|
|||||||||
Posted March 25, 2003
Regarding "From the Front... of an Antiwar Rally" by Mike Ewens:
I read your piece on Antiwar.com and the answer to why we are protesting when the war certainly can't be stopped now is we are protesting the next war from occurring and, god forbid, and expansion of the current one which certainly some are going to argue for.
I'm one of those San Francisco "Far Left" protesters. I'm 38, have worked in mainstream journalism for 12 years. While you may disagree with many of the tactics in San Francisco, the voice of people is being heard by them. And the State needs to know that war is inconvenient and divisive at home too.
I appreciated your article on from the front of an antiwar rally. My experience in attending antiwar rally's is the same as yours. Both sides of the debate have been puzzled by my "War is the Health of the State" and Iraqi oil Eldorado = the Angola Variant" signs. Posters quoting Major General Smidley Butler's 1933 article "War is a Racket" seems to work better.
My Participation in rally's, however, do appear to be excellent opportunities to educate people on a one-on-one basis on the threat to our Constitutional Republic.
Keep up the excellent work.
~ Jim R., CO Medic, Vietnam War
Regarding "San Francisco Rabble Brings Discredit on Antiwar Movement" by Justin Raimondo:
Talk about alienating your potential supporters. There's nothing like being trapped in your car for hours by black-bloc thugs to change your mind about the war – from leaning on the fence to rabid support, that is. Taking out frustration about State action on the innocent people of San Francisco is like punching your mom because your neighbor stole your bike.
Ironically, the San Francisco street blockages hurt the working class – the supposed raison d'etre of the Far Left – the most. Who gets fired when they're 4 hours late to work? It's not attorneys, stockbrokers or accountants, but their secretaries, janitors, mail room workers, and receptionists. In the current economic climate of the Bay Area, I'm sure the working-class people who were already afraid for their jobs are just thrilled about the antiwar movement right now.
Maybe somebody in the rational antiwar movement who's more creative than me could think of a positive, helpful direct action that might actually benefit average people and get them to change their perceptions about the war.
~ Brian Schar, Belmont, California
I agree with you that a peaceful, unified movement is needed to stop this war. At least, I think that's what you're saying. The tone of your editorial – which I wasn't sure was written by someone supportive of the peace movement at first – was vitriolic and not particularly respectful. And here we come back to you the essence of your editorial – our message must be consistent with our tone. I'm not sure that your piece succeeded in the very quality that you point out others are failing at.
And for the record – as far as choosing articles to run and keeping content current, I think your crew does a fabulous job, and thank you for that.
~ Kathleen Pequeño, Portland, Oregon
Justin Raimondo loses me with his ad-hominem attacks on San Francisco protesters. I'm fine with him disagreeing with the protester's message and with their actions, but criticizing the looks and names of people he disagrees with does not advance his arguments. He also mentions "George W. Bush and his cabal of warmongering chickenhawks", and so again resorts to an ad-hominem attack. This is beneath you, Justin, and beneath most of your readers, I would think. Stick with logical arguments.
~ Bob Runyan, Loma Rica, California
Actually the San Francisco police said on national television that the majority of the protesters and the protests were peaceful. Yeah, there are always those protesters who aren't really there to protest, just cause problems but the people want to be heard and to get media attention in this country sometimes life has to be disrupted. I believe all protests should be peaceful but in order to get any message across people have to be put out from their everyday life to get the message. Most people see the war as over there, not affecting them, maybe it should.
Frustration is understandable but it is not a justification for bad behavior.
The Iraq war is only a symptom of a much bigger problem in the BUSH administration. Mr. Perle has already suggested that a war with Iraq could be next. We will probably need much more antiwar/anti-hegemonic support very soon.
Civil disobedience is effective for liberty when it causes its target population to over react, not when it gives the opposition a reason to justify authoritarianism.
Case in point, Milwaukee antiwar supporters should maintain peaceful vigils and encourage those supporters driving past to continue to honk their car's horns. If the city police continue to ticket drivers for illegal use of their car horns (e.g. honking their support), it will soon become known nationwide and it will be a serious embarrassment to the city.
