Olympia and World Wide Protest Against War and For Justice on March 20th by Larry Mosqueda This article was published in Works in Progress, February 2004. March 20th, 2004 is the first anniversary of the U.S. war against the people of Iraq and will be marked by protest around the world. The action has the backing of the national United For Peace, International ANSWER, the World Social Forum (WSF), and the European Social Forum. Veterans for Peace [see Winter 2004 newsletter] as well as Military Families Speak Out are also supportive. This will not be just an anniversary “remembrance,” but a continuation and strengthening of the Global Peace and Justice movement that demonstrated its strength last February 15th , when over 10 million people marched around the world against the upcoming U.S.-Bush aggression against Iraq. While this did not stop the war, the U.S. and Bush took very close notice. The New York Times reported that there were now “two superpowers,” the U.S. government and world opinion. Last February 15th over 1000 people in Olympia protested the upcoming war. The Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace (OMJP) and others will sponsor another rally and demonstration this March 20th in Olympia. Organizers and participants in this peaceful rally will include the young and old, religious and non-faith based, and reflect the diversity of Olympia area. Tentative plans are to rally at the Capital grounds at noon, march, and have a peaceful rally (around 2PM) at Heritage Park in downtown, where we will have music, food, and some child friendly activities. At present, the list of U.S. cities participating are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Washington DC, Boston, and now Olympia. Emerging themes of the mobilizations include “The World STILL Says No to War,” with an end to the war by bringing the troops home NOW, an end to the occupation of Iraq and Palestinian territories, stopping the attacks on civil liberties, stopping racist attacks, and on the positive side “Money for jobs, education, healthcare and housing-Not War.” Some may question the efficacy of another march, but it is important to remember that the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the Central American solidarity movements of the 1980s help to defeat and slow down U.S. policy objectives in those eras. One clear example is in 1969, when Richard Nixon used the “madman theory” to threaten to use, and to ACTUALLY USE nuclear weapons against the Vietnamese (hence the “madman”) unless they succumbed to his demands. He did NOT use nuclear weapons specifically because of the massive anti-Vietnam war moratoriums that occurred in Washington, DC and elsewhere that year. At the time we did not know that we were having such a direct impact, but this has been documented in several places, including Nixon’s own memoirs. (Also see Seymour Hersch’s book, Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House.) Nixon, like Bush, lied about the reasons for the war, the conduct of the war, and his reactions to the peace movements. You can be assured that even though Bush says that he is ignoring the anti-war movement, he and especially his intelligent neocon advisors are paying close attention to global and national actions of the people in response to his wars. The Bush administration paid attention last February and they will hear our voices again this March. The current anti-war movement is far ahead of where it was 2 years into the Vietnam War. Just as important as getting the ears of the Bush administration, will be the strengthening of the global, national, and local communities as we converge to not only protest against the war and the logic of oppression, but also as we network and learn from each other to build a more just world. The coalition building before, during, and after the mobilization will help to make the slogan of the WSF, “Another World is Possible” a real possibility. We cannot depend on the government to make things right. As the Indian writer Arundhati Roy noted at the recent WSF, “Radical change cannot be negotiated by governments, it can only be enforced by people.” She goes on to say that it is not enough to support resistance in different parts of the world but “We have to become the global resistance to occupation.” (See Arundhati Roy, “The New American Century,” 1/22/04, www.commondreams.org) The need for resistance is great and the stakes are high. As Tariq Ali has noted, “The dominant position of the United States has no precedent in history…There are 189 member states of the United Nations, there is a (U.S.) military presence in 121 countries.” Ali notes that this is “ultra-imperialism” that is not beneficial to the average American because the U.S. is not as economically dominant as it is militarily, and we are subject to severe economic damage unless dominance is enforced in the future by the military, but that effort can have catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and the rest of the world. There are apologists for the Bush administration who are unabashed in their open support for empire, colonization, and what they call in their obscene Orwellian language, “defensive imperialism.” Some of these apologists are writers Charles Krauthammer, Robert Kaplan, Charles Fairbanks, among others. A goal for us is not to necessarily debate and try to convince these individuals of their errors, but to illustrate for the general population the direction that this type of planning is taking us and the rest of the world. As Arundhati Roy has noted, “Debating imperialism is a bit like debating the pros and cons of rape. What can we say? That we really miss it?” Perhaps the most frightening views of the apologists are articulated in the recent book by Bush insiders Richard Perle and David Frum, An End to Evil: How to Win the War On Terror. The book is a virtual blueprint and justification for world domination. As the authors state, “There is no middle way for Americans. It is victory or holocaust. This book is a manual for victory.” The authors are oblivious to the concept that their version of “American victory” (i.e. American elites victory) may, in fact bring about a holocaust. Many participants in the March 20 mobilization will not just be protesting current and recent war policies but just as importantly imperial policies for the future. We should plan not only how to save the 19 year olds in Iraq (both Americans and Iraqis) but also today’s 9 year olds who will be asked to fight imperial wars in the next decade against Pakistan, Saudi Arabia (current allies) and elsewhere if we have not stopped Bush and his neoconservatives in the next few years. (We should remember that the roots of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein rule started in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he was our ally.) Please come to the March 20th rally, keep informed of the planning and actions, bring your friends, family, and neighbors. Treat these actions as if they were important for your future, because they are. For more information call 867-6513. For local website with many links see, www.omjp.org, www.olyfor.org, www.united4peacetc.org, www.mediaisland.org. This column is sponsored by the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace. OMJP is committed to building a society that meets the needs of all people, not one based on profit and economic values. We actively support movements that challenge corporate-sponsored globalization, and those that further racial, gender and economic equality. Our efforts are focused on working in solidarity and in coalition with individuals and groups on a local, regional, national, and global level. Our meetings are held every second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the Olympia Community Center, located at 222 Columbia Way. We welcome new people to our meetings. Views expressed in these columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the entire group. another world is possible . . . www.omjp.org