[WCUSP] Weak, Passive, Distracted: What Next for the American Antiwar Movement?

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

Dear friends,
I send this article to you not as criticism but for  reflection...
When will WILPF demand an end to all US taxpayer -  funded aid to Israel?  If 
people want to continue to financially support  Israel, let them do it 
through their synagogues or C-Z  churches!     I'm sure that there are many WILPFers 
who  would like to see WILPF stand up with the best of humanity and demand an 
end to  US aid to Israel.  I would suspect that WILPF would gain much greater 
 recognition and support (not to mention an increase in membership!) if it 
took a  bolder and more courageous stand at this time...     Love,  Katharina
Weak, Passive,  Distracted
What Next for the  American Antiwar Movement?
By TODD CHRETIEN 
On  August 12, 2006, some 25,000 people in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., 
Los  Angeles and other cities took part in protests against the 
Israeli/American war  in the Middle East. Probably around 50 per cent of the marchers were 
Arab or  Muslim. These protests showed the Arab world, and specifically our 
brothers and  sisters in Lebanon and Gaza that there is opposition to the U.S. 
government's  policies. That's a good start. But you have to ask the question: 
Why after a  month of war did so few people come out to protest? Where were the 
"anti-war"  Democratic leaders? Where were the anti- war groups such as United 
for Peace and  Justice or MoveOn.org? 
There is no need to expound on the blame the  American corporate media shares 
in many good people's profoundly bad  understanding of what is happening. 
However, media lies are not sufficient to  explain the American anti-war 
movement's passivity. Deeper political  explanations are required. While 60 per cent 
of the American population opposes  the endless occupation of Iraq, the 
anti-war movement itself still accepts many  ideas that weaken it. These ideas will 
not be overcome quickly, but they must be  openly raised and debated.  

The Right to Self  Determination  
The United States dominates the Middle East. It  occupies Iraq, funds Arab 
client states and arms Israel to the teeth. In this  situation, the U.S. and 
Israel government are brutally oppressing the majority  via military power and 
economic robbery. Basic democratic principles require  Americans to oppose our 
government's actions and to stand squarely for the right  to self-determination 
by the Arab people. It is not the American anti-war  movement's job to 
lecture the people of the Middle East on how to conduct their  resistance. You do 
not have to agree with all of Hezbollah's ideas to support  their resistance to 
Israel. Condemning "both sides" in the Middle East is just  like condemning 
"both sides" in the American Civil War. During the Civil War,  with all its 
complications, one side fought for slavery and the other fought for  emancipation. 
Today in the Middle East, one side fights to rob and pillage, the  other 
seeks self-determination and dignity.  

Vilification of Islam  
Democrats and Republicans alike have vilified  Islam. Bush's latest phrase is 
"Islamic fascists." Too many anti-war activists  have bought into the lie 
that Islam is a danger. The idea that Islam's ideas are  more "conservative" than 
Christianity or Judaism is ridiculous. The  media-created myth that Arabs and 
Muslim's aren't "ready for democracy" or they  "just like to kill each other" 
are racist to the core. Muslims and Arabs in the  U.S. bare the brunt of the 
"war on terror." The anti-war movement needs to shake  off its Islamophobia 
and make sustained efforts to reach out to Arab and Muslim  community in the 
United States to bring them into the heart of the anti-war  movement. The past 
month has seen largest mobilizations of anti-war Arabs and  Muslims since the 
Jenin massacre in Palestine in April of 2002. Building  concrete solidarity, in 
deed not just in words, with these forces must be a  priority.  

U.S. Aid to Israel  
The leader of the South African trade union COSATU  recently stated that he 
thinks that the Palestinians face worse conditions than  Blacks faced during 
South African Apartheid. There will never be peace in the  Middle East as long 
as the Zionist state is given a blank check from the United  States to have 
separate laws for Arabs and Jews and treat the Palestinian people  as less than 
human. Israel is part of the American empire and is key to the U.S.  plans for 
permanent domination of the Middle East. If we ever want to see our  troops 
come home from Iraq, then the anti-war movement must fight to cut off all  
American aid to Israel. This will mean a fierce debate amongst liberal  
organizations, unions, etc. But it is necessary and now is the best time to  raise it. 

Waiting for Hillary  
In addition the Democratic Party continues to  exercise a profound influence 
on the anti-war movement. Just as in 2004, when  the movement demobilized to 
get behind John "I'll send more troops to Iraq"  Kerry, today, the movement is 
paralyzed waiting for Hillary Clinton, or some  other savior to "end the Bush 
regime." (This line of reasoning even leads some  people to think that Al Gore 
or John Kerry should give it another go!) Bush is a  problem, but he is not 
the problem. Of course, no serious anti-war person  believes the Democrats will 
bring peace to the world; however, too many anti-war  people still believe 
that the Democrats will bring us closer to peace. This idea  has a real impact 
on political organizing. For instance, rather than throwing  its weight behind 
the August 12 protests, United For Peace and Justice merely  asked people to 
call their Congressional representatives "every day." The Peace  Campaign on 
their website listed events from August 6 to Sept. 21, without  listing Aug. 12 
mobilizations , thereby failing to identify with the thousands  of Arab and 
Muslims who took to the streets? 

What Next?  
Israel still may disregard the ceasefire, or  simply use it as cover and 
expand its war. Or they may adopt a longer range plan  to regroup and wait for a 
better moment to attack Hezbollah, perhaps by engaging  Syria. They will 
certainly continue to exact their revenge on Gaza. But  Hezbollah has emerged as the 
hero to millions of Arabs and Muslims. Hezbollah's  fight will encourage the 
resistance in Iraq and it will give a boost to  opposition forces in Egypt, 
Jordan and other American client states.  Unfortunately, the United States may 
become more aggressive in the face of  rising opposition. Remember that after 
the Tet offensive in Vietnam in January  1968, the U.S. went on to invade 
Cambodia and Laos. A wounded beast can be more  dangerous. 
Therefore the anti-war movement must prepare for a  new round of 
mobilizations this fall and be prepared to respond to new  emergencies. Three-and-a-half 
years after the invasion of Iraq, the anti-war  movement must put itself on a 
new footing. We must build a movement that stands  for self-determination, 
rejects vilification of Islam and openly embraces Arabs  and Muslim forces, fights 
to cut ties with Israel and severs its allegiance to  the Democratic Party. 
This will not happen overnight, but the people of Lebanon  and Gaza have paid 
too high a price in their own blood for us to not take these  lessons to heart 
here in the belly of the beast. 
Todd Chretien is the Green Party candidate for US Senate, running against 
Sen. Dianne  Feinstein in California. He can be reached at: 
_ToddChretien at mac.com_ (mailto:ToddChretien at mac.com) 
_www.counterpunch.com_ (http://www.counterpunch.com) 
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