[PAA-Discuss] US Middle East Wars: Social Opposition and Political Impotence

Sat Jul 7 10:57:29 EDT 2007

  _____  

US Middle East Wars: Social Opposition and Political Impotence

James Petras

July 4 2007

“You cannot win the peace unless you know the enemy at home and abroad,” 

US Marine Colonel from Tennessee.

Everywhere I visit from Copenhagen to Istanbul, Patagonia to Mexico City,
journalists and academics, trade unionists and businesspeople, as well as
ordinary citizens, inevitably ask me why the US public tolerates the killing
of over a million Iraqis over the last two decades, and thousands of Afghans
since 2001? Why, they ask, is a public, which opinion polls reveal as over
sixty percent in favor of withdrawing US troops from Iraq, so politically
impotent? A journalist from a leading business journal in India asked me
what is preventing the US government from ending its aggression against
Iran, if almost all of the world’s major oil companies, including US
multinationals are eager to strike oil deals with Teheran? Anti-war
advocates in Europe, Asia and Latin America ask me at large public forums
what has happened to the US peace movement in the face of the consensus
between the Republican White House and the Democratic Party-dominated
Congress to continue funding the slaughter of Iraqis, supporting Israeli
starvation, killing and occupation of Palestine and destruction of Lebanon?

Absence of a Peace Movement?

Just prior to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003 over one million US
citizens demonstrated against the war. Since then there have been few and
smaller protests even as the slaughter of Iraqis escalates, US casualties
mount and a new war with Iran looms on the horizon. The demise of the peace
movement is largely the result of the major peace organizations’ decision to
shift from independent social mobilizations to electoral politics, namely
channeling activists into working for the election of Democratic candidates
– most of whom have supported the war. The rationale offered by these ‘peace
leaders’ was that once elected the Democrats would respond to the anti-war
voters who put them in office. Of course practical experience and history
should have taught the peace movement otherwise: The Democrats in Congress
voted every military budget since the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. The
total capitulation of the newly elected Democratic majority has had a major
demoralizing effect on the disoriented peace activists and has discredited
many of its leaders.

Absence of a National Movement

As David Brooks (La Jornada July 2, 2007) correctly reported at the US
Social forum there is no coherent national social movement in the US.
Instead we have a collection of fragmented ‘identity groups’ each embedded
in narrow sets of (identity) interests, and totally incapable of building a
national movement against the war. The proliferation of these sectarian
‘non-governmental’ ‘identity’ ‘groups’ is based on their structure,
financing and leadership. Many depend on private foundations and public
agencies for their financing, which precludes them from taking political
positions. At best they operate as ‘lobbies’ simply pressuring the elite
politicians of both parties. Their leaders depend on maintaining a separate
existence in order to justify their salaries and secure future advances in
government agencies. 

The US trade unions are virtually non-existent in more than half of the
United States: They represent less than 9% of the private sector and 12% of
the total labor force. Most national, regional and city-wide trade union
officials receive salaries comparable to senior business executives: between
$300,000 to $500,000 dollars a year. Almost 90% of the top trade union
bureaucrats finance and support pro-war Democrats and have supported Bush
and the Congressional war budgets, bought Israel Bonds ($25 billion dollars)
and the slaughter of Palestinians and the Israeli bombing of Lebanon.

The Unopposed War Lobby

The US is the only country in the world where the peace movement is
unwilling to recognize, publically condemn or oppose the major influential
political and social institutions consistently supporting and promoting the
US wars in the Middle East. The political power of the pro-Israel power
configuration, led by the American Israel Political Affairs Committee
(AIPAC), supported within the government by highly placed pro-Israel
Congressional leaders and White House and Pentagon officials has been well
documented in books and articles by leading journalists, scholars and former
President Jimmy Carter. The Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) has over two
thousand full-time functionaries, more than 250,000 activists, over a
thousand billionaire and multi-millionaire political donors who contribute
funds both political parties. The ZPC secures 20% of the US foreign military
aid budget for Israel, over 95% congressional support for Israel’s boycott
and armed incursions in Gaza, invasion of Lebanon and preemptive military
option against Iran. 

The US invasion and occupation policy in Iraq, including the fabricated
evidence justifying the invasion, was deeply influenced by top officials
with long-standing loyalties and ties to Israel. Wolfowitz and Feith,
numbers 2 and 3 in the Pentagon, are life-long Zionists, who lost security
clearance early in their careers for handing over documents to Israel. Vice
President Cheney’s chief foreign policy adviser in the planning of the Iraq
invasion is Irving Lewis Liebowitz (‘Scooter Libby’). He is a protégé and
long-time collaborator of Wolfowitz and a convicted felon. Libby-Liebowitz
committed perjury, defending the White House’s complicity in punishing
officials critical of its Iraq war propaganda. Libby-Liebowitz received
powerful political and financial support from the pro-Israel lobby during
his trial. No sooner did he lose his appeal on his conviction on five counts
of perjury, obstructing justice and lying, than the ZPC convinced President
Bush to ‘commute’ his prison sentence, in effect freeing him from a 30 month
prison sentence before he had served a day. While Democratic politicians and
some peace leaders criticized President Bush, none dared hold responsible
the pro-Israel lobby which pressured the White House.

The Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO) –
numbering 52 – and their regional and local affiliates are the leading force
transmitting Israel’s war agenda against Iran. The PMAJO, working closely
with US-Israeli Congressman Rahm Emmanuel and leading Zionist Senators
Charles Schumer and Joseph Lieberman, succeeded in eliminating a clause in
the budget appropriation setting a date for the withdrawal for US troops
from Iraq. 

In contrast to the successful vast propaganda, congressional and media
campaigns, organized and funded by the pro-Israel lobbies for the war
policies, there is no public record of the big oil companies supporting the
Iraq war, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon or the military threats of
preemptive attacks on Iran. Interviews with investment bankers, oil company
executives and a thorough review of the major Petroleum Institute
publications over the past seven years provide conclusive evidence that ‘Big
Oil’ was deeply interested in negotiating oil agreements with Saddam Hussein
and the Iranian Islamic government. ‘Big Oil’ perceives US Middle East wars
as a threat to their long-standing profitable relations with all the
conservative Arab oil states in the Gulf. Despite the strategic position in
the US economy and their great wealth '‘Big Oil' was totally incapable of
countering their political power and organized influence of the pro-Israel
lobby. In fact Big Oil was totally marginalized by the White House National
Security Advisor for the Middle East, Elliot Abrams, a fanatical Zionist and
militarist. 

Despite the massive and sustained pro-war activity of the leading Zionist
organizations inside and outside of the government and despite the absence
of any overt or covert pro-war campaign by ‘Big Oil’, the leaders of the US
peace movement have refused to attack the pro-Israel war lobby and continue
to mouth unfounded clichés about the role of ‘Big Oil’ in the Middle East
conflicts. 

The apparently ‘radical’ slogans against the oil industry by some leading
intellectual critics of the war has served as a ‘cover’ to avoid the much
more challenging task of taking on the powerful, Zionist lobby. There are
several reasons for the failure of the leaders of the peace movement to
confront the militant Zionist lobby. One is fear of the powerful propaganda
and smear campaign which the pro-Israel lobby is expert at mounting, with
its aggressive accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ and its capacity to blacklist
critics, leading to job loss, career destruction, public abuse and death
threats. 

The second reason that peace leaders fail to criticize the leading pro-war
lobby is because of the influence of pro-Israel ‘progressives’ in the
movement. These progressives condition their support of ‘peace in Iraq’ only
if the movement does not criticize the pro-war Israel lobby in and outside
the US government, the role of Israel as a belligerent partner to the US in
Lebanon, Palestine and Kurdish Northern Iraq. A movement claiming to be in
favor of peace, which refuses to attack the main proponents of war, is
pursuing irrelevance: it deflects attention from the pro-Israel high
officials in the government and the lobbyists in Congress who back the war
and set the White House’s Middle East agenda. By focusing attention
exclusively on President Bush, the peace leaders failed to confront the
majority pro-Israel Democratic congress people who fund Bush’s war, back his
escalation of troops and give unconditional support to Israel’s military
option for Iran. 

The collapse of the US peace movement, the lack of credibility of most of
its leaders and the demoralization of many activists can be traced to
strategic political failures: the unwillingness to identify and confront the
real pro-war movements and the inability to create a political alternative
to the bellicose Democratic Party. The political failure of the leaders of
the peace movement is all the more dramatic in the face of the large
majority of passive Americans who oppose the war, most of whom did not
display their flags this Fourth of July and are not led in tow by either the
pro-Israel lobby or their intellectual apologists within progressive
circles. 

The word to anti-war critics of the world is that over sixty percent of the
US public opposes the war but our streets are empty because our peace
movement leaders are spineless and politically impotent.

__._,_.___ 

Messages
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/message/13666;_ylc=X3o
DMTM2bThvbzV1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BG1
zZ0lkAzEzNjY2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3Z0cGMEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1MwR0cGNJZAMxMzY2Ng-
->  in this topic (1)
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJxOTgw
aTR0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BG1zZ0lkAzEz
NjY2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3JwbHkEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1Mw--?act=reply&messageNum=13
666> Reply (via web post) | Start
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlNHZv
NjJuBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmdHIE
c2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1Mw-->  a new topic 

Messages
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJl
Z2ZvN3FwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNm
dHIEc2xrA21zZ3MEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1Mw-->  | Polls
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/polls;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZ2p
ocnVkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmdHI
Ec2xrA3BvbGxzBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwNTM->  | Members
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/members;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZ
m5zbjhoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmd
HIEc2xrA21icnMEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1Mw-->  