Hello? The person who wrote this article was obviously not at the protests. The majority of the protesters were very peaceful and very effective. There are always going to be a few hooligans at every type of mass public protest or celebration, to bash the protests in San Francisco for a few hooligans goes against the whole antiwar movement and blindly refuses to acknowledge the effectiveness of the effort.
You must realize that most of the disruptive activity that you abhor at demonstrations is caused by agents provocateur, police infiltrators who pretend to be protesters They start the trouble and the rest of us get blamed.
I was in Chicago on Thursday, March 20. I saw the police channeling the crowd onto Lakeshore Drive. They never told the demonstrators to stop, turn back or disperse. They waited till they had us trapped with no way out and would not let us leave. Then they waded in en masse and a riot ensued.
I agree that peaceful demonstrations are preferable. Please do not be too quick in deciding who it is that is breaking the peace.
~ Robert Backas, Chicago, Illinois
Let me ask you: Was it the "black bloc"? If, yes, remember Seattle? Remember Genoa in Italy?
That's what happens if some globalists decide to stop protests: Send in your good friends the anarchists! Let them destroy the city, voila – the majority will say: "Look, these protesters are nothing but criminals, the war is GOOD". I have the unedited video feeds from Seattle where you can see that the police protected the "black bloc". I have video from Genoa where you can see that some "black bloc" people give orders to the police.
Stop with the name-calling and the hair lectures. There are always agent provocateurs at demonstrations. Always will be. That does not make all the demonstrators fools! Nor the tactics of all, foolish! I did not see the crowbars, etc. though I am sure there were a few crazy marauders and government agents that carried them, but there were many earnest and caring souls out there in the streets of San Francisco with a mission.
Now, let me explain the position of these “crazy” people from San Francisco. Even though many may not agree with their tactics there was a purpose and a method to their madness!
The plan: Have a lot of people blocking traffic in the financial district and while the cops are tied up with the problem of gridlock and arrests send two other large groups of protesters into the Citi Bank and the Bechtel corporate offices for a sit in.
The police not having the “person power” (is that politically correct?) to rid Bechtel or Citi Bank of their trespassers allowed the sit in as a protest to continue throughout the day. The plan worked so well that both companies closed their offices. All employees went home.
It was approximated the lost income for each corporation, due to the closures, was over a million dollars per hour. It cost those companies dearly and I am proud of the real protesters for putting their bodies on the line. Takes a lot of guts and strategic thinking to get these big corrupt businesses where it hurts, in their pocket books. As you know Bechtel has a contract to help rebuild Iraq after the war and hopefully some of these protests will cost them as much as they make from such a covenant.
A last thought, as you know the media has very rarely been fair in their reporting of anti- government demonstrations. When I was in the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley the press slammed us. We were “attacking” the police, tearing apart the administration building at the university and considered dangerous communist provocateurs. It was the same during the Viet Nam antiwar demonstrations, the SNCC activities and many of the other actions I was involved in. It will be a cold day in hell when I believe what the mainstream media puts out. A very cold day!
Instead of the media mud slinging, name calling (leftists, Marxists, extremists, reactionaries, etc.) and having temper tantrums, stories should be researched thoroughly and reported in a fair and appropriate manner.
Let's get the truth out to all those who seek it and let's not discredit when credit is due.
Wow, I don't know where to begin.
First of all, your piece groups together protesters engaged in more or less standard nonviolent civil disobedience, with a tiny minority of young people who, according to reports, had weapons, etc. I was there, and I can assure you that, as is always the case, 99+% of the people there were engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience, and I saw none of the other stuff.
What on earth are you doing making fun of people's hair or names? People have the right to have whatever name or hair they like. I appreciate your web site, which I just discovered, but your piece sounds like a rant.
Out of the 1000+ people arrested, the VAST majority were doing nonviolent CD.
BELIEVE ME – I believe in QUESTIONING the tactics of the movement. And I respect your right to feel that shutting down intersections is a) unhelpful, or b) unethical, etc. But to IMPUGN THE MOTIVES of these people is ridiculous! Perhaps in your activist circles you just never see this kind of thing? Believe me – these people are out there because they care – every bit as much as you do – about stopping an unjust war.
If we want to win people over to use of more effective tactics, we do this by respecting their basic intentions, and showing them alternatives.
And cut the cracks about people's hair, sir.
~ Chris Burbridge, Oakland, California
Amen.
