Monday, March 07, 2016

Protests can wait?

From Vancouver, BC, we'll note this Tweet:



  • 2 minutes ago
    & rallies across coming up on March 19. Keep & in mind. Tell ...
    1 retweet



    • Antiwar rallies in Canada?

    Just to the north of the United States.

    And what will there be in the US?

    World Can't Wait is apparently planning something.

    If you can navigate their crappy website.

    First, you'll have to endure their 'analysis' which is gloss over.

    Where in their 'learned' explanation of the Islamic State do they note that Barack Obama overturned the 2010 election in Iraq and gave Nouri al-Maliki a second term (even though Nouri's use of secret prisons was already established in the press)?  Or that this second term found Nouri going after everyone -- activists, Sunnis, women, LGBTs -- and all without any public criticism from the US government?

    Or when Nouri slaughtered peaceful protesters staging a sit-in in Hawija, the US government 'responded' by calling for peace on both sides?


    For those who weren't paying attention, the April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  ALSUMARIA noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead.   UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).


    It's really amazing that a group -- World Can't Wait -- supposedly against imperialism will refuse to call out the US government overturning an election in a foreign country.


    Here's Emma Sky explaining it to the Australian ABC:

    In the 2010 national elections, there was very high turnout, Iraqis were excited, and the party that won the most seats in the election was called al-Iraqiya. It campaigned on a platform of 'no to sectarianism, Iraq for all Iraqis'.
    Unfortunately, the incumbent, Nouri al-Maliki, refused to accept the election results and the Obama administration just wanted a quick exit. They thought the quickest exit was to maintain the status quo, keep Maliki in power. They said: 'Look, he's a strong Iraqi leader, he'll give us an agreement to keep some troops in Iraq after 2011, let's keep Maliki.'
    The Iranians managed to come in, they managed to form the government, and all the US troops were forced to leave at the end of 2011. Maliki used his second term as prime minister to just go after the Sunni politicians, accused them of terrorism, and drove them out of the political process. He reneged on his promises to tribal leaders who'd risen up and fought against Al Qaeda and he arrested Sunnis en masse.
    This led to all these Sunni protests which Maliki violently crushed. The Islamic State rose out of the ashes of Al Qaeda in Iraq and said: 'We will defend the Sunnis from the Iranian-backed sectarian regime of Nouri al-Maliki.' Unfortunately many Sunnis looked at Islamic State, they looked at Maliki, and they decided that the Islamic State was the lesser of two evils. And that's how Iraq has plunged into this tragic situation.



    The protest you can't (easily) find at their website, you can find at their Facebook page:

    the World Can't Wait shared an event.
    Join us in protesting the anniversary of the US War on Iraq "Shock & Awe" Invasion, Saturday March 19 in NYC
    MAR19
    March 19 Protest Endless Iraq War
    Sat 12:00 PM in EDTNYPL The New York Public LibraryNew York, NY, United States
    31 people interested · 21 people going


    So a local event then?

    As opposed to a national one in DC?


    Well that certainly pleases (appeases) the faction that fought against any actions not all that long ago.

    So instead of pushing for a real event, a national one, they're going for a local event.

    Hmm.

    The event should be national and there should be pressure placed on every candidate to attend -- Democratic or Republican.

    And Hillary should be pressured to atone for what she's labeled a 'mistake' (her support of the Iraq War) by speaking to those assembled.


    Probably wouldn't happen but when the biggest we can dream is a local event (and apparently only one local event), it's for sure not going to happen.






    The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

     









    Posted by at