06) ONLY MASS ACTION CAN STOP WAR

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

            Nine years ago, huge public protests compelled the Chretien government to back away from direct participation in the invasion of Iraq. Today, a new catastrophe is unfolding, but the Harper government appears to relish the prospect of war and devastation, and our mass media refuses to question the line that such a terrible outcome is both inevitable and justified.

            Paul Heinbecker, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations from 2000 to 2004, wrote recently, "I had a front‑row seat for the march to war in Iraq. Now the target is Iran, and I have the sinking feeling that I have seen this movie before. The ending isn't happy."

            Parallels between then and now are frightening. Most pervasive is the endless rhetoric about weapons of mass destruction. Of course, Iraq did not possess such an arsenal, despite the lies of the Bush administration. According to independent experts, the Iranian regime is years away from building a nuclear bomb, if indeed that is its goal.

            Other lies are being spread, such as the deliberate mistranslation of a speech by President Ahmedinejad, to make it seem that he was calling for the military destruction of Israel. Some war advocates support the "responsibility to protect" doctrine, a 21st century version of the Vietnam War argument that "sometimes to save a village, you have to destroy it."

            Cooler heads may prevail, since most of the international community is horrified at the vast human, social, economic and environmental cost of a U.S.-led war against Iran.

            But hoping for the best is not an anti-war strategy. Unless millions of people in Canada, the U.S. and other NATO countries get mobilized, another illegal war of aggression may be unstoppable. And this time, the consequences for the people of Iran, and for our entire world, may be much worse.

(The above article is from the March 16-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)