Energizing the anti-Afghanistan War movement

Submitted by rozziecole on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 10:06am.

52% of Americans think the Afghanistan war has not been worth fighting. Those numbers rise to 60% among young adults, 65% among non-whites, and 66% among those who voted for Obama in 2008. While 56% of the population approves of Obama's handling of the war, only 34% of Democrats do so, vs. 59% of Democrats who approve his overall handling of his job.

These are large numbers, and there should be huge opportunities to galvanize these sentiments into effective protests. Yet our demonstrations draw the hard core peace activists rather than the broader public.

Congressional measures to constrain the war remain anemic. There are 94 cosponsors in the House for a bill requiring the President to set an exit timeline, but that's only 22% of the Members.

What's wrong with this picture?

What should we do to energize the anti-Afghanistan war movement?

- Keep holding public protests, hoping they will gradually grow into a mass movement?

- Emphasize the costs of the war and their impact on jobs, education, housing and the environment?

- Educational projects to make Americans more familiar with the issues in Afghanistan and more confident with taking a stand?

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UJP Discussion Forum

9/11 and the illegal middle east occupations

Submitted by James Ellard (not verified) on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 5:39pm.

I am a liberal Democrat. I am not an extremist. But I know for a fact that 911 was an inside job, undertaken by the U.S. military industrial complex. I urge all of you to read David Ray Griffin's book: "The New Pearl Harbor Revisited: 9/11, the Crime, and the Coverup." Griffin is a theologian and is very logical and uses only proven facts in his book. If the American people knew who really perpetrated 911, then the anti-war movement would swell in numbers. In the book he proves that the Twin Towers could not have fallen in free fall speed, without the help of pre-placed explosives on all floors of the towers. Because the upper floors encountered no resistance when they started to fall, the lower floors and columns had to be simultaneously removed. That could only happen with pre-placed explosives. Also, Neils Harrit, a physicist, has found nano-thermite residue in the remaining dust of the twin towers. The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, says that we have to get Al-Queda terrorists who "attacked us on 911." Since the real perpetrators of 911 were from inside the U.S. military industrial complex, the U.S. military has no justification for occupying Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. If the American citizens do not know the truth of 911, then these illegal wars will never end. James Ellard

Congressional measures to

Submitted by Mike on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 11:21am.

Congressional measures to constrain the war remain anemic. There are 94 cosponsors in the House for a bill requiring the President to set an exit timeline, but that's only 22% of the Members.

This is true, but on the other hand, isn't the MA delegation pretty much in the lead on this issue? If so, then there isn't much "wrong" with that picture, right? And it would be hard to think of how a Boston-area group would go about convincing members of Congress in other states.

So one possible reframing of your question is, public opinion is with us, and the MA Congressional delegation is with us, therefore how much more can we do? I think the anti-war movement would be re-energized by a Republican president, and I would guess that a lot of the anti-Iraq protesters are sitting this out because they don't want to criticize a Democratic president. That's not a proposal for a strategy, but just an observation.