Thank you for your cogent, intelligent perspective.
I am a pissed-at-it-all SF resident, pissed at the arrogance of not only this troglodyte administration but also the protesters purporting to speak for me – whether I like it or not.
However – as a welcome and frequent source of intelligence – I am a great fan of this site, and I thank you.
Iraq's Arms
Many are disgusted by the pious hypocrisy displayed by Blair and Bush. The US armed Saddam (including chemicals and technology) until the very day he went into Kuwait, knowing he was a butcher and using chemical weapons against Iran and Kurds. The US was prepared to give him a piece of northern Kuwait (to punish Kuwait for its anti-Americanism). But, young Frankenstein had ideas of his own and took all of Kuwait. When the US realized they had created a monster they had to disarm him. Thus the campaign to vilify their former ally. That same game has been played in the Americas.
President Reagan asked France to send weapons to Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war. France reluctantly did so with concern over French hostages being held in Iran.
"(Arms dealer) Soghanalian was put in charge of obtaining the artillery by the Iraqis in 1981, and he approached several European governments before French President Francois Mitterand agreed to sell 155 mm howitzers to Iraq. The Reagan administration, through a diplomatic back channel, encouraged the French to finalize the sale. The French agreed to supply the howitzers, Soghanalian said in a sworn deposition, only if they could keep their role secret. The Iranian government was holding several French hostages, and France didn’t want to antagonize the Ayatollah. Soghanalian agreed to mask the real source of the arms through a series of complicated transactions known to those involved by the codeword 'Vulcan.'"
~ The Gulf War Reader, Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf, 1991, page 88.
Today, Americans accuse France of having sold weapons to Iraq.
At the end of the Gulf War, the US encouraged the Kurds and Shiites to revolt, then abandoned them to Saddam's wrath and stood by and watched the massacres. They had set up the Kurds similarly before.
The "real politic" policies of the US have been an obstacle to peace. CIA backed coups set up puppet leaders that lead to revolutions and more wars. Britain, by supporting this conflict, is demonstrating its support for these policies. This war in itself is proof of the failure of these policies.
A quick end to this war is not the recipe for peace. There will be no peace as long as America pursues its self serving policies. As usual, others pay with limbs, lives and loved ones to serve US interests.
~ Ron Mattmer, Ontario, Canada
Troops
I like your site, I like it a lot. All I ask is that you continue not to hold the troops responsible for trying to feed their families, and follow orders. Thanks.
Hope
For what it's worth, I wanted to let you know that I have visited your site every day for at least 2 months and just discovered that Antiwar.com is a libertarian/conservative organization. I'm 45 years old and have never voted republican – not once. Having been subjected to the shrieking right wing morons on television and radio more than I care to think about had led me to believe that there wasn't a thoughtful, informed, ethical conservative in the entire country. Your site has disavowed me of that notion. I particularly like Mr. Raimondo.
I still probably won't vote Republican, but your site gives me hope that there is more common ground to be found among liberals and conservatives than is generally promoted in the media.
~ Lori Agnew, Portland, Oregon
Regarding "Bluff and Bluster" by Justin Raimondo:
Thank you so much for your articles. Where would those of us get our strength if it weren't for the reporters who have the courage to share their knowledge with us.
I am a 55-year-old women. I marched in my first protest February 15th in NY City. Last night I met with about 300 people and we marched on the Federal Building in Rochester, New York. Tonight we march again and expect more dissenters to be there.
The hope I feel for the world has developed from knowing people all over the world feel the same compulsion to march against war. For the first time in my life have I witnessed at least half the world focused on bringing a new world order which does not include globalization nor hegemony but for peace and justice for all humanity.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for this article, one does not need to be an intellectual to realize that war is simply wrong in this day and age, where we know so much about the human psyche.
It brings out the worst in all of us and must be abolished. I am from Germany,"the children will never forget the day of this war after learning daily in school "Nie wieder Krieg," which means "never war again." ...
I believe that the trust towards the USA will be faked to avoid abuse, but deep inside will be permanently damaged.
Only spiritually we must remind us to embrace compassion and love and not hatred. We are one humanity, one family in diversity, yet we must fight injustice. I for myself, have been deeply disappointed and felt my anger as hatred towards the administration. I am lucky enough to be in control of my emotion, but have understanding for some people throwing tomatoes at the murderers of humanity and democracy.
