The Protesters Were Right

By Mark Taylor-Canfield - June 2004

When millions of people around the world protested against George W. Bush's illegal unilateral war on Iraq our selected US president responded by saying that he doesn't listen to "focus groups." As the "shock and awe" campaign began over Baghdad, millions of television viewers watched the results of his crass indifference. Thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed or wounded. They are referred to as "collateral damage" in the war speak of US generals. The anti-war demonstrators knew that innocents would be sacrificed in the madness. No one has suffered more in this so-called "war on terror" than the Iraqi people.

Anti-war groups accused the government of lying. They did not believe in the Orwellian propaganda that was used to build up public support for the US war machine. Bush and Rumsfeld told us that the victims of Saddam Hussein's torturous regime would be "liberated" and that the great threat to the United States would be removed. The American people were promised "security" in the wake of the 911 attacks and the Iraqi's were promised freedom by the Bush administration. Neither condition has been achieved and the whole sordid mess looks more and more like another Vietnam debacle. American empire building is on the skids again. The protesters marching together around the globe had predicted this very scenario. It's interesting how history repeats itself.

Not since William Randolph Hearst manufactured the Spanish-American war with his monopoly on the newspaper trade has the US media conspired so openly to promote an unjust war in the service of corporate interests. News agencies consistently undercounted the number of people at the anti-war marches. The New York Times was forced to apologize for that policy. Reporters often scoffed at demonstrators who claimed the war was "all about oil." Retired generals toed the party line on TV newscasts and especially on the Fox News Network. Together with Clear Channel, these voices for the government exploited crass prejudice and militarism in the name of patriotism. Anti-war voices were seldom heard. Right wing radio fanatics threatened protesters on the air. Corporate news openly helped the Bush administration to perpetuate the lie that the war on Iraq was somehow tied to the "War on Terrorism." I remember how shocked I was to hear a soldier departing for Iraq remark, "This is payback for 911." I felt so sad when I realized that he had bought the propaganda and that soon he may have to give his life to support that lie.

Now that the situation in Iraq has spun out of control and the US military has been accused of torture and perversion, the war has become almost too hot for the news agencies to handle. But the American media smells blood as Bush's approval ratings sink and the world turns even more vehemently against the US. His administration is now under constant scrutiny by watchdog agencies and investigative committees. It seems as if most of his cabinet's time is taken up by attempts to protect themselves from controversy.

Even some right wing pundits like Fox's Bill O'Reilly have started to turn against the administration because Bush and company (including Rumsfeld, Cheney, and the Halliburton corporation) refuse to be held accountable for negligence and corruption. As the calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation become louder and more numerous, we can only hope that someone will finally decide that heads must roll. Bush's steadfast support for his friend Rumsfeld only reinforces a perception on the part of the public that the current government is out of touch to the point of being irresponsible with the result that they are endangering American lives. But the anti-war demonstrators who should be held up in the media as intelligent seers are nowhere to be seen on corporate newscasts. They don't seem to get any credit for calling the world's attention to the fact that this illegal war was bound to turn out to be a big mistake. I find that strange, don't you?

Meanwhile, military families are beginning to organize and speak out publicly against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The tragedy in Iraq has received most of the national attention but we must not forget that the media and the public have hardly mentioned the war in Afghanistan. Soldiers and civilians are still dying there in numbers too large to ignore. The soldiers in Iraq have been put in a very dangerous unpredictable situation. Many of the promises made to them by the military have been broken repeatedly. Their families are suffering immensely. Even conservative, supposedly "patriotic" Americans know that the Emperor wears no clothes when it comes to the war in Iraq.

George W. Bush is in trouble. Perhaps only his fundamentalist Christian supporters still believe in his holy war without question. What has become Bush number two's legacy? Two terrible wars, increased terrorism, loss of international respect and support, high unemployment, a depleted military, huge national debts, and restricted civil rights. There's no time to think about education or healthcare when we are supposedly at perpetual war with an unknown enemy.

That last bit is right out of George Orwell's "1984." The double speak used by this administration is continuously absurd and nonsensical. A "War on Terror" as some have come to call it, is just plain silly. It sounds like we want Big Brother to make sure that nothing terrible will ever happen to us if we just believe in him enough. Meanwhile, in the eyes of many, his geopolitical machinations bring about poverty, desperation and violence around the world. Does anyone really feel safer today with Bush in office?

