Here's a second stirring call today. As we see we can be a force, we become that force. This helps. I especially like the door Hayden keeps open at the end, where he notes that even if the unthinkable happens, and we go to war, our efforts will continue to build on themselves until the people take back this stolen land. If Bush exposes American troops to chemical attack in the desert at a cost of $200 billion for a permanent imperial outpost, the peace movement will only grow. The stage is set for what was unthinkable six months ago, a serious presidential campaign in 2004. The nobodies are becoming a force to contend with. TOM HAYDEN on RADIO NATION 2/19/03 A few weeks ago I said the peace movement was larger than the movement at a comparable time as the Vietnam war began. Revise that estimate. The current peace movement is the largest in history. Period. Over ten million people demonstrated in mid-February in 600 cities around the world. The New York Times threw its customary caution to the winds, declaring that there may be two superpowers on the planet, the White House and world public opinion. And this war hasn’t even started. The cynics say the anti-Vietnam movement was big because of the draft and the fear of American casualties. But here you have a larger movement already, a global movement, with no draft and no body bags. What will they think up next to deflate this movement? They’ve already started blaming the Europeans as if they were wimpy McGovern Democrats. It’s very confusing. Growing up with a Marine father, I heard that we fought World War 2 to end German militarism, Nazism, nationalism. Now the Bush Administration complains that the Germans have become too pacifist, which I thought was the point! Globalization apologists like Thomas Friedman are calling for the expulsion of France from the UN Security Council. The complaint is that they are unserious, stupid, insufferable, cheese-eating surrender monkeys. Okay, they like organic food, and their own movies, and they have a 35 hour workweek. That’s why the White House and corporations are rubbing their hands over the new Europe to the east where labor is cheap and US military bases are welcomed. The willingness of France and Germany to balk at the American empire so far is a great tribute to the power of people in the streets in those countries. The corporate media were clueless, but the resistance around the world went wild when the French foreign minister embraced the slogan of the anti-globalization movement to close his speech at the Security Council: France, he declared, “believes in our ability to build together a better world.” The smug dreams of empire are turning into a chapter in Barbara Tuchman’s March to Folly. President Bush is home alone. His poll ratings on the war and the economy are dropping like smart bombs on his presidency. only 45 percent would vote for him if the election were held today, against 40 percent who would vote for an unnamed alternative, a nobody! If Bush exposes American troops to chemical attack in the desert at a cost of $200 billion for a permanent imperial outpost, the peace movement will only grow. The stage is set for what was unthinkable six months ago, a serious presidential campaign in 2004. The nobodies are becoming a force to contend with. COMMENTS Tom Hayden has some interesting thoughts, but, when he decides to “extol” the French viewpoint, he should probably include some analysis of the Ivory Coast – and French behavior there. Suzanne to Gary Indeed. But I got excited about this: “a great tribute to the power of people in the streets.” The European governments are listening. Amazing that Bush doesn't care. I can't see how he can continue, though — I just can't see him single handedly opening up the possibility of Armageddon, even though he seems so dogged in that determination. A piece is circulating now that I hope isn't pie in the sky. Waiting to see. From Capitol Hill Blue Some strategists within the Bush Administration are urging the President to look for an “exit strategy” on Iraq, warning the tough stance on war with the Arab country has left the country in a “no win” situation. “At this point, the United States and Britain does not have the support for passage of a second UN resolution,” admits a White House aide. In addition, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate are telling the Presidently privately that he is losing support in Congress for a “go it alone war” against Iraq. “The President's war plans are in trouble, there's no doubt about that,” says an advisor to House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert. “Some Republican members want a vote on military action and some of those say they would, at this point, vote against such action.” Some White House advisors are urging the President to consider complying with the UN position or to look for other “face saving” ways to avoid war with Iraq. President Bush, however, is reported to be “hanging tough” on plans to invade Iraq, even though his closest advisors tell him such a move could be “disasterous” politically. “The President has backed himself and the nation into a corner in a no win situation,” says political scientist George Harleigh. “World opinion is against him. Public opinion polls show support eroding among Americans.” Republican campaign strategist Vern Wilson says he is advising his clients to “put some distance between themselves and the President” on war with Iraq. “When you have former military leaders questioning the wisdom of war, then you have Vietnam and Gulf War veterans marching against the war, when you have Republicans in Congress questioning the President's judgment, it tells me we could have a problem,” Wilson said Wednesday. The escalating loss of support for the U.S. officials has led to an increase of defiance by Iraqi officials, who have yet to live up to promises of increased support and aid to U.N. inspectors looking for the country's suspected weapons of mass destruction. Taking heart from the split in the Security Council regarding possible military action against the country. and the world-wide protests against war, Iraq has changed from saying that its officials are complying with U.N. demands to asking for a lifting of sanctions instituted against Iraq after it was forced out of Kuwait more than 10 years ago. “We have not seen any positive moves on the part of Iraq,” one U.N. official in Iraq told The Washington Post, while another said, “They are not fulfilling their promises.” U.N. inspectors returned to Iraq in November after the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, a strongly worded document that promised “serious consequences” should Iraq not live up to the stipulations outlined in the document. Those included giving U.N. inspectors unrestricted access inside Iraq and orders to report any interference by Iraq with the inspections. However, since last Friday, when lead weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohammad ElBaradei reported to the Security Council, the United Nations has not seen Iraq carry through on promises to deliver documents about old weapons programs nor have there been interviews with scientists involved with possible weapons technology. Large anti-war demonstrations were staged in several cities around the world. The United States and Britain are having trouble finding support for anything stronger than additional inspections in Iraq in their Security Council deliberations.
From: Gary Rinkerman [GRinkerman@bakerlaw.com]
White House Advisors Looking for a “Way Out” of War With Iraq
February 2003
Follow
