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Antiwar: Now and Then
In 1964, a similar resolution came before Congress. Then, there were only two dissentng votes in the entire Congress on the Tonkin Gulf Resolution giving President Johnson a blank check in Vietnam. This October nearly a third of the both Houses voted no. The U.S. war against Vietnam had begun covertly and all but invisibly to the people of this country. As it intensified over several years, so did opposition to it, and by the late 1960s, ever-larger protests (many of them led by the War Resisters League) were demanding a U.S. withdrawal. Even so, many people remained convinced by the government’s cold war rationale, and public opinion was polarized. In 1969, Vice President Spiro Agnew declared, “It is time for America’s silent majority to stand up for its rights, and let us remember the American majority includes every minority. America’s silent majority is bewildered by irrational protest.” In fact, however, when Agnew gave his famous speech, it was not at all clear that a majority of the people supported the war. What was clear was that a critical mass had not yet been achieved to force its end; the antiwar movement had many hearts and minds to win over. That is not the case with Bush Jr.’s war. Barely a year since its very visible beginning, opposition both at home and abroad to the proposed invasion on Iraq is so strong that Bush has had to pull back repeatedly. Opponents are coming from many quarters, not only from the traditional peace movement and antiwar left. The mammoth October 26 antiwar demonstration in Washington was only the most visible manifestation. • Activists across the country report the warmest on-the-street reception they’ve seen in decades. Local protests, often called on short notice, have drawn crowds many times the organizers’ expectations. Several thousand turned out on short notice in Cincinnati to protest Bush’s early October speech, to cite but one example. • Congressional offices reported a deluge of calls overwhelmingly opposed to Bush’s pro-war resolution. Many members of Congress who voted for the resolution were forced to acknowledge that their constituents did not favor invading Iraq and, incredibly, portrayed the resolution as a brake on Bush Jr. rather than a green light. • Elite opinion is mostly against war (at least for now). The CIA publicly told Congress that invading Iraq would pose a greater threat to the United States than does the status quo. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are reluctant. Voices of corporate Republicanism are also concerned, worried about both the timing and the lack of crucial international support. • The media have begun to pay attention to protests (though they still often get basic facts wrong). After ignoring most principled opponents of post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy, news broadcasts and newspapers are giving more space to grassroots opposition to war. More, editorials in major papers inveigh against an attack on Iraq. As noted above, opposition to the Vietnam War grew gradually. Eventually, nearly all sectors of society came to question the war, and social disruption became great enough to force a U.S. withdrawal. Now, however, although the invasion has not yet begun, we already are seeing large and vocal protests. One WRL member recently wrote that “[e]ven many of the die-hard Republicans” in his area have serious reservations about Bush Jr. Still, many remain quiet, if not quite silent, cynical about their ability to change policy. Our task now is not so much to change hearts and minds, but to build a diverse and credible movement that can mobilize voices and bodies. If we do that effectively, we can stop this invasion before it starts. |
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ntense
public outcry was not enough to prevent Congress from voting its endorsement
of President Bush’s plans to invade Iraq. But the strength of that outcry
took by surprise pundits and policiticians, who seemed convinced that
since last September 11 the only questions worth attention were when,
where and how, not whether, to use military force.