Regarding "Today I Weep for My Country" Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D – WV):
Well stated, Senator Byrd!
As a Libertarian, I do not always agree with you, but in this case, we are as one. I have printed out your statement and will offer it to my friends, probably 98% of whom agree with our view of this insane abuse of our power.
~ Dick Gach, Libertarian for Congress, MI 12th District
The birds are flying upside-down, water is falling uphill, Hell has frozen over, and I have just read an essay by Senator Robert Byrd that I can (at least mostly) agree with. I suppose another casualty of war is normality.
Since we're trying to build a broad coalition against the war, I suppose it would be impolitic of me to point out that this Senator has devoted his life to helping build the military-industrial complex that has now gyrated out of control and threatens global war – making sure that as much of it as possible is built in his state. I would not be nice of me to point out that Senator Byrd has never had much use in the past for the Constitution he lionizes in this essay, or else has "interpreted" it into meaningless verbiage. After all, true adherence to the Constitution would have prevented him from ever engaging in the "pork barrel" politics with which his name has become synonymous.
Perhaps I should be more gracious and accepting. After all, it is just possible that after all these decades of building his own little political empire at the expense of American taxpayers, he has come to realize that political empires can be dangerous and destructive. Perhaps this experience will help him see the connections between what he's been doing all these years, and the growing horror that is occurring in the Middle East. Perhaps he will discover that political powers created to "do good" will inevitably be turned to evil purposes.
Or, perhaps not.
Welcome aboard the Antiwar Wagon anyway, Senator.
~ Scott Bieser, proprietor, Liberty Artworx
Where are the Iraqi WMD?
We're into the second day of the War "for"/against Iraq/America/the world, and there is no sign of Saddam's vaunted chemical/biological WMD. What gives? Could it be that the only WMD there will turn out to be those planted by the United States of Amerika as part of its Bushkrieg?
~ Bill Stepp, Anarchist Antidefamation League
Regarding Randy H.'s letter of March 22:
There is a reason for the flags on backwards. As they march forward the flag is flowing as if it was fling high.
Attack on Iraq
The American administration claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and that was the main reason they attacked. If this is the case they must know where they are. Since this was their main concern why weren't these locations the first to be bombed?
It is unfortunate that the United States does not have a President like the former President John Kennedy. During the Cuban missile crisis he did not succumb to the pressure from the warhawks in the military and elsewhere to attack Cuba but chose a blockade of Cuba instead. The warhawks accused him of being a coward.
Thirteen months later there was a regime change in the United States with his assassination. In 1978 a government inquiry concluded that there was a conspiracy but the conspirators were not known. To date the case officially remains unsolved.
~ Kenneth D. Curry, Alberta, Canada
Questions about War against Iraq
Iraq was condemned and practically destroyed when it invaded Kuwait. Is not the US doing exactly the same thing? Saddam committed so many crimes against his people, and neighboring countries with the US help and assistance...
Was not the US a partner to many of those crimes, and knowingly aided and abetted Saddam in his crimes? There still many more questions, Americans who support the Bush regime war should ask themselves, each time they watch the war on TV and cheer their Commander in Chief. A war that is presented to them as nothing more than a video game.
Regarding "The War at Home" by Justin Raimondo:
Your article "The War at Home" was right on the money and very frightening. As a Libertarian and Jeffersonian, I too oppose this imperial and stupid war. The tactics of the like of Mr. Frum are no surprise. Like Bolsheviks who are exhilarated by the beginning of the revolution these neoconservatives have no morals or shame. These former Leninists will not tolerate any opposition to there plan for American Empire. Slander, lies, and innuendo are par for the course for these fanatics.
It is our children and grandchildren who are the true victims of this imperialism. They are the ones who may live in the Oceania of the New World Order. It is they who will have massive taxes just to pay the interest on the 6.7 trillion dollar national debt. Although we are experiencing the neoconservative police state in it's embryonic stage it is they who will experience it when it is fully matured. Keep up the good work and don't give up. Voices like yours are ones that Jefferson and Madison would be proud of.
