All Out for January 27 Protests

Now that the U.S. political establishment has had to recognize that their operation in Iraq is failing and becoming unsustainably unpopular in the United States, they are wiggling in ways that may lead to a disaster becoming a catastrophe.

It is vital that the antiwar movement be alert to these maneuvers and that it increase the pressure for an immediate, real and total withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Bush’s response to a situation that is increasingly out of control is to up the ante—like a crazed gambler—and to send in substantially more troops and inflict an even larger slaughter on the Iraqi people.

The president argues that the U.S. cannot afford to lose the war in Iraq. By that, he means that the U.S. capitalists cannot afford to lose control of the oil and that they cannot be seen to be unable to maintain their strategic stake in the Middle East—including, among other things, the invincibility of their Zionist bulwark against the nationalism of the oppressed peoples of the region.

The Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress on a wave of revulsion against the war. An AP/Ipsos poll found that public support for the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq fell to a record low of 27 percent in December.

Recently, some Democratic Party leaders have been making threats about voting against funding for military escalation. But although they are obviously under pressure from those who voted for them expecting them to move toward withdrawing U.S. troops, they been notably shy of making any definite commitments.

The truth is that they are controlled by the same big capitalists who supported the invasion and occupation as a means of solving their growing economic crisis. So, they now find themselves between a rock and a hard place, just as the Republicans do.

In this situation, there is obviously going to be some fancy footwork. And it will risk even worse falls. One of the maneuvers projected is the redeployment of U.S. forces advocated by the Baker-Hamilton Report.

It has two aspects. One is an attempt to minimize the direct confrontation between U.S. troops and the Iraqi resistance. The other is to carry through a privatization of the Iraqi oil industry that will deliver it, bound hand and foot, to the big imperialist oil companies, and in particular to the American ones.

The rulers will try to convince the American public that they are headed toward disengagement, either by a temporary reinforcement of the U.S. intervention or by redeployment, or both. They are not going to give up their prey or stop sacrificing U.S. soldiers on the altar of their greed unless they face massive, firm oppression from the U.S. antiwar movement.

The more they maneuver, the more decisive it becomes for the antiwar movement to mobilize and step up the pressure. The demonstrations planned for Jan. 27 in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities are the immediate opportunity for the movement to retake the offensive.

The Jan. 27 Washington march, called by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), will assemble at 11 a.m. on the Mall between 3rd and 7th St. The march will begin at 1 p.m.; but no rally has been scheduled.

As part of the Washington, D.C., march, Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East is organizing a contingent against the occupation of Iraq, against the occupation of Palestine, against the attacks on Lebanon, against aggressions on Iran, and for justice in all of the Middle East (see the coalition’s website at www.mideastjustice.org).

In San Francisco, the ad hoc Jan. 27 Coalition, is organizing an antiwar rally and march at Powell and Market Sts. at noon on that date, and other activities will be held on around the country.

On March 17, ANSWER has called for major antiwar demonstrations in Washington, Los Angeles, and Seattle—with a March 18 demonstration in San Francisco. This augments the UFPJ call for local antiwar actions throughout the United States on March 17—simultaneous with actions in many other cities worldwide.

We hope that all our readers will make the maximum effort to build these actions.