Two Visions -- One Future
We need to get with our sisters and brothers all over the world to stop Amerikkka's war. The U.S. has bombed and occupied Afghanistan and sent new troops into several of the 60 or more countries they have targeted in their so-called "war on terrorism". They have drawn up a major hit list (the "axis of evil") and an out-of-control nuclear war policy. They're also going after immigrants and others in the U.S. In this mix, they have promised all out war against the long suffering people of Iraq-of whom at least a million have already been killed by Amerikkkan war + sanctions. They have outlined the diplomatic pretext they will use-UN weapons inspections. This is a horror we can't let them get away with.
Millions all over the world opposed the Gulf War in '90-'91 and many in the U.S., including veterans have struggled for years against the sanctions and to end the ongoing war. People and groups such as Voices in the Wilderness have come up against the rulers heroically in this struggle. The Veterans For Peace Water Project stands in solidarity with the people of Iraq, as do the statements, actions and protests by many vets and peace and anti war activists. UN workers, including some former weapons inspectors, have taken stands with the people.
What Amerikkka is doing is the leading edge of an open-ended war without limits. The rulers are out to reshuffle the whole deck internationally-with them holding all the aces. Immediate targets, besides Iraq, include the Philippines, Yemen, Georgia, Colombia, Somalia, Pakistan, Peru, Nepal and "Southeast Asia". The new nuclear plan lists non-nuclear Syria and Libya as targets along with "axis of evil" listees: Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Nuclear armed Russia and China are also on this list. Iran, both a nuclear target and an "axis of evil" listee, was/is a de facto U.S. ally in Afghanistan. The mission determines the coalition.
This is a real cauldron of contradictions. One example is the just and heroic struggle of the Palestinians against Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing is in the mix and, in fact, is creating some real obstacles to the U.S. war.
The rulers of the U.S. have seized upon September 11th as the excuse to launch this war. With their declaration of "war on terrorism"-and the twist that they define what terrorism is-now even the exercise of "free speech" has become "terrorism" if the U.S. government says so. Bush's statement "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists" made it quite clear what plans they have in store. These rulers have wild ambitions-they are not maintaining the kind of pretense of conforming to international law that they did, thin as it was, during the Gulf War.
The war is not just taking place in other countries. Within the U.S. laws like the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) is making sweeping changes to civil liberties and turning the country into a police state. Over 1000 people have been arrested and detained without rights or normal contact with lawyers and families. This is simply because they have the wrong color skin, were born in the wrong country or believe in the wrong religion. In addition, many thousands more have been targeted for harassment, arrest and surveillance. What the U.S. has denounced in other countries is now the "new normalcy" in the "greatest democracy" on the planet. The U.S. is preparing military trials in secrecy without the right of defense. Those they declare "terrorists," even if found not guilty, can be detained indefinitely. Prisoners of war are denied their rightful status under international law and held in concentration camps in Cuba and Afghanistan.
Does it have to be this way? In a word, no. There is another vision of the future, one that is shared by billions around the world. It is the vision of people living together in peace and cooperation, not war and hostility. Where children grow up with hope and love of life, not with despair, violence and all this dog eat dog exploitation. It is the vision where humans live as part of nature's creatures and resources, not as exploiters of them. Where technological and social advances are used to eliminate poverty, homelessness and starvation, not just to line the pockets of a few. It is the vision where borders and barriers are removed while still respecting cultures and uniqueness. Where the planet is seen as a single community and not as isolated, individual pieces. It is the vision where the open quest for knowledge and answers by anyone and everyone replaces the elite control of knowledge for status and power. It is the vision where the problem facing people is not one of just surviving on the earth but one of thriving among the stars. Given the resilience, resourcefulness and desires of people, it is a vision that is possible.
The obstacle to the realization of this vision is that it is not the vision of imperialism and its minions like George W. Bush. There are two visions of what our future holds. We have a decision-to allow the imperial "vision" to create a future of misery and suffering or to oppose the empire and struggle for the fulfillment of our vision-the people's vision-of our future. It is a task that, while being difficult, is possible. The U.S. goes to great lengths to convince us that their weapons, their technology and their cruel ruthlessness make them superior and invincible. However, as deadly as their weapons are, as impressive as their technology is and as heartless as they may be, they are not without their weaknesses, and their future is not a given.
The U.S.'s defeat at the hands of the Vietnamese people, their inability to crush Iraq into submission, their losses in Somalia show that their so called invincibility is full of chinks and holes. In fact, one of the biggest holes in their armor is their reliance on weapons and technology-on might-to accomplish their objectives and maintain their control. History has shown that oppression breeds resistance and that when people are united in a just struggle, they are a mighty force for change. Look at what is happening in the Middle East. The more Israel, upheld by imperialists as a model of security, tries to brutalize, terrorize and force the Palestinians into submission, the greater the opposition, resistance and resolution of the Palestinian people.
For us in the belly of the beast, the challenge is as great as its ever been. We need not only to voice our opposition to this war without limits, but to take this opposition to a whole new level. This U.S. war is not a war by, of or for the people of this (or any) country. We must not let them fight this war in our name. We must draw strength and inspiration from people all over the world opposing this war. We must also give strength and hope through our own resistance and opposition.
As veterans we have been caught up in the horrors of imperialist war in various ways. We have been to the edge and seen the viciousness of Amerikkka unmasked. We have no doubt that the bastards who sent us to war will use their nuclear arsenal, along with unspeakably cruel conventional weapons, to maintain and now to extend their empire, now our mission is to bring the lessons paid for in blood into direct opposition to this war.
Now, more than ever, veterans need to step out in new ways and to put ourselves on the line as a mighty force to stop this war. We need to bring the truth about their new world order to the youth and all of those opposed to this imperial vision for the future. Together with the people of the world, we can make our vision of the future the only future!
