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Anti-War movement
freelancer | Sherrie Gossett

Posted on 10/30/2002 4:38:26 AM PST by Lo-Pro

Anti-war movement being ‘hijacked’?

Terrorism, disctatorship supporters steering national movement, activists warn.

By Sherrie Gossett

Copyright Sherrie Gossett

--------------------------------------------------------- While publicly promoting non-violent protest and humanitarian causes, some key leaders and prominent groups who organized and participated in the anti-war demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol and San Francisco, are staunch supporters of terrorist groups and dictatorial regimes worldwide. Critics now charge that the 'new' anti-war movement is being 'hijacked' by this dominant network whose organizational power is increasing and whose political agenda is anathema to most Americans.

Saturday's rally, which focused on opposition to a U.S.-led war against Iraq and drew 100,000 protesters, featured speeches by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, actress-activist Susan Sarandon, singer-songwriter Patti Smith, as well as a host of lesser-known figures.

The large turnout signals an invigoration of the 'new' anti-war movement, which has been increasingly dominated by the international A.N.S.W.E.R coalition, an organizational front group formed by the International Action Center. Closely allied with IAC is the World Workers Party, a quasi-Stalinist organization that supports authoritarian regimes and Communist dictatorships. Also at the forefront in the weekend demonstration and current anti-war protests was the "Not In Our Name" campaign started by C. Clark Kissinger of Refuse and Resist, an organization with close ties to the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, of which Kissinger is a member and writer for its newspaper.

The controversial ties of IAC remain almost completely unreported by the mainstream media, but increasingly are being exposed by a handful of enterprising Internet journalists, including Michelle Goldberg and Ian Williams of salon.com, Michael Tremoglie, Edward Immler and David Horowitz of Frontpagemagazine.com, and Christopher Hitchens, a 20-year veteran of The Nation magazine, now writing independently. The controversy has spread to the commentary pages of Mother Jones and has Justin Raimondo of antiwar.com crying foul while bemoaning San Francisco's "Baghdad-by-the-Bay" protest experience.

"Pathetic" is how Raimondo described the protest, complaining that those in charge of the demonstration "weren't about to brook any criticism of either their ideology or their methods: this was the only show in town, and they weren't about to give it up."

A small, but growing number of left-wing, right-wing and libertarian activists and writers now accuse the organization's elite of being sellouts to foreign dictators while giving lip service to humanitarian concerns. They say this "patina of morality" obfuscates a surreptitious political agenda: the armed overthrow of the American republic.

Leading critics from both left and right now charge the leaders with supporting the very things they claim to be protesting.

"The International Action Center and the Revolutionary Communist Party [USA] aren't just extremists in the service of a good cause," says Michelle Goldberg, a writer with salon.com. "They are cheerleaders for some of the most sinister regimes and insurgencies on the planet."

"Once people realize this," Goldberg adds, "it could easily discredit any nascent anti-war movement, unless a more rational group comes to the forefront."

SOCK PUPPET FOR SADDAM?

The founder of the IAC and director for A.N.S.W.E.R. is Ramsey Clark, who is introduced at IAC rallies as the former attorney general under the Lyndon Johnson administration. No mention is made of the fact that Clark, in his current occupation, has been retained by the State of Iraq to serve as general counsel for the regime. Not surprisingly, criticism of Saddam Hussein is not aired at IAC/A.N.S.W.E.R.-controlled protest events. There is no mention of Saddam's gassing of the Kurds, invasion of Kuwait, murder of an estimated 1 million of his own people, environmental terrorism, imprisonment, torture or execution of political prisoners.

The suffering of the Iraqi people is blamed solely on the United States, just as the suffering of Palestinians is blamed solely on Israel.

IAC/A.N.S.W.E.R leaders have aligned themselves exclusively with pro-Arafat groups. The only Jewish people truly embraced as "brothers and sisters" are those who equally denounce Israel or deny Israel's right to exist. A.N.S.W.E.R's pro-Palestinian march in April seemed, in fact, little more than a thinly disguised public display of anti-Semitism masquerading as a "pro-Palestinian" march. Frequent mention was made at the march of a "supposed holocaust" and "genocide" in Jenin, despite the fact that New York Times reporters allowed into the area had discredited such reports as erroneous. The "genocide" claims dominated the rally, despite the fact that fatality estimates had already been downgraded from 500 to 56 up to 90, most of which, according to media reports, were said to be terrorists.

