18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 16-22, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com War No More Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, the anti-war protest movement does still matter. By David Cortright FORUM On Feb. 15, 2003, in hundreds of cities across the world, some 10 million people demonstrated against the United States’ impending invasion of Iraq. By many accounts, it was the largest single day of anti-war protest in history. New York Times reporter Patrick Tyler wrote that the huge anti-war demonstrations were indications of “two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion.” Yet this vast mobilization was unable to halt the march to war. Some believe the protests had no influence, but this is shortsighted. The movement in fact had significant impacts in the U.S. and internationally, prompting politically motivated decisions that undermined the military mission and contributed to what the U.S. Army termed “strategic failure.” The George W. Bush administration manipulated post-9/11 fears to gain support for the use of force by falsely claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. As critics countered the WMD deception, public support for attacking Iraq began to erode. The White House was frustrated by the lack of international support. In Germany, Turkey, Canada and elsewhere, political leaders faced public pressure to reject the U.S. entreaties for participation. Bush’s only significant ally was British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who faced criticism for being Bush’s “poodle.” To assuage the skeptics in his government, Blair persuaded a reluctant White House to seek authorization from the United Nations. When Secretary of State Colin Powell went to the Security Council, however, he was decisively rebuffed. The U.S. was only able to muster the votes of the UK, Bulgaria and Spain. Rather than face humiliation, the White House withdrew the proposed resolution and proceeded with the attack. The international rejection of the U.S.-led war was significant. It was the first time since the UN’s founding that the United States could not get full Security Council approval on a national priority. A creative dialectic developed between the Security Council and global civil society: The stronger the anti-war movement in other countries became, the greater the determination to resist U.S. pressure at the UN. And the stronger the objections at the UN became, the greater was the legitimacy and impact of the anti-war movement. The ways in which protest influences policy are not always apparent. While the anti-war movement did not prevent the invasion of Iraq, it helped set the terms of the debate by insisting on UN approval for the use of force and by convincing key governments to refuse to participate, thereby shaping the war’s eventual outcome. The same is true today for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. A new global anti-war movement is needed now with the same message as 20 years ago: “No to war.” Pursue peace by aiding Ukrainian victims, supporting Russians who reject the war, and demanding international negotiations for the withdrawal of Russian troops. David Cortright is the author of A Peaceful Superpower: Lessons From the World’s Largest Antiwar Movement. OPINION A new global anti-war movement is needed now. PRESENTED BY
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