Another outstanding column from Justin. The only problem he overlooks is that the distinction between Neo-Conservatism and all other forms of conservatism and libertarianism is not well marked in public discourse. When the Neo-Cons go down, and I'm pretty certain they will, they're going to take all of us down with them. It is the Left that stands to gain most from the ultimate failure of the Bush Administration and its NeoCon associates. It's imperative that all means be employed to distance ourselves from them in the public mind.
By the way, it looks like I'll be running for Member of Provincial Paliament (MPP) as a member of the Freedom Party (a loosely defined Conservative/Libertarian protest party) up here in Ontario (Canada, you know the place that's sorta like the US except we never, ever start wars). Pretty funny for an anarchist I know and not much chance I'll get elected but until that business is resolved please do not use my name if you publish my letters.
Coalition
Thank you for your outstanding work on your website. I visit it almost every day. I am a member of the Green Party, so we don't agree on everything, but I find your analysis of the War Party very insightful.
My dream is that we can form a coalition of Greens, Libertarians, and disenfranchised Democrats and Republicans to make a change for better in the political leadership of this country.
~ Peter Berquist, Savannah, Georgia
The Disease Behind the War
As horrifying as is the war against Iraq, the real horror is that it's only a symptom of the disease that is afflicting the U.S. My hope is that the antiwar movement will begin to seriously address the underlying disease as well as the symptoms.
The Transnational Institute in Amsterdam (TNI Peace and Security has some excellent thoughts on this under the link "War Against Iraq." The article "Talking Points and Next Steps As War Begins" states the need to "organize teach-ins across the country on the choice between democracy and empire."
It goes on to say, "As we fight to stop this war, we should begin to frame our arguments in the context of opposing the entire trajectory, domestic and international, of Bush's unilateral drive towards power and empire. Such a framework might include such issues as the primacy of internationalism, the UN and international law; disarmament of ALL weapons of mass destruction, including our own, as the best route to real security; commitment to democracy and open societies with civil liberties protected; reorient national priorities to meet human needs rather than military expansion."
An excellent resource for "teach-in" material is the book Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis, by Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. From the Preface: "We know now that a weak, ultimately illegitimate president saw the September 11 crisis as a great gift, enabling him to consolidate his faltering credibility (domestic and international), and to implement long-standing goals of the right-wing Republican agenda."
Pages 126-133 give some interesting insight on the war on Afghanistan: "A US government Energy Information Fact Sheet, published in September 2000, one year before the World Trade Center Attacks, is very clear: "Afghanistan's significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographic position as a potential transit route for oil and natural gas exports from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea. This potential includes proposed multi-billion dollar oil and gas export pipelines through Afghanistan. ... Four years ago at a luxury Houston hotel, oil company advisor (Unocal) Zalmay Khalilzad was chatting pleasantly over dinner with leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban regime about their shared enthusiasm for a proposed multibillion-dollar pipeline deal. Today, [2001] Khalilzad works steps from the White House [as a member of the National Security Council and special assistant to the president], helping President Bush and his closest advisors in attempts to annihilate those same Afghan officials."
There is vast documentation that the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are but the kickoff of a long-planned series of wars, that "war on terror" and "eliminating WMDs" are but convenient pretexts. To have any hope of preventing this series of wars, of halting the destructive direction of the current administration, to treat the disease rather than the symptoms, it seems crucial to take up the "teach-in" approach so the public can be made aware of what the government is hiding and what the media will not touch.
Regarding "Hussein's Worst Weaponry Is a No-Show, So Far":
For a number of months now, the Bush administration has been feeding us the story that Saddam Hussein would try to blow up all of Iraq's oil wells if the US invaded Iraq. Well, the US invaded Iraq, but, as the above mentioned article notes, large scale destruction of Iraq's oil wells simply hasn't happened – at most, the Iraqis tried to blow up 4 wells out of about 1,600 wells – and who knows if those four wells were really blown up by the Iraqis, or by American troops trying to seize control of the oil wells? Moreover, if Saddam Hussein really wanted to blow up the wells, you would think he could do a lot better than a measly 4 wells. Could it be this story was simply all along US government disinformation designed to provide a pretext for the US seizing Iraq's oil wells? Imagine how the worldwide antiwar movement and the Middle East would react to the US seizing Iraq's oil fields in the absence of this story.
~ GM