Recent articles on antiwar strategy
My dear, faithful readers, I would like to draw your attention to two excellent pieces recently posted on the Commondreams website.
First, a short piece by Aimee Allison and David Solnit discounts electoral-based activity and argues that a strategic approach that identifies and targets the "pillars" of the war is the best possible course of action. Allison, an army vet. and conscientous objector, and Solnit, an experienced organizer who was heavily involved in both the 1999 WTO Seattle direct actions and the shut-down of San Francisco the day after the Iraq War began, point to the "people-power" mobilizations of late in Bolivia as an example of thoughtful and effective resistance.
Tom Hayden, a former student leader in the '60s and California state senator, advocates in a Nation piece for an essentially electoral strategy, thus diverging quite significantly from Solnit and Allison. Hayden suggests that peace activists should attempt to participate in the "527 committees" voter education drive on the condition that antiwar voices get a significant role in the overall campaign, using meeting and new contacts for long-term organizing. Like Allison and Solnit, however, Hayden uses the "pillars" analogy in articulating his strategic direction - their difference lies in their tactical commitments.
Posted: December 5, 2007 1:30 am | 0 comments
Tags: antiwar, antiwar activism, Iraq, militarism, strategy, student activism
