An online hub and journal for a DIRECT ACTION strategy against the occupation of Iraq … because it’s about time!
This is a project that I’ve long been thinking about, and unfortunately, nobody else has stepped up to help me out with it. So, here goes nothing. The basic premise is this: we’re finally at a stage in the antiwar movement where there is something to report in terms of creative, militant direct actions against the occupation of Iraq happening right here in the US. It’s happening on campuses, at ports, in the Capitol, in small towns and in big cities. Therefore, there ought to be a regularly-updated hub for those of us who take this work seriously, want to learn what other people are doing, and to let new people know that there are ways to tangibly grind this war to a halt.
I have long been a movement critic, a partisan, always with something to complain about in terms of how the movement is run and the tactics it has or hasn’t employed. That tendency is likely to surface in the midst of this endeavor. But the main purpose is to put forward the alternatives that myself and others have been advocating for a long time that are now taking shape. It’s really a wonderful time to be a part of this movement; it is not hard to feel a re-awakening and a shift in movement politics. The time when a handful of groups and individuals can monopolize the direction of the movement is coming to a close.
Instead, new organizations like Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Students for a Democratic Society (the latter of which I am a member) are changing the tone and dynamics of the movement, in ways that the heavyweights can’t ignore, and it’s amazing to see previously-immovable parties jump on the bandwagon (for whatever their reason might be). We have initiatives like the Port Militarization Resistance that have asserted their right to decide what will and will not pass through their community; the Bay Area group Direct Action to Stop the War has resurfaced 5 years after their amazing mass direct actions at the open of the war that shut down the city; IVAW has asserted itself in the movement and requested that their Winter Soldier hearings take precedent for the March war anniversary actions. This has forced the movement leadership to reassess the importance of the ritualistic permitted march and rally, and has also put military-based antiwar organizations at the center of the movement.
The list goes on, which is why this blog is necessary as a journal of praxis: the process of theorizing about tactics, and incorporating the results of those tactics back into your theory. Please post a link to the blog on your site and let all your friends know about it. I really want people to become contributors to this effort with their own writings, and to forward relevant materials to post. Here are some basic guidelines:
1. A focus on tactics and strategies that aim to directly affect the ability of the government to continue the occupation of Iraq.
2. Formats might include personal accounts, analyses of events and campaigns, critiques of different projects and organizational efforts, or general ideas for the future.
3. All site content must be constructive. Baseless accusations, straw man arguments, sectarianism, sensationalism, circular logic, personal attacks, dogmatism, and similar behavior will be rejected or removed.
For more information, visit The War Stops Here.
