The Whole World is Marching - the Anti-War Movement
author: GRINGO STARS
 e-mail: gringo_stars@attbi.com
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The most impressive development in all this is that millions of people have come out to protest all over the world before the war has even started. Two million demonstrated in London, 2.5 million in Rome, over a million in Barcelona, over half a million in New York, a quarter of a million in San Francisco, 200,000 in Damascus-the list goes on and the mass radicalization continues apace.
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In the U.S., the antiwar movement has been embraced by so many that it has quickly become part of mainstream politics. This is in spite of the scale of the ideological onslaught by the Bush administration, and in spite of the cravenness of the press, which behaves as if it were the propaganda department of the U.S. government.
First, we must continue to argue that the UN Security Council (the real decision-making body within the UN) does not represent the international community, but rather a handful of the most powerful capitalist states. Second, UN support for a war on Iraq will act, as it has in the past, as a mere fig leaf to cover naked U.S. aggression. With or without a UN mandate, therefore, we must continue to oppose the war. Even with UN sanction, the movement will still embrace millions of people around the world-who have become more and more disillusioned with the UN these last few months, as the U.S. has bribed and bullied its way toward war. Moreover, the outbreak of war will harden the core of opposition and deepen its politics.
What is striking is the way in which millions are making the connection between the economics of capitalism and war-and the connection between the cost of war, who benefits and who is made to pay for it. In the U.S., the war abroad combined with the Bush administration's economic attacks and heightened domestic repression, means that the radicalization around the war will deepen and spread. The class component of the antiwar movement has become clear internationally, from the AFL-CIO's unprecedented decision to criticize the war, to the threat by unions in Australia, Italy and elsewhere to take industrial action in the event of the war's outbreak.
It would be a mistake to think that the outbreak of war is proof that these protests have had no effect. Far from it. Tony Blair's government in Britain may fall as a result of his support for war. Berlusconi, initially an enthusiastic supporter, has become quiet. Even the U.S. seems hesitant to plunge into war without a nod from the UN. The fact that the U.S. government is hell-bent on war in spite of the protests teaches activists a valuable lesson-when the vital interests of American imperialism are at stake, the political cost of their interventions must be raised to a higher level to stop them. Millions will learn that ruling classes respect the will of ordinary people only if it is forced upon them.
"There is a basic weakness in governments," Zinn writes,
"However massive their armies, however wealthy their treasuries, however they control the information given to the public-because their power depends on the obedience of its citizens, of soldiers, of civil servants, of journalists and writers and teachers and artists. When these people begin to suspect they have been deceived, and when they withdraw their support, the government loses its legitimacy, and its power."
That is why, even if the U.S. is at war as you read this, we must emphasize the importance of redoubling resistance. No meeting, no protest, no action is too small. Every action is a link in the chain of a movement and a struggle that will eventually challenge and stop U.S. imperialism from wreaking its havoc on the world.
 http://www.isreview.org/issues/28/editorials.shtml
http://www.howardzinn.org/
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Portland
1) Attack the financial centers of the country. Using covert or black block techniques, depending on the situation, physically shut down financial centers which regulate and assist the functioning of U.S. economy. This can be done in a variety of ways from massive property destruction, to online sabotage, to physical occupation of buildings. However the latter I would shy away from, especially the open civil disobedience type of activities which purposely involve arrests. This movement needs all the assistance it can get and absolutely NO good will come from going to jail. Allowing yourself to be purposely arrested demonstrates that an individual has at least some faith in the U.S. legal system. This is completely foolish. One primary objective is to engage in serious unrest and disruption and NOT to get caught. Not getting caught means you are able to continue the struggle the next day.
2) Large scale urban rioting. With massive unrest and even state of emergencies declared in major cities across the country, the U.S. government will be forced to send U.S. troops into the domestic arena thereby taking resources and political focus away from the war. Unstable conditions in much of the country also serve as a political embarrassment for the Administration and could assist in forcing them to stop the war to deal with domestic concerns. Rioting should be focused on governmental agencies and corporations -- especially those that are profiting from the war or destruction of life.
3) Attack the media centers of the country. It is the corporate media who has and continues to influence and control the minds of the mass body of people in the United States. These new media outlets cannot be utilized by the movement as they are owned by the very corporations one should be opposing. Using any means necessary, shut down the national networks of NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, etc. Not just occupations but actually engage in strategies and tactics which knock the networks off the air.
4) Spread the battle to the individuals responsible for the war and destruction of life -- the very heads of government and U.S. corporations. No longer should these people be able to hide behind their occupations, living their lives in peace while they simultaneously slaughter countless people. Hit them in their personal lives, visit their homes, and make them feel personally responsible for committing massive atrocities.
5) Make it known publicly that this movement DOES NOT support U.S. troops as long as they are serving an unjust and horrifying political regime. Create an atmosphere lacking of support to assist U.S. troops at home and abroad in losing their morale and will to fight. If you are supporting the troops you are supporting this war and the very U.S. government that is the primary terrorist regime in the international arena.
6) Actively target U.S. military establishments within the United States. Again, following the above stated goal of NOT getting caught, use any means necessary to slow down the functioning of the murdering body.
7) When engaging in the above six activities, strike hard and fast and retreat in anonymity. Select another location, strike again hard and fast and quickly retreat in anonymity. Engage only in actions where you will be victorious. Do not be concerned with alienating the mainstream sectors of the movement -- that mainstream has NEVER stopped a U.S. military activity or war. Do not get caught. DO NOT GET CAUGHT. Do not get sent to jail. Stay alert, keep active, and keep fighting. Remember, an action is only good (especially at this juncture in U.S. society) if it will serve to severely disrupt the political system of the country, its economy, and the corporate interests that drive this society.