Before the war on Iraq began, demonstrations around the world amassed between 6 and 11 million people in 600 cities, from Canberra, Australia, to Reykjavik, Iceland. Even in London, 1.5 million turned out to contest British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pro-American Iraq policy. In the United States too, major protests were held across the country, even in New York City, where one would expect support for the war on terrorism to be higher than anywhere.
What motivated these groups to oppose this war? Was it truly a desire for peace?
Most protesters outside the U.S. were not protesting war per se, but American-led war. Many countries are doing all they can to limit American supremacy.
Yet, what about the protests inside the U.S. and allied countries? Many opposed the war for political reasons—simply because President Bush supported it. Others will oppose any war for moral or religious reasons.
But there are also those you may not have considered: People who opposed the war in an effort to bring down the U.S. as a capitalist nation, and those in direct support of Saddam Hussein.
According to Insight on the News, “[T]he track record of the [anti-war demonstration] leaders reveals not a principled opposition to war but a calculated commitment to undermining U.S. security and foreign policy …” (March 17). The Victorian Peace Network, for example, which organized protests in Melbourne, Australia, has a website containing dozens of articles vilifying America.
Moreover, at the heart of the international peace movement—the sponsors and organizers of the mass protests—are groups led by the same people who have defended dictators around the world.
According to the Indiana Observer, the Communist Workers World Party (wwp) organized and sponsored major anti-war demonstrations in Washington d.c. and San Francisco. The wwp was formed to back the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union and has supported tyrannies ever since. This party praises North Korea as the country builds its nuclear arsenal, defends the Chinese slaughter at Tiananmen Square and supports Castro (Herald Sun, April 3).
Some anti-war groups, including the international answer (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which is controlled by the wwp, will not divulge the source of their funding.
Another popular antiwar group is Not in Our Name, which Fox News says is financed by the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization. The ifco “supports Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and once sponsored a group headed by Sami Al-Arian—the University of South Florida professor being charged with fundraising for terrorist organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad” (March 18).
Why would Communists have been against the Iraq war? Ideologically speaking, some opposed the war because they support political and social upheaval. But even more shockingly, some actually supported Saddam Hussein’s rulership simply because Iraq was an entirely government-run state, and therefore, to their minds, socialist.
Whether intentional or not, the masses of protesters were backing, largely, organizations that would like nothing better than to destroy Anglo-American democracy. They protested not because they sought peace, but to advance their own agenda.