[ UPDATE : some suggestions for action at the bottom of this post ]
Imagine this :
You're tied to train tracks, and you can see a train - miles away - heading toward you. Time is short.
So, you:
a) Try to untie or cut the ropes
b) Do that, and also scream out for help
c) Write a story about how awful it will be when your body is severed into three or more pieces when the train hits you.
Option "c" is where much of the US left is now regarding the Bush Administration push for war. Ex-commanders of the US 82nd Airborne seem more on the ball here than activists of the US left. They don't want to see the soldiers they've worked with and trained thrown ( incompetently at that ) into the maw of another ill considered war.
Isn't the Daily Kos an ACTIVIST website ?
So, where's the ACTION ?
In the face of what might be a far worse strategic blunder, even, than the US invasion of Iraq...are we simply in a stupor, unable to believe that the Bush Administration is trying to repeat the same blunder as the attack on Iraq, but worse ?
In the face of this, are we utterly helpless ?
Many diaries have been lofted up the recommended list recently, on this forum, concerning the Bush Administration push for a preemptive attack on Iran. Front page posts even occasionally cover the issue.
These mostly are about :
a) Simply chronicling the Bush Administration push for war.
b) Expressing fear about the aftermath of a US attack on Iran.
These reactions are fundamentally PASSIVE.
Is it an "activist" move to noisily wave a white flag that says "we're scared, we're as good as whupped ! We're ready to RUN AWAY !" ? [ a vastly popular DailyKos recommended diary, from yesterday, with a poll - with over 1400 respondents - indicating that 2/3 of DailyKos members are scared ]
What would meaningful action be ?
I've blown far too much time over the past few weeks - and the past year - trying to first write about the aftermath of a US and, yesterday, proposing ways to help actually prevent a US attack.
Maybe such an attack won't happen.
Maybe there are too many institutional voices coming out now against such an attack.
But, many indications are that the Bush Adminstration is hellbent on attacking anyway* [ see footnote ]
So - given the possible consequences [ which I've written about at length recently 1, starting fourteen months ago, isn't it worth speding some energy thinking on how to possibly PREVENT such an attack ?
Are we helpless ? I'm not. Are you ?
This train - of "attack Iran !" - has been visible from far off. And the US left risks being part of the human collateral damage tied to the tracks : my take.
So I decided that I should try to raise the issue of solutions, and did a diary asking for ideas on what we could do. OK, virtually no ideas....
Then, yesterday I proposed a whole range of ideas and ponied up $200 to back one of my more ambitious ideas : $ for ads vs. a US attack. [I've got unpaid bills on the kitchen table by the way].
So here's my question :
Is this an activist website ?
Or would the site be better renamed
"Your daily parade of scandals/horrors/fears" ?
It's starting to feel that way to me - it's very oppressive - like watching or listening to network news : lots of awful stuff going on in the world with solutions ( apparently ) at hand. And no effort even to look for solutions.
A circus of fear, and horror.
_________
*most of the same NeoCons who pushed for a US attack on Iraq are now pushing for a US atack on Iran. See this superb overview by Jim Lobe:
as in Iraq, hardliners in and outside the administration may be embarked on their own psy-war campaign against more moderate forces within the administration, either to counter European pressure on Washington to engage Iran in direct negotiations, to provoke Iran into an overreaction that would offer a pretext for an attack, or to rhetorically box the administration into a position where it would look unacceptably weak if it did not take action.
"A sudden unexplained explosion at a U.S. embassy, a clash with militias in Basra, or a thousand other things could call the administration's bluff," according to [ Gary ] Sick. "(T)here are certainly individuals in and around the administration who would not hesitate for a second to recommend a bombing attack on Iran." [ emphasis mine ]
Let's do a reality check here :
We've seen the Bush Adminstration's M.O. before. Remember the lead up to the invasion of Iraq ?
Doesn't the push to hit Iran look eerily familiar ?
So, what would be an activist - proactive - response to the insane proposition of US preemptive strikes on Iran ?
