Contemporary and ancient history has taught us that what it takes for an invading nation’s aggressive wars to be defeated are these factors:

1. That the invaded lands’ people resist the invader’s war and occupation efforts.

2. That armed liberation fighters cause numerous deaths and injuries to the occupiers.

3. That the invading lands own people resist the rulers´ war.

4. That when the combination of resistance in the invaded land and the invader’s land becomes strong, sectors within the Establishment begin to feel that the pain of war is too costly—in human life, in restrictions to living social standards and in economic profit: Significant elements then seek an end to the aggression. We see this with several Establishment with whistle-blowers and finally a change in the mass media.

Those conditions are now a reality in the belly of the beast itself, as well as in Great Britain and Italy, though both Australia and Denmark lag behind in such material and subjective conditions. Although now the majority of people in all the Iraq and Afghanistan warring countries desire an end to the war—at least they wish their own troops sent home—there is not as yet sufficient damage to the Australian and Danish economies or their own human lives (not “enough” body bags) to inspire a massive protest movement. But in the United States the traditional small anti-war and peace movements have recently catapulted into what can truly be characterized as a mass movement.

What are indices of the mass movement?

On September 1, the disunited and often antagonistic protest groups, and the left in general, understood the necessity to put aside their strategic and tactical differences to unite in the call for ONE mass demonstration on September 24. Not only will there now be unity of the umbrella groups in the west—San Francisco and Los Angeles—but at the main demonstration in Washington DC.

The main organizer of these long-planned demonstrations, A.N.S.W.E.R./September 24 National Coalition, which supports the Iraqi resistance movement, and United for Peace and Justice, which does not, held a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC to announce plans for a joint anti-war rally and march. The basis for unity is the acceptance of all slogans and speakers representing all points of view about how the war can be defeated, and the liberation won. For the first time in all the Iraqi war protests, the mass media reported extensively the demonstration plans.

This unity, which will indubitably attract hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, probably would not have occurred had it not been for: a) the daily, determined fight by hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of Afghans—the resistance movement is now the dominating power in Iraq; b) the moral indignation and daily dedication of the relatively few activists in all the anti-war and peace groups; c) the ever-growing anxiety about American deaths (nearly 2000) and injuries (between 20,000 and 50,000 soldiers depending on how one counts causes of injuries), plus thousands of desertions and the draft resistance; d) and the heroic fight of Cindy Sheehan to Stop the Killing in the name of her son, Casey Sheehan, killed in battle (4/4/5) by the Iraqi resistance.

Cindy spoke to Veterans for Peace at their Dallas convention, on August 5, and the media, part of factor number 4 above—which has recently been pressured to report more than just what the government dictates—publicized her challenge to Bush: “Just what was the noble cause Casey died for...He died for oil. He died to make your friends richer. He died to expand American imperialism in the Middle East. We’re not freer here, thanks to your PATRIOT Act. Iraq is not free. You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you’ll stop terrorism.”

Then Cindy launched her “one mother” camp-in before Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. Her anger and courage struck a nerve throughout the nation. She was soon joined by other mothers from the group she co-founded, Gold Star Mothers for Peace, and by war veterans from Vietnam and a few from Iraq. “Camp Crawfords” popped up across the country, often quite spontaneously by “ordinary” citizens, many of whom had lost sons or husbands in Iraq or Afghanistan, and these protests were assisted by anti-war groups. Then the celebrities, new and old, came out in support of the mass movement. Joan Baez came to protest, as she said, for the first time since the Vietnam war. Then “Hanoi” Jane came out of activist retirement. Following the end of Bush’s vacation, Cindy started a several-state protest caravan to culminate in the September 24 protest in Washington. She inspired Jane Fonda to join another mobilizing tour against the war. Fonda is with London politician George Galloway and they will be joined by Sean Penn and other celebrities.

Cindy, she was sleeping
The moment Casey died
And she knew she’d never see him
Standing by her side
There was no consolation
No safe place she could run
She is every mother
And he was every mother’s son
...
The president, he told her
He died for a noble cause
But Cindy’s wondering
Exactly what that was
Since they never found the weapons
And now that Casey’s gone
It seems that oil is the game
And Casey was the pawn
Cindy’s got some questions
And so does everyone
Because she is every mother
And he was every mother’s son (1)

An additional factor not taken into account in my four factors is hurricane Katrina’s natural catastrophe and the callousness clearly demonstrated by the federal government towards the victims in New Orleans and surrounding territory. The hurricane occurred just days before the anti-war unity decision. Now, most everybody can feel that the time is ripe to unite, to pull out all stops, to confront the government head-on.