In retrospect, the signs and chants for peace during the world's largest demonstrations against Bush and his war turned out to be quite accurate after all. Despite being boycotted by corporate media, many of the messages ring true today. There were no stockpiles or mass production facilities for weapons of mass destruction. Hussein's regime did not prove to be an imminent threat to the US or other nations. Thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed. US corporations are reaping the benefits of the US invasion with huge profits gained at the expense of American taxpayers. Instead of being "liberated", large numbers of innocent Iraqi's are swept up in raids. They have been detained, abused, and tortured by US soldiers, intelligence agents, and private contractors. The security the US military promised to establish has turned into violent insurgency.

When Bush declared that the war was over, standing triumphantly on that aircraft carrier in his fancy flight suit, we witnessed one of the most embarrassing moments in US history. The sickening photos of US personnel torturing Iraqi detainees are the most insidious images of America the world has ever seen. Expect more revelations. After all, war is terrorism.

I hoped I would never see a day when the image of our nation was brought so low in the eyes of the international community. Millions of demonstrators in countries all over the world warned of these eventualities but neither the Blair nor the Bush administrations were interested in the voice of the people. One still has to wonder what kind of strange perverted voice they were listening to. The entire war in Iraq is surrounded by a thick wall of lies that blocks out all reason and light in the aftermath of "shock and awe."

Someone needs to start a very visible anti-Big brother campaign to counter all of the sick propaganda coming out of the White House. A declaration of war was never delivered. US presidents don't declare war anymore. It's part of our exclusionist philosophy to do whatever we want whenever we feel like it. International treaties or diplomatic endeavors are not a factor in deciding US policy toward the rest of the world. According to Bush you are either for us or against us, leaving us with no friends except for the pitiful Blair government in the UK. Poor Tony is under his own kind of scrutiny these days. It's amazing that he can still hold on to power after all of the scandals surrounding his decision to follow Bush into war with Iraq.

When I first heard about the infamous torture photos, I was horrified. I had already seen footage of US soldiers firing on demonstrators in Iraq with blood in the streets. Later I thought about the treatment of inmates in our prisons and the way in which anti-corporate globalization demonstrators have been shot with rubber bullets and other projectile weapons, tear gas, pepper spray, tasers, etc. I've watched as paramilitary police violently arrest young women and old men, slamming them to the pavement and injuring them at local demonstrations. I've taken testimony from victims of police abuse at dozens of protests. Witnesses reported abuse of prisoners inside the King County Jail and the FEMA installation during the Seattle WTO demonstrations in 1999.

One story involved a prisoner who was pepper sprayed at point blank while restrained in a chair. A woman was left naked in a cold wet cell. Bones were broken and people were threatened with violence. People were denied medical treatment. There was even public testimony about certain pressure point torture techniques that were used to cause pain in order to gain information. Local authorities refused to investigate these claims even after hours of testimony. Amnesty International flew in experts to advise the Seattle City Council on prisoner abuse. Despite millions of dollars that were paid to victims in civil rights lawsuits, the city refuses to admit that there was any police misconduct during the WTO protests.

I only mention this in order to point out a systemic problem in the US. Abuse of authority is rampant in our institutions. We claim to present a shining example of democracy to the world, but powerful corporate interests who take advantage of an undemocratic system control our government. The revolving door policy leads to corporate raids on the public treasury. Witness selected vice president Dick Cheney and his buddies at Halliburton. The Enrons, WorldComs and Martha Stewarts of the business world make it look like morality is the last thing on the minds of American companies. Millionaire superstar athletes commit stupid criminal acts. Religious leaders are caught with their pants down. Local law enforcement agencies and prison officials abuse the rights of people of color on a daily basis. Accountability is lacking at many levels of our society. I am not surprised to see that this kind of exclusionary arrogance and immorality has infected segments of the US military in Iraq. In times of war all bets are off. War is based on inhumanity anyway.

The message to the rest of the world is clear:

• The Bush administration's rationalizations for going to war were patently false.
• The US "Pre-emptive Strike" policy is foolhardy and dangerous.
• Tony Blair was either a co-conspirator or an idiot.
• The US version of "liberation" is in reality a military occupation.
• US corporate interests are war profiteers.
• The US military does not respect human rights.

