know the holidays are upon us, but if you have any time to talk
about these issues with your group that would be great. It would be helpful
to have feedback from you all by the end of next week, but please send in
any responses you might have later, if that works better for you. And, as
always, you should feel free to call the office and talk to anyone of the
staff about your ideas, suggestions, concerns, or other feedback and input
(212-868-5545.)

You can get to the survey by clicking here:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/survey

We also want to let you know that we've recently been involved in two
conference calls that were convened to discuss a proposal for a short-term
coalition effort around the upcoming 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. The
steering committee has decided to not join this coalition. UFPJ's priorities
for the 5th anniversary are (1) support for Iraq Veterans Against the War
and their Winter Soldier event, (2) help organize what we hope will be the
largest nonviolent civil disobedience action in Washington, DC on March
19th, and (3) encourage local actions on that same day in all 435
Congressional districts around the country. It was not clear how being part
of another coalitional structure would help move all of this work forward.
And that's what is most important...moving the work forward.

Again, we hope you will take some time in the next week to complete the
survey. Thanks everyone.

Peace,

Leslie Cagan National Coordinator

 

 

 

 


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