Wednesday, April 02, 2003

What do anti-war protestors really want? I was looking at a blog called The truth laid bear which asked the question of what the anti-war movement really wants.  He asked it in a respectful way, although it may be a right-wing blog for all I know, and it prompted me to respond.  The following is what I originally wrote in the comment section of his blog:     One of my favorite signs is "Don't Buy the Big Lie". Much of what is happening is Iraq is a lie. I don't mean the fighting. I mean the threat. I don't think Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. has never been able to prove this. To my mind, weapons of mass destruction have to be much more than some mustard gas that can kill a few hundred soldiers. It has to be something that changes the strategic balance. Nothing that Iraq has or could have in the medium term changes the strategic balance with the U.S. That is why the war is such a big lie.   The question of what to do now that the war has started, and therefore protesting is futile, misses the point. We never should have had this war in the first place.   I want the following: peace and security abroad, and economic justice and democracy at home.   When Bush was elected and the Onion published his speech "Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over" they were more prescient than they knew.   I agree with those who say that an American occupation of Iraq, far from helping the war on terrorism, will make it 100 times worse.   So the question is what leads to true security and peace. Bush/Cheney have essentially proposed that our safety will be enhanced by isolation and fear. We will impose our power on the world, militarily, economically, and politically. Those who oppose us will be crushed. I think this is a strategy for disaster.   We have 5% of the worlds population and use something like 25% or more of total global resources. This is not sustainable over many generations. I want an alternative strategy, based more on integration of interests between America and the rest of the world. This means co-operation and conciliation rather than confrontation. It means strengthening international institutions, the UN, the World Court, Kyoto etc.   What does the U.S. get from this: the ability to enhance the lives of its citizens. We have enough wealth so that we don't need a military occupation to preserve the status quo. Let the status quo adjust a little, let us reduce our environmental impact, let us use our resources to promote efficiency and new technologies.   Today we have leaders who govern by fear. I doubt they will be overthrown without us first experiencing a national disaster, on the order of the great depression or a major war that we lose or win at an unacceptable cost.  But until then, politically we need to isolate Bush, keep up the pressure on the democratic party, and try and make public space for alternative views.   I want first of all that public space. From there, we will see what happens over time. 11:22:51 PM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 5/1/2003; 11:43:28 PM.