The Peace Movement Plans for the Future

[Wonder]

snip
As the Bush administration struggles with occupying Iraq, the anti-war movement is in the midst of intense self-evaluation. For all of the movement's success in raising doubts about and opposition to the March 2003 invasion, as of July George W. Bush's war is still popular among Americans. The war caused thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths, and Iraqis may be dying for years to come due to widespread use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions. While some local Kurdish and Shi'i leaders have cautiously decided to work with the occupation regime, the inability of US forces to restore law, order or public services, along with the imperial style of US viceroy L. Paul Bremer, have led to increasing opposition to the occupation among ordinary Iraqis. Yet sentiment among Americans, amidst concerns over post-war casualties and the missing weapons of mass destruction, still supports (albeit cautiously) the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

snip
MOVEMENT FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE

Making this possible, in no small measure, was the coalescence of anti-war and anti-corporate globalization forces into one larger global peace and justice movement. Heralded by the New York Times as "the second superpower," this combined movement is perhaps the most important unintended consequence of Bush's drive to war. The merger provided the anti-war movement with a highly politicized, worldwide activist base of millions, an organizational network and a sophisticated analysis of the existing world system to ground its own critique of the administration's justifications for invasion.

snip
WHERE WERE THE SCHOLARS?

Middle East scholars, NGO professionals and human rights activists with long experience in the region were naturally positioned to help contribute ideological depth and alternative ideas about "what to do about Saddam." But while many such people spoke at anti-war teach-ins and argued against war in the media, few participated in the leadership and organization of the peace movement. Of the dozens of scholars interviewed for this article, including many of the most well-known members of the profession, none said they were asked to become involved in shaping the strategy and message of the movement, a fact that was confirmed by leaders of the various organizations. Several said their attempts to become involved received no response.

snip
How can we account for the absence of Middle East professionals at senior levels of a movement whose fate is so closely tied to the dynamics of the region they know best? Their absence seems particularly odd when the Bush administration has forged strong ties with scholars on the right, and has even tapped NYU law professor Noah Feldman, whose new book, After Jihad, has won acclaim from many Muslims (and who previously worked for Al Gore), to help draft a new Iraqi constitution. There is no agreement on this issue among either scholars or organizers. The general consensus among the former, as another past president of the Middle East Studies Association put it, is that: "The anti-war coalition, the left and Arab intellectuals have not come to grips with the problem of the lack of democracy and development in the Arab world. Period. They have thus left this issue to Fox and the neo-cons."

http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/levine_interv.html

[damnraddem]

1. No, we didn't prevent the invasion -- big deal!

Remember these places: Vietnam, Nicaragua, El Salvador? All places in which the U.S. was involved, and against which involvement we fought for years. We didn't have the luxury of protesting before the U.S. was involved, because the U.S. slunk in under the radar -- until we exposed what it was doing. It took years to influence U.S. attitudes. In Iraq, we got to start a few months BEFORE the U.S. invaded -- we had that luxury. We've already had impacts on U.S. attitudes; but there is a lot yet to do. It would have been great to block the invasion; but we didn't. It would be great to have most people on our side; but we don't, not yet. We have a big job to do, but we have a great start.

[cprise]

2. the left and Arab intellectuals have not come to grips

"...of the lack of democracy and development in the Arab world. Period."

Sure we have: No self-determination, no democracy. They will become anti-democratic if the major democracies are holding them ransom for continued oil production. They have nothing left except that which you can't see: God and extremism.

The Islamic world should be proud of the modernizing efforts they've made in the past. Colonization followed by 50 years of attack and disenfranchisement have created what you see today.