It's Time for a Big-Time Antiwar Movement

By Bill Simpich, Reader Supported News

03 January 20

 

rump has unleashed the beast of blood. 

There is nothing worse than assassination – it is an utterly depraved act.

There is no way to justify assassination as a tool of foreign policy – unless you want every leader to have a price on her or his head.

The assassination of General Qasem Soleimani is an act of war.

It’s time for a big-time antiwar movement. 

Until Americans get serious and work together to stop the war machine, nothing will change.

Soleimani was the second most powerful man in Iran. The most powerful military leader. The most powerful intelligence official.

If, say, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were assassinated, how would the US react?

There’s no need to guess.

Our present era began with the Iranian embassy protests of 1979-1980, in the wake of the horrors of Vietnam. That’s how Reagan came to power. That’s how things went from bad to worse.

This era has come to an unexpected end. The question is squarely before us. We have to decide whether we want peace or war.

(photo: abcnews.go.com)

When the Iraqi embassy protest reached a point of relative calm this week, I initially breathed a deep sigh of relief.

I didn’t understand why Trump said on New Year’s Eve, “I like peace.” 

Now I get it. Trump was lying in the weeds. 

Here is Trump’s tweet announcing the news of the assassination tonight: 

He has disgraced the honor of the people of the United States.

That, not national security, should be our concern.

Republicans and Democratic war leaders have attacked our national security for years. Drone strikes and pre-emptive assassinations have led to one inevitable result. Instead of rationally dealing with isolated terrorists in the wake of 9/11, American war policy has created a wave of terrorists all over the world. 

Building an antiwar movement takes patience and fortitude. It requires various sectors to come together and put aside differences. It’s the single act that this country needs more than anything else. 

We did it during Vietnam and Iraq. It was painful, but we got a lot done during these wars to stop the wars. We drove out LBJ and Nixon. We drove away Bush and Cheney. 

Let’s get it done this time before the war starts. And, this time, get it done right.

I have heard the argument that climate change is the biggest threat to the security of the USA and the world. 

But the Pentagon is the single biggest polluter in the world. The Pentagon is a bigger polluter than 140 countries combined. Until that changes – and it can change – climate change will not stop. And we have about another ten years to stop climate change before the effects are irreversible.

All of us in the United States have to stop passively watching the news and get serious. This new year – an election year – gives us an unparalleled chance to build a new world. We have to give up on despair.

There’s one other thing we Americans have to do.

Every one of us has to take a long look in the mirror. 

You know what I’m talking about.

It’s a different question for every one of us – but the challenge is the same.

Don’t turn away.

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Bill Simpich is an Oakland attorney who knows that it doesn’t have to be like this. He was part of the legal team chosen by Public Justice as Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2003 for winning a jury verdict of 4.4 million in Judi Bari’s lawsuit against the FBI and the Oakland police.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.