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The Anti-war Movement: Socialists by Any Other Name Barrett KalellisThere's nothing like a war or rumors of war to resuscitate the anti-war movement in the U.S. Basically moribund since the last fateful helicopter flew off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in 1975, the anti-war crowd has only managed a few minor twitches since: the overthrow of Maurice Bishop's People's Revolutionary Government in Grenada in 1983, the rousting of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989, and the more recent sorties of U.N. "peacekeepers" into Bosnia, the Sudan and Afghanistan. But President Bush's protracted game of hide-and-seek-the-weapons-of-mass-destruction with Saddam Hussein has breathed new life into the movement. Large protest rallies were held in Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco this month condemning the thought of starting a pre-emptive war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. These organized anti-war activists comprise a wide range of political persuasions – from anti-interventionist libertarians to pacifists, "greens" and "anti-imperialists" – but mostly they are anti-American leftist socialists with their own agendas, pretending to be lovers of peace. As covered by C-SPAN over the weekend, protesting speakers identified themselves as "revolutionaries" and "progressives" and spewed forth bitter rants against the U.S., thus consciously giving aid and comfort to the enemy: Hamas and other suicide bomber groups in Palestine, Colombian drug dealers and Saddam's goons. An Islamist imam actually excused Osama bin Laden, and called "the real terrorists" George Bush, Rudy Giuliani and George Washington! As shrill as they come, the speakers outdid each other in using invectives and, in many cases, vulgar language against their country, the "trigger-happy" Bush and his executive team (whom they referred to as the "real Axis of Evil"), and Congress, who "must be stopped from threatening and killing the people of the world who are not our enemy." Every leftist hatred came under attack: capitalism, colonialism, oppression, racism, homophobia, gender discrimination, consumerism, individualism, and on and on. Meaningless slogans dominated the festivities: "No Blood for Oil," "Drop Bush, Not Bombs," "Stop War, End Racism." "Instead of spending $400 billion every year for weapons of mass destruction and to promote militarism," the leftists maintain, "our money must spent to provide free education, healthcare and childcare, jobs and job training, expanded support for the elderly and other things that human beings need." More disconcerting was the sharing of the podium by many Democratic Party legislators adding their presence alongside this rabble. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence among American voters to witness Charles Rangel, John Conyers, Al Sharpton, Ramsey Clark, Cynthia McKinney and other present and former government leaders from the Democratic Party lending their presence to these diatribes. If one visits the various Web sites of the anti-war crowd and sifts through the interminable political and theoretical harangues that are posted there, it becomes clear that a radical demonology drives their vision. Ignoring the obvious murderous thuggishness of Saddam Hussein, the anti-war propaganda has it that, rather than liberate the Iraqi people from this dictator, "the true intention of the U.S. government is to re-colonize Iraq." A pre-emptive war would simply be to "reconquer Iraq and all its natural resources." Not for the purpose of rescuing the people, but to "undo all the achievements of the national liberation movements of the last 60 years," eliminating independence to gain access to oil. The reference to "national liberation movements" is instructive: It is the language of Marxism. There are hundreds of organizations and individuals sponsoring these anti-war protests, as listed on the Web sites, but the hard core of these groups is undisguised Marxism or socialism in all its infinite varieties. Other special interest groups, like Queers for Racial & Economic Justice, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, and the Wang Dang Doodle Music Society, are only along for the ride. It is a fair and reasonable assertion that none of the estimated 100,000 protesters that marched on Washington, D.C., voted for Republican candidates in the last election. What is more disturbing, given the extreme anti-Americanism and, in most cases, sheer stupidity on display this past weekend, is that many of these protesters have found a home in the present Democratic Party.
Barrett Kalellis is a columnist and writer whose articles appear regularly in various local and national print and online publications. You may reach Mr. Kalellis at kalellis@newsmax.com
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