AxisofLogic
The Encampment to Stop the War was pitched yesterday on the Washington Mall directly in front of the capital in full view of the Democrat-led congress demanding that they defund the U.S. war on the people of Iraq. It kicked off yesterday morning with 4 large trucks rolling into the Washington Mall, loaded with scaffolding, staging, conference room tents, medical supplies and all the equipment we needed to set up the Encampment. People began arriving to camp against the war at about noon. Some of those I interviewed came from Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, Boston, Maine and others from in and around Washington DC. They came to set up their tents and demand that the Democrats in congress defund the war. It’s truly been a great day The positive spirit that only empowered people can know fueled us to get the work done – and there was a lot of good work Everyone pitched in to help set up conference-room size canopy tents as meeting places, a clinic for medical emergencies and our 4 p.m. press conference.
more…
Despite the often overt anti-Americanism of my rants, I have to confess a grudging admiration and respect for their courage in launching this huge protest. And make no mistake - it is a courageous act; for the American police have something of a reputation for dealing rather more “robustly” with what are perceived as anti-Establishment protests than do our own police forces (yet, anyway!).
(The brutalities that occurred during some of the anti-Vietnam War protests spring readily to mind.)
That said however, let’s just remind ourselves of what’s really driving this protest.
You’d like to think it was a stand on principle, or morality, of humanitarian concern for the victims of the American military, wouldn’t you? But no. Let’s not fool ourselves. What’s actually brought them out is the increasing damage being sustained by the American military - the rising numbers of body bags being flown home, the cripples returning from their Mid-East adventure.
I’m not saying that they shouldn’t protest, even if their motives are somewhat less than ideal. What I am saying is that, with all due regard for the entrenched American anti-war movement (for which I have the greatest respect) that’s always been vociferous in its outbursts, its a pity the latecomers that are now joining this protest weren’t moved to such passion at the very start of Bush’s bloody war, roused to anger by the injustice, immorality, and obscenity of it all. Had they done so, perhaps the reason to protest now wouldn’t even exist.
So the sub-text of such latecomers is really: it’s OK for America to wantonly attack other countries, just so long as the Yanks themselves don’t sustain losses. In other words, its OK for the Yanks to go and visit death and destruction on someone else - providing the “someone else” doesn’t retaliate, and providing the Yanks don’t get hurt in the process. And yet retaliation’s a good enough motive for the Yanks (remember what triggered this war in the first place? - And no, it wasn’t the alleged breach of UN sanctions by Iraq!).
Now what sort of mentality’s that; and is it any wonder the world’s in the shape its in?
Nor can they convincingly claim that they simply didn’t realise they were being hoodwinked into the war. On such a grave issue it behooves us all to double-check what our politicians and mainstream media squawk - after all, neither are renowned for their impartiality, honesty or transparency. And if these latecomers had managed to spare just a couple of hours of their time they could easily have discovered all the counter-arguments to Bush et al’s false allegations - they were all in the public domain, as all the antiwar types were readily revealing for months before the invasion.
[Addendum: Curiouser and curiouser… I’ve just now done a very quick surf of all the mainstream media websites, both here and US, and can find no mention of this protest. What gives? So if the MSM are covering it they’re certainly not doing so with the attention it deserves. 10:40 14.03.07]
