-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Anti-War rally: Norfolk, VA
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 14:14:50 -0500
From: Steve Rosenthal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In addition to the enormous anti-war marches of millions of people that
took place yesterday throughout the world, there were many smaller
marches and rallies in cities and towns throughout the U.S. and many
other countries. My wife and I and some of our friends went to a rally
at the Federal Building here in Norfolk, VA, yesterday. The turnout of
about 250 people on a cold rainy day was the largest anti-war rally I’ve
seen in Norfolk during the more than a quarter of a century I’ve lived
here. Consisting of veterans, liberals, church based pacifists, college
students, whites, Asians, and blacks, the rally was covered by the local
television channels and newspaper and was a modest achievement in the
metropolitan area that hosts the largest U.S. naval installations on the
East Coast. Vast numbers of warships, fighter squadrons, and military
personnel have been sent from here to the Persian Gulf area during the
past few months.
Speakers at the rally mirrored the contradictions evident in the larger
rallies. There were Democrats, Greens, and pacifists, some of whom
reassured everyone of their patriotism and urged the government not to
go to war without the support of the UN and “our allies.” But there
were also speakers who explained why a U.S. invasion of Iraq is wrong,
regardless of who is bribed or coerced into supporting it. They
described the history of U.S. ties to Saddam and Bin Laden, detailed the
long history of terrorism by the U.S. and its favorite allies from
Israel to Turkey to Colombia, documented the long record of U.S.
defiance and manipulation of the UN, analyzed the U.S. drive for oil,
oil profits, and global domination, and called for struggle against a
system of imperialist capitalism. The more politically radical
statements drew enthusiastic applause from the audience.
A poll published in our local newspaper today reported that only about
half of the people in this Hampton Roads area support a U.S. invasion of
Iraq. A majority of women are opposed and only 29% of blacks support
war. This in a metropolitan area dominated by active duty military,
reservists, military retirees, civilians who work for the military, and
military families.
The sharpening of divisions between the U.S. and most other governments
is clearly having a significant impact on the political consciousness of
most people in this country. Whatever happens in the UN Security
Council in the coming weeks, the world has entered a period of
sharpening inter-imperialist rivalry. If France withholds its veto and
other governments go along with the U.S. attack on Iraq, vast majorities
in those countries will be furious with their governments’ betrayal. If
there is a veto or a Security Council majority vote against the U.S. and
the U.S. invades Iraq anyway, the UN will be mortally wounded, millions
who have organized and demonstrated against war here and worldwide will
see vividly that U.S. imperialism will stop at nothing to wage war for
global domination. NATO and other alliances that represented the main
structural pieces of the capitalist world order for over half a century
will be decisively undermined and will never be the same.
The analysis from Richard K. Moore forwarded by Dan Brook, is, in my
estimate, mistaken and misleading. Although there are and there will
continue to be immense economic, political, and military ties between
the U.S. and E.U. nations, they will not stop the growing conflict. It
is worth remembering that capitalist nations had close economic and
diplomatic relations with each other right up to the eve of both world
wars, and some significant economic relations even continued throughout
the war. Trade and investment do not prevent inter-imperialist wars.
The argument that a trans-national capitalist ruling class has largely
become detached from nation states is a figment of the imagination of
the anti-globalization movement, a movement that mistook U.S. domination
for U.S. omnipotence. The crudeness of the strategy of Bush and Powell
has not only taught millions that this is a “war for oil” and that
underlying the drive for war is U.S. imperialism. It has also revealed
much more clearly the re-emergence of inter-imperialist rivalry as the
driving force in the post-Cold War world. When the Wall Street Journal
suggests that it is time to abolish NATO, it is time for us to realize
that our anti-war organizing efforts should be guided by an awareness
that we are in a period of war times that may well lead to a third world
war. As we participate in all sorts of anti-war coalitions, our most
important task is to spread and deepen the understanding that “regime
change” must mean something far more than getting rid of the Bush
Administration.
Steve Rosenthal
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