Here's the overall lesson we have learned: The peaceniks were right and the right wing was stupendously wrong. All of those grandmothers and kids and students and workers who joined the international anti-war marches before the invasion had it all in perspective. They knew that the aggressive nature of the Bush administration would lead us into a quagmire of insecurity and violence. They predicted that acts of terrorism would increase. They said that there would be no support for the US occupation. Many of them decried Bush's friends in the oil companies and defense industry for using the war for profit. Many of the protest signs read "No Blood For Oil."

Congressman Jim McDermott warned us of the dangers of US forces using depleted uranium. Former UN inspector Scott Ritter told us there were no WMDs. Ambassador Wilson assured us that the rumors of yellow cake from Niger were a fraud. The United Nations, including most of our closest allies, refused to support the invasion. Increased anger toward Americans has spread around the globe. Back at home right-wing media stirred the fires of bigotry and ignorance. Soon the anti-war protesters could not be heard through the intense din of media pundits predicting early victory and liberation for the Iraqi people. It's as if they had all mysteriously disappeared one day.

Now that the protesters have been proven correct in their predictions concerning the Iraq calamity, this question remains - what do we do about it? The media is now jumping on Bush and putting his feet to the fire but how long will that last? It seems that the anti-Bush camp is patiently awaiting the upcoming presidential elections in November. I am truly surprised by their patience. If after all this insanity the American people have another election stolen from them, I fear for the future of what's left of our democracy.

Gone are the immense anti-war marches snaking through the cities. No more do we hear those agitated voices crying for peace and reason and compassion. It's as if the peace movement has gone underground at a time when the American public are starting to agree with them about Iraq. Instead of Abbie Hoffman and Bobby Seal, we have Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon. These popular media figures are not exactly radicals. They represent only the Hollywood version of the disaffected activists in our nation. Apparently, nobody does LSD anymore because everyone is now on Prozac. Students don't demonstrate anymore because they are too busy watching TV after doing their homework. Or maybe we are all so economically depressed that we are busy just trying to survive in a high rent, low wage environment. You tell me.

In any case, even as the US government floats the idea of a military draft, the voice of the peace movement seems to be missing at the moment. There are no Yippies or MLK's to lead the way. Some bands are taking up the cause, like NOFX and Pearl Jam, but the Clear Channel controlled corporate stations only play heavy political songs from the 1960's because they are now a commercial commodity. The only revolution you're likely to hear in the air is an old Crosby, Stills and Nash song on the Mountain. Surely somebody must have something new to say today about where the country and the world are headed? We need political music and art to lead the way!

Hopefully, the underground culture will take it upon itself to wake up the masses in some new innovative way. Obviously, the protests aren't enough to keep people's minds away from the boob tube long enough to change the government. We need music, art, and expression to break the chains of conformity that have allowed our apathetic country to sit back and watch as corporate raiders and right wing reactionaries steal our future from us. With the FCC, the FEC, Homeland Security, and the Attorney General's Office going after dissent with a fury, a general onslaught is taking place against freedom of speech and expression in the United States. Stand up now or kiss it all goodbye, folks. We need alternative music, art and media to lead the way. The voice of the people must be preserved!

Another four-year term for this administration is unthinkable. War as foreign policy is self-destructive. Maybe we can start by deciding not to make warlike choices in our own lives. The "winner take all" mentality leads to instability and conflict. Networks of cooperative people engaged in cultural transformation could change the world. Major non-violent social movements have given women the right to vote, outlawed segregation and freed people from colonial occupation. Americans can continue to sleep while corporate fascism creeps into our institutions, or we can say enough is enough and create something better for our children and for the rest of the world. It is a shame to waste the enormous potential of such a wealthy country on war and corporate empire. A society that values justice would be a far greater goal. We have the means and the opportunity to change this society, but do we have the nerve?

At least one third of the voting in the 2004 presidential election will be done on computer screens with proprietary software. Government officials admit that the software has major security problems that could result in a rigged election. When asked if the system could be fixed with paper verification procedures by November a top expert on computer voting software said, "No. It's too late. It would take too long." Apparently apathy is what US politics is all about.