While consistently denouncing the American and Israeli "terrorist states," IAC leadership, headed by Clark, have defended dictator Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal Court, and convicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, in a New York civil suit brought by Bosnian rape victims.

Indeed, Serbia also has retained Clark as U.S. counsel. Accordingly, no outrage over Serbian ethnic cleansing or rapes will ever be heard at an IAC/ANSWER rally. Nor will mention be made of the siege of Sarajevo, the killings at Srebrenica or the million homeless refugees. Clark and the IAC make no mention of the notorious tortures held at the Serbian police station on Cacak Street in central Pristina. The scene was discovered by British paratroopers and the media, who described "a bed, with leather straps, its ratty yellow mattress plunged through with bayonet and bullet holes, and clothes of its victims piled in the corner." Reporter Laura Rozen described it as a "house of torture" still reeking of "rotting human flesh" where Kosovo Albanians, many of them teen-agers and children, were brutally raped, beaten and killed. Stashed on the scene were all manner of torture instruments, as well as violent pornography.

Nevertheless, Clark was introduced to an adulating crowd at Saturday's rally as a "man of extraordinary principles and conscience."

Detractors from both the left and the right denounce Clark for his "straightforward dishonesty," calling him the "tyrant-in-chief," a "traitor" and "the international war criminal's best friend."

Overall, IAC considers the U.S. to be the foremost terrorist threat to the world and has claimed that Osama bin Laden was the victim of an imperialist American plot. Brian Becker, member of the secretariat of the World Workers Party, national co-director for the IAC and a member of the national A.N.S.W.E.R. steering committee, is admired by the North Korean dictatorship for his loyalty to their state as well. At a press conference in Pyongyang, Becker denounced the U.S. for "mercilessly killing innocent people."

In May of 2001, F.B.I. Director Louis Freeh labeled the World Workers Party a "potential threat in the U.S."

THE "REALLY BEAUTIFUL THING"

Especially prominent at Saturday's rally was the "Not In Our Name" campaign, which ran a large ad in the New York Times and whose slogan was central to IAC speakers. At least one member of the media labeled the campaign a "really beautiful thing."

Started by Kissinger, the ad was lauded by Hartford Courant writer Frank Rizzo, who quoted the activist as saying: "People have been longing for this. It's a statement that basically repudiates the whole direction of things. It's about American empire-building."

Frontpagemagazine.com writer Michael Tremoglie laments Rizzo's failure to inform readers of the details behind Kissinger or his organization: "The same journalists who will be more than happy to tell their readers that a group is related to, or receives funds from, say the NRA or the Christian Coalition or the dreaded Scaife Foundation, will never mention the relationship of a liberal group with communist organizations – even if such organizations are labeled terrorist by the FBI," says Tremoglie.

Kissinger's Refuse and Resist runs information releases from the Revolutionary Communist Party USA on its site. The following are some of the goals/ideologies of the party as expressed in the party's newspaper, "Revolutionary Worker" which Kissinger writes for:

-Its ideology is Maoist/Leninist/ Marxist communism, and its capstone program for the U.S. is called "Create Public Opinion – Seize Power."

-Party members are being told to anticipate and plan for "a future armed uprising" leading to a "civil war" in the U.S. primed by "a major crack in the system" – a destabilizing event that will enable the RCP to "seize power" in a violent uprising that replaces the American government with a "Communist proletarian dictatorship." Says RCP, "We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time" – a time when "revolutionary crisis breaks out."

-Central to this plan is a stated effort to convince Americans that their government is illegitimate and therefore can and should be overthrown and its institutions seized. At Saturday's rally, Clark labeled President Bush's foreign policy "criminal offenses, they are high crimes, they are indictable offenses, and they are impeachable offenses."

-Repeated throughout the rally was the notion that the American government as a whole had lost its legitimacy, and leaders called on protesters "to seize all the major institutions," "to take democracy back" and "occupy the Capitol," a clarion call with obviously widely different meanings for different groups.

-The RCP expects the armed uprising to follow along Leninist lines in the confrontation of "economic relations with employers" or "immediate exploiters and oppressors."

-Currently they are working to "spread our influence through society, especially where people are protesting or rebelling."

-The eruption of an "actual crisis" is anticipated as the pivot point for the activities of the RCP. This is where "the authority of the ruling class and both its right and its ability to rule are called fundamentally into question." It adds that the "crisis will be marked by sharp divisions within the ruling class itself, reaching into its major pillars of power, including the armed forces."

