A MODEST ANTI-WAR PROPOSAL

We've been handed a grim timetable, and a rare opportunity. According to a recent New York Times article by Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger, dated 4-28-02: "The Bush administration, in developing a potential approach for toppling President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, is concentrating its attention on a major air campaign and ground invasion, with initial estimates contemplating the use of 70,000 to 250,000 troups [...] early next year." The Bush administration officially denied this scenario the very next day, of course. But whether it's a nixed "confrontation with Hussein this fall," or a more probable one next spring, or even war next fall in order to avoid "summer combat in bulky chemical suits," a US military attempt to overthrow Saddam is about as inevitable as Bush mangling the English language.

You better believe that, even as you read these words, US "policymakers and operational commanders are trying to sketch out the broad outlines of the confrontation they expect." I bet they're doing a lot more than sketching outlines. It only makes sense for strategic-minded folks in the overlapping anti-war, anti-globalization and anti-capitalist movements to build mass opposition to Bush's war preparations against Iraq strong enough to stop any war before it happens. Barring that, we need to meet a US war on Iraq with mass anti-war protest in the streets powerful enough to make serious trouble for the powers-that-be. The Pentagon is already doing strategic planning and preparation for a war on Iraq. Those of us against such a war should be doing the same.

We have no control over "progress toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" or "uprisings among Arab populations" or the response from regional Arab states; any of which in the negative could throw a monkeywrench into the Bush administration's imperial plans. What we can influence is the home front. "[S]enior officials" are already "preparing for a global oil price shock" as a consequence of any war against Iraq. Let's give them something else to worry about by organizing broadbased domestic resistance to the administration's war plans.

If you read my columns at all, you know I don't put much faith in the protest-politics-as-usual of marches and rallies. For me, protest needs to be civilly disobedient at the very least, and I really don't see anything changing without massive, sustained direct action in the streets of this country. I don't have a whole lot good to say about either the Leninoid Workers World Party dominated ANSWER coalition or the liberal/reformist National Coalition for Peace and Justice, though the latter is at least enthusiastic about civil disobedience. I'm willing to concede that, at the moment, strategic diversity will be needed to create effective grassroots opposition to a war on Iraq, although I think we should avoid expending time and energy on building national organizations and events, instead focusing on creating an anti-war presence at the local community level. National organizing will come out of community organizing.

Liberal reformists can do what they're good at; letter writing campaigns, teach-ins, petitition drives, pressure on elected representatives, holding candidates' feet to the fire in the upcoming November elections, etc. This is the time for candlelight vigils at post offices or Federal buildings, and campaigns to send toys to Congress to dramatize the death of Iraqi children. CD-oriented pacifists should concentrate on local targets-offices of military recruiters and warmongering politicians, ROTC buildings and military bases, defense contractors and pro-war media-with sit-ins, blockades and peaceful occupations intended to illuminate a growing anti-war opposition to the public. It would be nice to foster a movement among American military reservists to refuse to fight in Iraq, much like the movement among Israeli reservists to refuse service in the West Bank. Those dedicated to direct action have plenty of locks to glue shut, computers to hack, secret plans to expose, supplies to damage, operations to sabotage and troops to subvert. For obvious reasons, further suggestions along these lines should not be committed to paper.

The idea here is to build popular opposition to US war plans against Iraq in the next ten months through escalating protest events, actions and demonstrations in thousands of communities across the country, with the goal of heading off an actual shooting war. If US military aggression can't be averted, then the mass student strikes, mass union actions, mass rallies and demonstrations, and mass attempts to shut down Washington DC following the war's start can stand on and draw from this broad oppositional base.

If the New York Times story is accurate, we have until spring of 2003. Let's roll...

http://www.huahuacoyotl.com