WHAT:   DOCUMENTARY FILM: THE IRON WALL

WHERE: THE HAVENS CENTER, 1827 W. ALABAMA (Between Shepherd and Woodhead)
Free parking across the street or next door in church parking lot

WHEN: TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2007
6:30 p.m. SOCIAL - 7:00 p.m. FILM (52min) DISCUSSION FOLLOWS

ADMISSION: FREE (Collection may be taken to pay nominal rental fee)

PURPOSE: TO FOSTER DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

--------------

All Wednesdays, weather permitting -- The Mandell Bridge over US 59(SW
Freeway) -- Human billboarding to stop Israeli aggression an US support for
Israel... signs provided.... 4:45 - 6:00 pm... for info and to get on
mailing list, contact Bob Carter: rwcsr1 at yahoo.com

----------------------------

Support Hugo Chavez and the people of Venezuala -- buy Citgo gas!  Locations
in Houston can be found here:
http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp

<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkZGppODBrBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExN
zc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMTgzODE5MDU0>
Yahoo! Groups
Change
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmNWRs
YjBkBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmdHIE
c2xrA3N0bmdzBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwNTQ->  settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID
required) 
Change settings via email: Switch
<mailto:houstonpeaceroundtable-digest at yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delive
ry:%20Digest>  delivery to Daily Digest | Switch
<mailto:houstonpeaceroundtable-traditional at yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20
Delivery%20Format:%20Traditional>  format to Traditional 
Visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable;_ylc=X3oDMTJkc2hncWhlB
F9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA
2hwZgRzdGltZQMxMTgzODE5MDU0>  Your Group | Yahoo! Groups
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>  Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
<mailto:houstonpeaceroundtable-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com?subject=>  

Visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonpeaceroundtable;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbGFjbzY2B
F9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzExNzc0NjYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NzU5MzM1BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA
3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTE4MzgxOTA1Mw-->  Your Group 

SPONSORED LINKS

*	Peace
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjdXFyNmN1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzEEZ
3JwSWQDMTE3NzQ2NgRncnBzcElkAzE3MDU3NTkzMzUEc2VjA3NsbW9kBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwN
TQ-?t=ms&k=Peace&w1=Peace&w2=Primer&w3=Event+in+houston&w4=American+military
&c=4&s=68&g=2&.sig=uLHlXIdpNuckVNtFXaV8og> 
*	Primer
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjbXE0YnYzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzIEZ
3JwSWQDMTE3NzQ2NgRncnBzcElkAzE3MDU3NTkzMzUEc2VjA3NsbW9kBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwN
TQ-?t=ms&k=Primer&w1=Peace&w2=Primer&w3=Event+in+houston&w4=American+militar
y&c=4&s=68&g=2&.sig=veZc49EDv8MnXRH9jtbWaA> 
*	Event
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjazdmbDQxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzMEZ
3JwSWQDMTE3NzQ2NgRncnBzcElkAzE3MDU3NTkzMzUEc2VjA3NsbW9kBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwN
TQ-?t=ms&k=Event+in+houston&w1=Peace&w2=Primer&w3=Event+in+houston&w4=Americ
an+military&c=4&s=68&g=2&.sig=xtqIDblOmaz-AftRAzsRTw>  in houston
*	American
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjZ29jOHR2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzQEZ
3JwSWQDMTE3NzQ2NgRncnBzcElkAzE3MDU3NTkzMzUEc2VjA3NsbW9kBHN0aW1lAzExODM4MTkwN
TQ-?t=ms&k=American+military&w1=Peace&w2=Primer&w3=Event+in+houston&w4=Ameri
can+military&c=4&s=68&g=2&.sig=wcfdZcvt9JkppwZIT4dJig>  military

Yahoo! News

Sexual
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12j28d4dh/M=493064.10729659.11333350.8674578/D=
groups/S=1705759335:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1183826254/A=3848618/R=0/SIG=12u0hffnk/*h
ttp:/news.yahoo.com/i/1413;_ylt=A9FJqa_awa5EhhEA4wfVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2MnU4cz
RtBHNlYwNzbg-->  Health

Get important

sex health news

Yahoo! TV

Staying
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jval2m9/M=493064.10729663.11333354.8674578/D=
groups/S=1705759335:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1183826254/A=3848445/R=0/SIG=10t28jksf/*h
ttp:/tv.yahoo.com/lineup/>  in tonight?

Check listings to

see what is on.

Moderator Central

An
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12j676bj1/M=493064.10729651.11333342.8674578/D=
groups/S=1705759335:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1183826254/A=4699083/R=0/SIG=115gt68pf/*h
ttp:/moderators.groups.yahoo.com/>  online resource

for moderators

of Yahoo! Groups.

.

<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=1177466/grpspId=1705759335/msgId
=13666/stime=1183819053/nc1=3848618/nc2=3848445/nc3=4699083> 
__,_._,___ 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20070707/87851c27/attachment.htm>