-While this civil war is said to usher in a "global community of freely associating individuals," whites will not have the same rights of association as minorities. The program calls for allowing "people of color" to "just live around other people of their race" if they desire, but a similar allowance will "not be [made] for white people." This, in spite of the fact that the RCP’s leader, Bob Avakian, is a white male. According to media reports, Avakian is now in France, hiding out from the F.B.I.

-While the Associated Press reported that the Maoist guerilla-led insurgency in Nepal left hundreds dead, the RCP called the bloody uprising "glorious" – a far cry from the anti-violence rhetoric of Saturday's rally.

-In addition, the RCP supports the maniacally brutal "Shining Path" of Peru. The RCP website boasts of killings perpetrated by Shining Path members and notes "rulers in Peru fear the Maoist People's Party." The approved killings include those of police, army personnel and any who disagree with the Shining Path.

In a Workingforchange.com article, writer Geov Parrish recalls Kissinger, identified as a "core member" of the RCP: "I still have vivid memories of Kissinger explaining calmly to me why when the RCP took over it would be necessary to shoot everyone who didn't agree with them."

9-11: ‘NOTHING PERSONAL’

Ramsey Clark and IAC associate Lynne Stewart, labeled by detractors as "the terrorist lawyer," is also an influential presence at IAC events. A civil-rights attorney, Stewart was recruited by Clark to defend the "blind Sheik" Omar Abdel Kahman, later convicted as being the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings and the planner behind the proposed bombings of the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.

In April of this year, Stewart was handcuffed outside her Brooklyn apartment and indicted on two charges of lying to the government and two charges of aiding a terrorist organization. The charges stemmed from recorded conversations between Stewart and her client. Attorney General John Ashcroft charged Stewart knowingly participated in aiding the sheik in communicating with an Egyptian terrorist organization. She denied the charges, portraying herself as the victim of a frightening police state, run by a power-mad administration. But Stewart's reputation was badly damaged when the supposedly sealed affidavit for a search warrant was leaked to Court TV and somehow wound up posted on thesmokinggun.com website. Included were transcripts of the wiretaps that revealed Stewart knowingly allowed the sheik, in violation of federal law, to dictate information to be passed to terrorists. The information passed to an Egyptian terrorist organization included an order to end to a cease-fire. On tape, Stewart joked that she should "get an acting award" for fooling prison guards into thinking she was engaged in a legal lawyer-client conversation.

At Saturday's rally, Stewart gleefully joined protesters in a chant of "Ashcroft sucks! Ashcroft sucks!" She again portrayed the attorney general as a prominent threat to America, denouncing his Patriot Act as a profound and unforgivable violation of civil rights. Some protestors called for Ashcroft’s death and the hanging of Bush administration officials.

In addition to speaking at IAC-led protests advocating "non-violent" resistance, Stewart had this to say in a 1995 New York Times interview: "I don't believe in anarchist violence, but in directed violence. That would be violence directed at the institutions who perpetrate capitalism, racism and sexism, and the people who are the appointed guardians of those institutions."

In a recent New York Times article, author George Packer wrote about Stewart's attitude toward 9-11: "When the towers fell, she felt that her city had been violated and her own life disrupted. But this warm-hearted woman took the slaughter of innocents with a certain cold-bloodedness. The Pentagon was a 'better target'; the people in the towers 'never knew what hit them. ... They took it personally. And actually, it wasn't a personal thing.'"

Packer continued, "As for civilian deaths in general: [Stewart said] 'I'm pretty inured to the notion that in a war or in an armed struggle, people die. They're in the wrong place. ... So I have a lot of trouble figuring out why that is wrong, especially when people are placed in a position of having no other way.' Stewart doubts the government's version of Osama bin Laden, nor does she find him too 'repugnant' to represent."

Writer Robert Tremoglie comments, "Obviously, Stewart's worldview meshes seamlessly with that of Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, the blind Sheik and Osama bin Laden. And with that of ... Brain Becker, Ramsey Clark and the World Workers Party."

He adds, "There are many legitimate defense attorneys who provide legal defenses for clients with whom they do not themselves sympathize. Lynne Stewart, Ramsey Clark are not among them."

If convicted Stewart faces up to 40 years in prison.

"MORALLY TAINTED" LEADERSHIP

Michelle Goldberg of salon.com, writes of the "hijacking" of the 'new' anti-war movement, and contends that the political views of the anti-war protest leaders are "anathema" to most Americans.

