Monday, September 30, 2002

Lack of Critical Thinking Dept. Earlier this week, the Iraq war party thought they had a smoking gun.  Two men were caught smuggling 35 pounds of enriched uranium into Syria from Turkey.  Turns out it was a false alarm-- not 35 pounds but 5 ounces, and not uranium but a harmless mixture of iron and maganese.   This seems part of a pattern. --False terror alerts --Arrests of the wrong people (Jose Padilla, a small time crook, not a master terrorist, the Yemeni religious students from Lackawana, New York -- not terrorists, but unfortunate religious arabs sold a bill of goods by a tour company.) --Inability to identify any evidence linking Saddam Hussein to terrorists. --No Osama Bin Laden or Mullah Omar. With this record, isn't it time that more people started questioning the Bush record in the fight against terrorism.  It seems that incompetence is only trumped by stupidity. Yes, our security is important.  It is difficult to anticipate and prevent terror.  A better leader would have explained the problem, built a coalition to oppose it, and instead of being petrified of another attack, told people how likely one was to happen, and that it would not destroy us. But Bush has taken 9-11, as he does with almost everything else, and used it to justify his fundamentalist beliefs--in this case, the fight against Iran, Iraq, and North Korea--which his people targeted long before 9-11 and his famous axis of evil speech.       11:33:17 PM   comment []    Leadership Wanted     The nascent anti-war movement against Iraq is a groundswell that is far outstripping any leadership or organization.  Most of the recent local events I have experienced this week have shown that sentiment is way ahead of the ability of local organizers to find avenues for public expression. For example, in Arlington, Massachusetts 70 people showed up at a vigil/demonstration tonight, vs. only 20 or 30 in previous weeks.   In Lexington, we have also been having growing turnouts for a weekly protest.   The prospect of confronting Bush about the war has galvanized a lot of anti-war sentiment in Boston, with the upcoming demonstration on October 4th being announced at numerous churches this Sunday.  It is not reported in the mainstream media but almost all of the major religious denominations have come out strongly against any unilateral action against Iraq and against Bush’s war plans.   Democratic politicians like Gore, Kennedy, and Kerry are all responding to this groundswell of anti-war sentiment.  One senate staffer told our group that the phone calls on Iraq had been overwhelming.   But what now?  Last night we had one of our reunion dinners with a group of political friends who have all been veteran leftists for thirty years.  I raised the question of whether the war was such an important issue that we should be willing to split the democratic party—essentially the argument of Ralph Nader and the green party that certain issues can't be raised within the two party system.  Most of the people there reacted with horror to this idea.  Most felt that it would have made a huge difference if Gore had been president, and that to distain democratic politics was a real mistake we made during the original anti-war movement.   There was a very passionate discussion, with one person pointing out that the decline in incomes of poor people had continued with democratic and republican presidents—and everyone agreeing that democrats also supported American empire building—but the consensus was that we could have been more effective if we had been more willing to work within the Democratic Party when we were younger.   Perhaps we need a model—like the successful way in which the right wing of the Republican Party has moved the entire party to the right.  But even more, we need some leadership.  The building of momentum to swing the country back to a more social democratic path is not impossible, but it will take leadership and time.  Today we seem to have neither. 9:38:33 PM   comment []    The Real Reason for War: Empire Building This article The President's Real Goal in Iraq by Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal Constitution is some of the best media analysis yet of the forces driving this war. He makes a strong case that the empire builders are behind the attack on Iraq. What he doesn't say is what the historical impact of empire building is on democracy. Democracy and Empire are not compatible. It's time for democrats to speak out about how the militarization of our society in defense of empire will doom efforts to fight global warming, to protect the global environment, and to obtain better health care and employment for our citizens. There should be no question about the need to oppose war in Iraq--the only question may be over what is most effective. Note on Anti War demo During Bush Visit to Boston on October 4th Plans are building for a major demonstration against Bush's Drive towards unilateral war with Iraq. The demonstration was announced in hundreds of churches around the Boston area on Sunday and is getting wide play on college campuses. Bush may be changing his schedule to avoid a noisy confrontation. So for the latest information, check the web site of the Boston area United for Justice with Peace. 1:02:16 PM   comment []

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