The war has become too costly for the majority of the population. The official “defense budget” is $424 billion, PLUS about $100 billion allocated this year for the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, that is one-fourth the entire national budget. (The Iraq war alone has cost over $300 billion in the first two years.) But there are many more war billions in hidden costs. A few of the big capitalists, like Halliburton and A.P. Moeller-Maersk, are scoring many billions in war dollars with a profit rate of upwards to 20%. But there are other capitalists whose profits are not based on oil and weapons, who are not profiting from the war. Many would-be “rebuilding” contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan dare not invest in the destructive war zones.

And now most ordinary citizens are angry at the severe cutbacks in social and economic programs designed for the population, which have been inverted for the oil-weapons industries wars abroad and the right-wing’s drive for a police state. (The Patriot Act’s implementer, Homeland Security, received billions of the dollars allocated for flood control in New Orleans). When the hurricane came, the anger was reinforced and spread due to the lackadaisical attitude and inaction by the Bush federal government to assist hurricane victims.

Despite unusually strong hurricanes last year, which cost human lives in Florida, Bush diverted two-thirds of the money allocated for flood control, to strengthen the deteriorating levees, to prepare for devastating hurricanes this year, which all experts, also Republicans, had predicted. Now thousands of Americans are dead—most poor blacks—and millions are homeless, while hundreds of thousands suffer daily.

Instead of sending public transportation for evacuation, instead of sending immediate disaster relief, Juggernaut Bush sent in 40,000 troops and 7,000 killer elite soldiers to “pacify” the angry masses. It took two weeks for the first economic assistance to reach people who were still not evacuated from New Orleans, and that came from private charity not the state. Bush finally promised that the federal government will pay $2,000 for every person who lost his/her home. That might finance a small bathroom.

Bush has admitted, by omission, that the federal budget can not come to the rescue because of his wars. So he called upon private charity funding and for the world’s nations to send money and aid to the world’s richest nation. Although when Cuba immediately offered 1586 doctors, Bush refused.

Ironically, it was Cuba which was hit hardest by Hurricane Ivan last year. But that poor country, with a “Communist-terrorist” leadership, foresaw the impending catastrophe and evacuated every one of the 1.3 million people and their animals from the western province where the hurricane would come. While there were billions of dollars in property damage, not one human being or animal was killed or injured. Yet in all the surrounding Caribbean countries and in Florida public evacuation was not offered by the governments and hundreds of people were killed.

Everybody knew that it could happen
The likehood was clear
The future was coming
And now it’s here
They had to fix the levees
Because otherwise they’d break
On one side was the city
Above it was the lake
It was in the daily papers
In bold letters was the writ
What could happen
When the Big One hit
But every year they cut the funding
Just a little more
So they could give it to the Army
To fight their oil war
....

And now the city is in ruins
A massive toxic sea
Scattered through the nation
Half a million refugees
Here we are
In the richest country on the earth
Where the color of your skin
Determines what your life is worth
Where oil is king
Where global warming is ignored
Where the very end of life
Is the place we’re heading toward
Where it’s more than just a metaphor
The flooding of the dike
And if we don’t stop this madness
The whole planet will be like (2)

Given all these factors, plus the despicable use of systematic torture, and massive tortuous murder with napalm burning and uranium weapons, the majority of Americans (59%, according to the August Harris Polls) are now making the connection: money for oil wars leaves them in ruins at home. A new national report shows that 23% of the American population lives in poverty, an increase of about ten percent since Bush took office. For the first time the number of new poor among the white population is greater than before.

The Mass Movement is on the offensive. Uniting poverty and racism at home with wars abroad, anti-war and anti-racist groups are currently demonstrating in 100+ cities to demand relief for hurricane victims. There are rallies, pickets, vigils, classroom walk outs, some work stoppages, and collection of materials for hurricane victims. The message of unity for peace and justice is booming across the nation.

It is now up to ordinary Danes to put down the death-squad drink Coca-Cola and war-criminal Moeller-Maersk Netto goods and get involved FOR all of humanity. It is also up to anti-war activists to get mad, to organize, to prepare for mass actions and small civil-disobedience actions, to get out the word that yes, we too, will be demonstrating on September 24.

Notes:
1. “Song for Cindy Sheehan“, written by US songwriter-activist David Rovics.
2. “New Orleans“ written by David Rovics.

---

Artiklerne på www.fritirak.dk er ikke nødvendigvis udtryk for Komiteen for et Frit Iraks holdning.

Copyright 2003-2005 www.fritirak.dk