Libertarian Justin Raimondo of antiwar.com agrees: "The people who came to these demonstrations – 100,000 in Washington – don't share the politics of the organizers. Indeed, there aren't many people on earth – save in North Korea – who share the politics of the organizers. I won't go into a long tirade about those politics – the 'International A.N.S.W.E.R.' 'coalition' is, in reality, a front for a group of particularly kooky leftists, the Workers World Party."

"Suffice to say that I'm not alone in my criticisms," says the activist, "and that dissatisfaction with having admirers of Kim IL-Sung representing the antiwar movement has bubbled up from the rank-and-file."

"Here, at this solemn moment, as the nation teeters on the brink of a disastrous war," he adds, "and rational arguments are called for, what do we get? 'Rah rah, sis-boom bah! Hooray for us, and [expletive deleted] the rest of the country.' "

"The movement has been hijacked by a bunch of neo-Stalinists," complains Raimondo, "who, oddly enough, utilize their hopped-up 'radical' rhetoric in the service of the most conventional Democratic Party politics imaginable.

"It was a revealing moment, and a truly disgusting sight." he said.

"The only relief from tirades against capitalism came when a few Democratic party politicians trooped to the microphone, telling us how we need "regime change in Washington" – so as to give the Other War Party a chance to prove its warmongering bona fides." he said.

"The Pull", a 'hacktivist' with the infamous "Cult of the Dead Cow" hacking group, told this reporter: "I find that [they] generally are extremely biased and they operate as a cult. While there are communist backings behind them, there are also extremist Islamic backings... and many of their 'liberal' ideas were first found amongst Neo-Nazi cults."

The Cult of the Dead Cow are known as "white-hat" hackers, who work through underground channels to help members of oppressed populations gain access to state-forbidden Internet information- most notably western news sites, human rights web sites, and gay and lesbian organization. To this end they pass hacking tools to members of Communist and radical Islamic governments- tools designed to enable citizens to break through firewalls, in order to gain freer access to information. In addition, they are outspoken opponents of Communist dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. They also have the distinction of being banned in several countries for this reason.

Commenting on the controversial elements of the anti-war leadership, ‘The Pull’ added, "Two of their greatest leaders have a history of supporting ruthless dictators and slaughters." he said, referring to Noam Chomsky and Edward Said. "Chomsky has covered up Sudan and the slaughters behind the Soviet Union. His works are full of extremely biased errors." he said.

"They are obviously supporting a ruthless dictatorship against the US in their fight. It is not with wonder that Iraqi-Americans turned out to counter-protest these groups."

'The Pull' was referring to a counter-demonstration held in the capitol, organized by "freepers" sporting "Tyranny Response Team" T-shirts. "Freeper" speakers challenged current leadership of the anti-war movement, accusing them of being sycophants in the service of brutal dictators. Among the "freeper" speakers was former Clinton administration official, Notra Trulock. Trulock is former Director of Intelligence for the Department of Energy, and a well-known whistleblower on national security intelligence failures. He currently serves as chairman for Accuracy in Media, a journalism watchdog group. ("Freepers" are supporters of the Free Republic Network.) Their Iraqi guests, who addressed the crowd in both English and Arabic, spoke of atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein and pled for Americans to intervene. For some, it was personal- several of the Iraqi-American community members present said they had lost family members to Saddam Hussien’s regime, through execution or imprisonment.

"If these fellows [key leaders] are shown to be extremist Communists and paid by Iraq, many of them will have a trained response" said 'The Pull', such as that one should be interested in a person's points, not his personal life.

Todd Gitlin, author of "The Sixties: Years of Hope, Years of Rage," also agrees with the Goldberg assessment.

Currently a Columbia University professor, the former president of Students for a Democratic Society fears the hypocrisy will result in a "gigantic ruination of the anti-war movement." Gitlin prefers peaceful and informative debates and "teach-ins" where all are allowed (and expected) to present honest, rational arguments for their views.

"They should be holding debates," contends Gitlin, "not rallies of the faithful."

"Clark and others of his mindset are not only morally tainted," adds the professor, "they're doomed. And the anti-war movement is doomed if they're allowed to lead it."

"This will not play in Peoria," warns Gitlin, "It does not deserve to play in Washington."

