[Dryerase] The Alarm!--We can't afford an anti-war movement

[The Alarm!Newswire]

We can't afford an anti-war movement

By Chris Kortright
The Alarm! Newspaper Contributor

The momentum of the war machine is increasing with the UN Security 
Council’s vote in favor of the US’s resolution on Iraq. The war machine 
is not the only thing that has gained momentum; the anti-war movement 
has been increasing its voice and appearances on the national and local 
scenes. I want to pose a few questions to the readers regarding the 
anti-war movement. Do we need an anti-war movement? What does that 
movement accomplish? We must oppose the war, but can it be framed 
within the context of a “peace” or “anti-war” movement? Approaching the 
war under these labels and moral discussions detracts us from the 
larger issue: that this war is a product of capitalism.

The immediate focus on the war, although necessary, should not distract 
our attention from the issue of capitalist exploitation and expansion 
both locally and globally. We need to analyze and oppose the war from 
an anti-capitalist perspective because the war is motivated by capital 
interests. I know many readers are thinking that this statement is 
obvious, but if you go to the Ocean/Water Street weekly protests, you 
see American Flags, signs that say “negotiations not bombs” and little 
analysis of either capitalism or nation-state projects.

So, lets look at the war in economic terms. Our present militaristic 
and aggressive foreign policy is an attempt to minimize competition 
between capitalist cores and encourage monopolization of markets 
through imperialist tactics. A large part of the present scenario is 
the control of oil sources, but not necessarily the oil in the Middle 
East. US policy makers have their eyes on oil in Central Asia. The US 
also wants to control sources of oil on which Europe and Japan (our 
competition within the cores) are dependent. Iraq in many ways is a 
gateway to both Iran and Central Asia; the US has strategically had its 
eye on Iraq since the first Gulf War.

Most of the discussions regarding the “War on Terrorism,” or even a 
“War against Islam,” miss the motivations of US global militarism. The 
militaristic actions are for economic domination, profit and improved 
competitiveness through the control of Central Asian oil; it is not 
motivated by desires for the removal of Saddam Hussein or the 
elimination of bin Laden. The economic motivations mean we can’t resist 
US policies in the name of “anti-war.” This will be an anti-war 
resistance that would fail because the short term view of our situation 
is extremely bleak. We will bomb Iraq, and then other countries will 
move into the scope of US policies unless we take down capitalism and 
remove the motivations for US militaristic interventions.

If we hope to show solidarity to those suffering on the global 
capitalist peripheries, we need to do more then stop bombs from being 
dropped on them. We must attack the economic apparatus that has 
initiated these militaristic attacks. An “anti-war” movement can not 
achieve this. An analysis of militaristic violence that ignores 
economic violence will not end or reduce suffering in either the 
peripheries or the cores. I’m not calling to integrate war resistance 
into the “anti-globalization” movement because the issue cannot be seen 
as “anti-global.” There is a need for globalism right now. But 
globalism should not be confused with capitalist globalization. The way 
to stop wars and suffering is to incorporate our resistance to US 
militaristic interventions into the larger global anti-capitalist 
resistance.

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