Articles / Essays

Opposition to War


BRC calls for total opposition to the war and for renewed renewed resistance.

The War against the peoples of Iraq has started. This is one phase of the war for imperial dominance.

In simple terms this is barbarism. In legal terms this war is criminal. In moral terms this war is immoral and in political terms this war stems from a social system that stands in the path of fulfilling the needs of human beings and preserving the wonders and balance of nature.

Human beings want a planet where they can breathe, where they can live as humans, where children can feel that they have a future, and where they can be free to expand their minds and work for the betterment of all.

The War is Criminal

The present invasion of Iraq with over 250,000 troops, 1000 planes and 100-ship armada is illegal under international law. This massacre masquerading as "war" for peace to protect the security of the region, (the world, to liberate the people of Iraq and to change an authoritarian regime) is actually a test case for the new United States Security doctrine of preemption and global military dominance. Under present international law there is no basis for pre-emption and the present war to change the regime in Baghdad is considered a "war of aggression."

From all accounts of the weaponry to be used in the campaign of "shock and awe" there will be massive human destruction in Iraq. In order to pull off this imperial invasion the Pentagon is using precision-guided weapons: cruise missiles, laser-guided bombs and the newer satellite-guided weapons. The present weapons of mass destruction being used on the Iraqi people (in the name of finding weapons of mass destruction) are the most barbaric weapons available.

According to the plans of the Pentagon there will be more lethal weapons used and bombs dropped on Iraq than during the last Gulf war. It is quite possible that there will be up to half a million Iraqi civilian deaths. This will add to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children who have died as a result of the sanctions against Iraq. An additional one million children under the age of five years old are at risk of death from malnutrition. Preliminary estimates from the UN on the millions who will be left homeless will add to the other eighteen million Iraqi citizens who will be without access to clean water.

This destruction and killing of innocent Iraq civilians constitutes an international crime against humanity that calls for an international War Crimes Tribunal.

The Black Radical Congress calls on the General Assembly of the United Nations and the present International Criminal Court to begin proceedings to identify the criminal acts that the government of the United States is carrying out in the name of removing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (disarming Saddam Hussein) and bringing democracy to the Iraqi people. In addition to bringing the Bush regime before the International Court, The BRC also supports the call for the impeachment of George Bush and exposing the politicians who support the war.

Economic weaknesses of US capitalism

The imploding US economy cannot support this war. The war against the innocent people of Iraq is also a war to intensify the war against the working people in the USA and against the oppressed of the world. This is a war to bring back old style colonialism where might makes right and militarism is substituted for negotiation and diplomacy.

The present political leadership in the USA wants a planet where only the rich have rights and where the eugenic ideas of colonialism and racism prevail. This war is to establish the military hegemony of the USA. This military hegemony is to make up for economic weakness. This military invasion is to intimidate all of humanity.

Imperial aggression has always led to resistance and the struggle for self- rule. The Imperial forays abroad require political obedience and flag waving at home, regardless of the cost to humans everywhere. The US media is operating as part of the war machine polluting the minds of decent citizens in the same way as the bombs are being dropped on innocent civilians in Baghdad.

Black People Must Mobilize Everywhere

The Black Radical Congress opposes the war against the Iraqi people and call on all black, brown, red, yellow, and white people (in short, the majority of the peoples of the world) to oppose this war. The attempts to use religion to divide the non Islamic peoples of the USA from the peoples of the Islamic faith must be opposed. Peoples of all religious faith and all spiritual orientation must call on their innermost powers to oppose the war.

Above all, this war continues the traditions of racial genocide of the US military. Black people have seen the real effects of racial terror and violence. All freedom-loving persons reject terrorism as a form of political intervention. Peoples of every continent have suffered from the military and terrorist activities of the US government. Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Grenada, Laos, Somalia, Angola and Cuba are but a sample of societies that have witnessed this terrorism in the past fifty years.

Terrorism abroad has been accompanied by repression right here at home. This ruthless imperial thrust into Iraq is supplemented within the US by the neo fascist policies of Homeland Security as well as Patriot Acts I and II. These repressive laws roll back civil rights and civil liberties in the same way the US seeks to roll back the self-determination of the people of Iraq. It is this same position that opposes the self determination of the Palestinian peoples.

Moral Weakness of the US Position

Ironically, the military invasion reflects the political, economic and moral weakness of the US ruling classes. These classes would prefer to hide behind liberal democracy. The failure to obtain support in the Security Council for this war exposed the full isolation of the US government in international politics. But as world wide opposition to globalization (imperialism) intensifies, war is necessary for their continued dominance.

The Black Radical Congress is calling on its members and local organizing committees to join in anti war work in their communities and to register their opposition to the war. This will include supporting the selective boycott of US products, joining the peace movement and clarifying the linkages between reparations, peace and justice, wearing reparations ribbons and working with the expanded labor and peace movements to link this war to global racism. Every member of our organization must begin to understand the implications of self mobilization and self organization at a time when the media and the politicians seek to intimidate us. All BRC members must at this time remember the Harriet Tubman principle of unrelenting sacrifice in the struggle for peace and freedom.

The Black Liberation Movement must intensify the opposition to the war in every possible way

After the battles in the streets in Seattle in 1999, the rulers understood that there was a worldwide movement for basic economic rights.

After the Durban conference September 2001- where there was clarity of slavery representing a crime against humanity- the US understood that it had to increase its opposition to the call for Truth and Reparations

The Vieques Solidarity Coalition exposed modern militarism and colonialism

The global environmental movement isolated the leadership of the US such that the government stood alone in the rejection of Kyoto.

After the global struggle against debt the US understood that the future of the IMF and World Bank is in jeopardy. The future of the dollar as a world reserve currency is now in serious danger.

After the international struggles for free or inexpensive drugs for the world's peoples' suffering from the HIV AIDS pandemic the US understood that their position was isolated.

After the Free Mumia campaign, the world understood the reality of US political prisoners and its vast and brutal prison industrial complex.

In every state, the education system is under threat as state governments cut back on education budgets. It is now clearer to the mass of the population that while social services and education budgets are slashed this government has expended over $ 400 billion for its war machine. The vast majority of US citizens now see this same militarized government demanding an additional $100 billion for the occupation and colonization of Iraq while also proposing tax cuts for America's wealthiest families.

The Education Not Incarceration campaign of the BRC is now needed not just for oppressed black and brown peoples but for all of those who want justice.

These battles call on all black people to organize to struggle for peace in our homes, communities, churches, schools, work places, malls, temples, mosques and other places. The road to peace is a long one. It is a road that requires a fundamental break with old practices. We must carve out spaces of peace and spaces of love. The present war challenges the present Peace Movement to grasp the reality that the US military, industrial, information complex combines all of the traditions of racism, genocide, masculinity, rape, homophobia, celebration of violence and wanton murder.

The war against the people of Iraq challenges us to be imaginative. This war is especially calling on the youth and our cultural communities to organize in new ways to ensure that the ruling class pays a very high price for their war. This price must mean organizing to change the very social system that led to war.

The children of Iraq and all oppressed children of the world demand nothing less.

Money for Schools and Health Care! Not for War!

Reparations, Peace and Justice
Black Radical Congress
March 20 2003