[Peace-discuss] Co-opting the demand to end the war

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Some of us heard Obama do that today.  Here Norman Solomon
explains how MoveOn.org is doing that, too; Cindy Sheehan is
much more honest.  --CGE]


Published on Thursday, August 18, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
The Iraq War and MoveOn
by Norman Solomon
 
The day after Wednesday night's nationwide vigils, the big
headline at the top of the MoveOn.org home page said: "Support
Cindy Sheehan." But MoveOn does not support Cindy Sheehan's
call for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Many groups were important to the success of the Aug. 17
vigils, but the online powerhouse MoveOn was the largest and
most prominent. After a long stretch of virtual absence from
Iraq war issues, the organization deserves credit for getting
re-involved in recent months. But the disconnects between
MoveOn and much of the grassroots antiwar movement are disturbing.

Part of the problem is MoveOn's routine fuzziness about the
war -- and the way that the group is inclined to water down
the messages of antiwar activism, much of which is not
connected to the organization.

Consider how the MoveOn website summarized the vigils: "Last
night, tens of thousands of supporters gathered at 1,625
vigils to acknowledge the sacrifices made by Cindy Sheehan,
her son Casey and the more than 1,800 brave American men and
women who have given their lives in Iraq -- and their moms and
families." Such a gloss excludes a key reason why many people
participated in the vigils: They wanted to express clear
opposition to any further U.S. involvement in the war.

Despite its high-profile role in the vigils this week, MoveOn
is still not giving a high priority to addressing the Iraq war
in its ongoing work. When I went to the MoveOn website today
and looked at its roster of "Current Campaigns," just a single
item on the list was focused on Iraq -- and that one, from
June, involved "demanding that Bush address the evidence in
the 'Downing Street Memo.'"

The political action wing of MoveOn has committed itself to
supporting congressional legislation, co-sponsored by Reps.
Walter Jones and Neil Abercrombie, which would require the
president to start withdrawing troops from Iraq ... by October
2006.

In contrast, MoveOn never supported Rep. Lynn Woolsey's
resolution, introduced early this year, stating that "the
president should develop and implement a plan to begin the
immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq."
(Despite the lack of MoveOn's support, the measure received
128 votes in the House.) Nor has MoveOn gotten behind Rep.
Barbara Lee's more recent bill to prevent the establishment of
permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

What if MoveOn were to directly ask its 3 million members
(people who've signed up for its e-mailings) whether they
favor the idea of waiting till autumn 2006 before the start of
U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq -- or whether, on the other
hand, those members would prefer that withdrawal get underway
before the end of this year? I believe that most MoveOn
members would opt for the latter scenario. But MoveOn policy
is set by a few individuals who have not been willing to put
such options in front of members for a vote.

On Tuesday, the day before the vigils, Cindy Sheehan said in a
conference call that the Jones-Abercrombie timeline is "not
soon enough." She doesn't see any good reason to continue the
U.S. military occupation; she's opposed to any delay in
pulling out. And while it's all well and good for MoveOn to
tell people to "Support Cindy Sheehan," the MoveOn leadership
should publicly explain why the organization refuses to join
her in supporting a swift withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq.

During the next few weeks, MoveOn will have an opportunity to
devote some of its appreciable resources to strengthening the
antiwar movement. With an umbrella theme of "End the War on
Iraq -- Bring the Troops Home Now," protests in Washington and
elsewhere are on the calendar for Sept. 24-26. The national
coalition United for Peace & Justice is playing a key role in
creating momentum for those demonstrations, which will begin
an autumn of historic antiwar activism. Hopefully, MoveOn will
catch up with its grassroots base and get involved in a
supportive way.

Norman Solomon is the author of the new book "War Made Easy:
How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." For
information, go to: www.WarMadeEasy.com

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