---------------------------------------------------------

Sherrie Gossett is a Florida-based researcher and writer, formerly with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and a contributing reporter to WorldNetDaily.com and Whistleblower magazine.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: activists; antiwarmovement; clarkkissenger; hackers; lynnestewart; ramseyclark; terrorism
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1 posted on 10/30/2002 4:38:27 AM PST by Lo-Pro
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To: Lo-Pro
Welcome to FR.
Lo-Pro signed up 2002-10-30.
2 posted on 10/30/2002 4:41:43 AM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: Lo-Pro
"The movement has been hijacked by a bunch of neo-Stalinists," complains Raimondo,....."

He meant to say the DEM party instead of 'this movement'.....

3 posted on 10/30/2002 4:48:26 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Lo-Pro
"This will not play in Peoria," warns Gitlin, "It does not deserve to play in Washington."

Gitlin doesn't deserve any play in Washington either. Since when did Gitlin ever apologize for championing Communist murder for the past 50 years?

4 posted on 10/30/2002 4:49:19 AM PST by Burkeman1
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To: RedBloodedAmerican
Shouldn't you save that for disruptors? This is a good post, IMO
5 posted on 10/30/2002 4:49:58 AM PST by William McKinley
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To: William McKinley
If I was thinking he was a disruptor, I would have said "have a nice stay" :)
6 posted on 10/30/2002 5:02:06 AM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: hellinahandcart
Good article on the recent "peace" protest in Washington and the real (violent, totalitarian) nature of the organizers.
7 posted on 10/30/2002 5:03:25 AM PST by Stultis
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To: Lo-Pro
IT'S 6 DAYS 'TIL THE ELECTION

GOOD INTENTIONS DON'T WIN ELECTIONS.

YOU CAN HELP, TODAY. GO TO:

TakeBackCongress.org

A resource for conservatives who want a Republican majority in the Senate

8 posted on 10/30/2002 5:03:31 AM PST by ffrancone
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To: Stultis
Thanks! Amazing article.
9 posted on 10/30/2002 5:09:01 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: Lo-Pro
Heck of a first post. I just bookmarked it.

Bump to the top!

10 posted on 10/30/2002 5:10:28 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: Stultis
Or, I should say "amazing article even though so much of it consists of quotes from Justin Raimondo". :@
11 posted on 10/30/2002 5:14:02 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: William McKinley
I agree it's a good article. The best way to discredit dissent has always been to define it by it's most objectionable members.
12 posted on 10/30/2002 5:14:30 AM PST by steve50
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To: Lo-Pro
Welcome to FR, Lo-Pro, and great article, but where did you find it?
13 posted on 10/30/2002 5:16:48 AM PST by Stultis
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To: sauropod
Check this article out.

'The Pull' was referring to a counter-demonstration held in the capitol, organized by "freepers" sporting "Tyranny Response Team" T-shirts. "Freeper" speakers challenged current leadership of the anti-war movement, accusing them of being sycophants in the service of brutal dictators. Among the "freeper" speakers was former Clinton administration official, Notra Trulock. Trulock is former Director of Intelligence for the Department of Energy, and a well-known whistleblower on national security intelligence failures. He currently serves as chairman for Accuracy in Media, a journalism watchdog group. ("Freepers" are supporters of the Free Republic Network.) Their Iraqi guests, who addressed the crowd in both English and Arabic, spoke of atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein and pled for Americans to intervene. For some, it was personal- several of the Iraqi-American community members present said they had lost family members to Saddam Hussien’s regime, through execution or imprisonment.

14 posted on 10/30/2002 5:19:26 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: Catspaw; Shermy; seamole; Dales
Good article, featuring Ramsey Clark, Lynne Stewart, Brian Becker and the usual suspects.
15 posted on 10/30/2002 5:21:21 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: steve50
The fact of the matter is that these may be the most objectionable members of the anti-war movement, but they also happen to be the leaders and organizers of it.

Dissent is well and good, except when it tries to hide its aravice behind the romantic visage of principled dissent.

16 posted on 10/30/2002 5:22:52 AM PST by William McKinley
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To: hellinahandcart
Yeah, well I'm comfortable in allying with Raimondo for the purpose of opposing Stalism (just).

:@

Haven't come across that one. User ties knot in cherry stem with her tongue?

17 posted on 10/30/2002 5:23:27 AM PST by Stultis
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To: Stultis
You bad boy.

That is a "howling" or "screaming" smiley.
18 posted on 10/30/2002 5:26:20 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: hellinahandcart
Oh. Guess I need a COLD shower this morning!
19 posted on 10/30/2002 5:29:25 AM PST by Stultis
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To: Stultis
Yeah, well, here's one for after your ablutions:

:-x

20 posted on 10/30/2002 5:32:43 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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