Navel gazing in the anti-war movement

The antiwar movement has hit a brick wall and they don’t understand why. The War Resisters League has published a report they call a “Listening Process Report” assessing the movement. Mostly, it reads like a Junior High student council meeting. Lots of lofty ideas not at all with a even a little thought to process. TSO’s secret heartthrob, Kelly Dougherty illustrates that real well;

IVAW’s three goals are: immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq, full veterans benefits, and reparations for the Iraqi people. Our strategy to end the war is to withdraw military support from the war.

Yeah, well, how are you going to do that, Kelly? Are you going to wait until the shooting stops and then declare victory for your side?

The Vets for Peace weigh in with the benefit of their experience. Michael McPhearson;

The most important thing about Veterans For Peace is that we are vets. Many of us have been to war. All of us are trained to fight. We know what war is about. In the public eye, we have credibility.

Here’s a picture I took of MacPhearson last September at a protest – he was an artilleryman in the 1991 Gulf War;

VVAW lost so much credibility after their Winter Soldier testimony and membership couldn’t stand up to scrutiny that they nearly melted away and joined the VFP. The same way the IVAW’s membership and fables don’t stand up to scrutiny today – coached by the thugs and storytellers at the VFP and VVAW.

The national field organizer of the War Resisters League, Matthew Smucker, in his conclusions to the “listening process” worries that the war will end before they can have any influence;

The U.S. military occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan will eventually come to an end. But will we be able to build a grassroots political force in the United States strong enough to positively influence when and how that happens?

Central to their strategy is the use of the IVAW as a wedge between the military leadership and their subordinates. But, as always with the drama queens of the anti-war (pro-profit) movement, the IVAW wants a more central role. “We’re tired of being window dressing for other people’s events” Jose Vazquez is quoted as saying in the report.

Snot-slinging Jason Hurd who ALMOST shot someone once, wants to create a generation of mutineers;

The philosophy is that if they don’t have soldiers to fight the war, they can’t fight the war no matter how much money they have. We see what helped end the Vietnam War was that all these soldiers said, “No. We’re not going to do this anymore. This is screwed up.” That’s what we want to do.

Um, Jason, that’s what soldiers in the Hollywood version of the Vietnam War did, not the real ones. I know all of those heroes at the VFP and VVAW told you that’s what happened, but if I were you I’d check more reliable sources.

Aimee Allison is quoted as saying;

“Military members represent a diversity in society that movement people often don’t. And I’ve always had that struggle as a former military person myself, that I’ve been in rooms where I look at everyone and I think, ‘You guys freak me out. I can’t relate to where you’re coming from.’”

I don’t know why they would freak you out, Aimee;

I guess the real hilarious part of the whole thing is that the war is ending just as they’re ending their navel-gazing.

Iraq has met 15 of the 18 goals for this year, more troops were killed Afghanistan (the war they characterize as legitimate) than Iraq last month…and the peace-for-fun-and-profit movement is coming up short. They refuse to believe that their movement is unpopular because it runs counter to human nature and counter to the American character. They’re old hippies trying to revive their glory days when they lived in an echo chamber and idiot college professors told them they were brave.

Now they’re trying to influence a whole new generation of misfits, liars and sociopaths.

Category: Antiwar crowd, Code Pink, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Phony soldiers, Politics