BARRY FINGER, WADOOD HAMAD, and Glenn Perusek all appear to demand the immediate withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq. (Finger, 26: "we demand an immediate withdrawal of occupation forces"; Hamad, 34: "We must demand a timely schedule for the withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq over a fixed, limited period").
However, they
differ greatly in assessing the Iraqi resistance. Finger and Hamad take such a negative view of the
Iraqi resistance that I fear, when push comes to shove, each might find some rationalization for
the United States to stay in Iraq longer. If one really believes that the Iraqi resistance is nothing
more than the "Michigan militia" (Hamad, 34), how can one in good conscience wish to expose
the long-suffering population of Iraq to rule by such monsters?
Perusek offers a
more complex view of the Iraqi resistance (Perusek, 39-43). He argues that "the resistance to
occupation in Iraq is multiform -- orientations from across the political spectrum are
being drawn into action. The simplistic equation of the resistance with radical political Islam, or
the wing that adopts terroristic tactics against civilians, flies in the face of the reality of the
situation" (Perusek, 43; emphasis in original).
Events since these
pieces were written offer important evidence supporting Perusek's view. In March 2005, on the
second anniversary of the United States invasion, Muqtada Al-Sadr organized hundreds of
thousands who nonviolently protested the occupation in Baghdad and elsewhere. The non-
terrorist component of the resistance is also evident in the outlook of such an entity as the newly
formed Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions. In an interview with the U.S. journalist David Bacon on
March 24, 2005, Ghasib Hassan, a member of the IFTU executive committee, said among other
things: 1. The ITFU supported the January 2005 elections; 2. "We oppose the occupation
absolutely . . . The Iraqi people are calling today, not tomorrow, for removal of the occupation";
3. "Iraqi publicly owned enterprises should stay publicly owned . . . Oil must remain in the hands
of the public"; 4. "Unions should have autonomy, and make their own decisions. Workers should
be free to organize. We believe in a real democracy, where workers should choose their own
leaders" (www.truthout.org/issues_05/033105LA.shtml).
If one were to seek
an analogy in United States history, it might be not to the Michigan militia, but to the activity of
John Brown as one part of a much broader movement against slavery. In May 1856 Brown led
four of his sons and two other men who seized five pro-slavery activists in Kansas and split open
their skulls with broadswords. Yet it was this same Brown whose bravery when facing execution
moved Thoreau and Emerson, and who was remembered by Union soldiers as they marched to
battle singing, "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on."
HAVING DISAGREED AT LENGTH with Finger and Hamad, let me emphasize one fundamental point of total agreement with them. Hamad rejects a viewpoint he attributes to Tariq Ali: "occupations are usually ugly. How then can resistance be pretty?" (Hamad, 27, quoting the Guardian, Feb. 14, 2004 and Ali's book Bush in Babylon). I agree with Hamad that such reasoning can "effectively dismiss universal norms." Let me share a personal experience.
In 1966 or 1967 I
was asked to join the War Crimes Tribunal organized by Lord Bertrand Russell. In conversation
with the emissary who proffered the invitation, I urged that the alleged war crimes of any party to
the conflict should come before the Tribunal. After all, I argued, a "crime" is an action that is
wrong no matter who does it. Pressing my case, I asked, "What if it were shown that the National
Liberation Front of South Vietnam tortures unarmed prisoners?" The answer, as I understood it,
was, "Anything is justified that drives the imperialist aggressor into the sea." I declined the
invitation to be a member of the Tribunal.
So I think: We
should demand immediate withdrawal of United States forces, the dismantling of all United States
bases, and an end to all attempts by United States corporations to penetrate the Iraqi oil industry,
without "endorsing" (Finger, 26) the Iraqi resistance. After all, even the Vietnamese resistance
that Hamad considers "heroic" (Hamad, 27) immediately upon its victory created reeducation
camps in which all manner of persons were confined in indefinite administrative detention. Why
write blank checks that we might come to regret? We will have fulfilled our historical task as
United States citizens if we can bring about the end of the occupation of Iraq by the government
of this country as soon as possible.
STAUGHTON LYND is a veteran peace activist, historian, and labor lawyer. His books include Living Inside Our Hope, The Fight Against Shutdowns, and Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising.
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