Are stories about how afraid we all might be proactive ? Or polls indicating that we're afraid about the death of Democracy in America - presumeably following US strikes on Iran and the aftermath - and some of US are considering leaving the US even ?
_______________
UPDATE : SOME IDEAS [ more on the way soon ]
Richard Carlucci has done a great post on how to reframe the "debate" on Iran which he says is slated for this June:
1) Dismiss the Ahmadinejad=Hitler rhetoric at every turn.
This doesn't mean that you defend Ahamdinejad. In fact, it means quite the opposite. What we have to do is reframe opposition to him on terms that are favourable to us, but at the same time make the Hitler comparisons seem totaly inappropriate.
Here's a good example:
Wingnut: Ahamdinejad is a modern day Hitler, and we must do everything in our power to stop him!
Democrat: Calm down, chicken little. It's time for you to stop panicking and get on board with Democrats who want to confront Iran with a strong, well-thought-out plan to prevent them from getting nuclear weapons. We heard the same ranting about Iraq in 2003, and the last thing we need is the same wild-eyed incompetence guiding our approach to Iran.
.....
2) Emphasize Bush's weakening of the military.
We need to constantly remind people how overstretched our military is because of Iraq and Afghanistan. Don't mention this in the context of Iran. The key is to plant the notion that the military is at a breaking point, that way whenever people hear about another war they will make the connection on their own.
"We can't go to war with Iran because our military is already stretched too thin." makes you sound like a defeatist, and make no mistake the Republicans will take every opportunity to point this out because nobody likes a defeatist. If you tell people "we're gonna lose," they will instantly dislike you. Even if it's true, they prefer to have sunshine blown up their asses.
"The Bush Administration has stretched our military to the breaking point - it will take us years to rebuild it and get it back to the unstoppable fighting force it was before the war in Iraq." shows people that you are somebody who cares about the military and takes our nation's defenses seriously. People respect those who take our defense seriously and care about our troops. If you blame Bush for breaking the military, and you emphasize rebuilding it, then that makes him look bad and you look good.....
3) Point out the Bush Administration's incompetence at every opportunity.
People know he's incompetent in certain contexts, but what we need is an effort to unify those contexts together and illustrate a habitual pattern of incompetence.
The American people need to assume that anything this administration tries to do will be screwed up.
When you talk about Iraq, compare it to New Orleans. When you talk about Donald Rumsfeld, talk about Mike Brown and Harriet Miers. When you talk about the War on Terrorism, talk about Bush's failure to reform social security.
Link the various episodes of incompetence into a narrrative that will make people scared shitless of Bush leading us into another war. I know it sucks to have to use fear as a motivator, but in this case it's well-founded: everyone really SHOULD be afraid of Bush taking us into another war!...
______________
Here's a great idea to talk up:
Forget Censure, Discipline Bush on Iran :
[via GN1927 ]
JURIST Contributing Editor Peter Shane of Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University, says that instead of censuring the president, Congress should restrain the foreign excesses of the Bush presidency and restore respect for international law by cutting off funds for any US military adventure in Iran...
madame defarge brought this up:
support Pete DeFazio...
From an email from Democrats.org
Congressman DeFazio Tells Bush: Striking Iran Would Require Congressional Authorization
Congressman Peter DeFazio will send a letter to President Bush reminding him that he is constitutionally bound to seek congressional approval before making any preemptive military strikes against Iran. DeFazio is circulating the letter to other members of Congress seeking additional support. DeFazio will also introduce a resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the President cannot initiate military action against Iran without congressional authorization. He is seeking additional support among other House members for the resolution as well.
Also, from madame defarge:
For whatever good petitions do...
Join Gold Star Families for Peace, CODE PINK, Progressive Democrats of America, Democrats.com, Traprock Peace Center, Global Exchange, Velvet Revolution, Democracy Rising, Truthout, OpEdNews, Backbone Campaign, Consumers For Peace, Campus Antiwar Network, and The Young Turks in signing a petition to Bush and Cheney opposing the launching of a war of aggression against Iran. The petition, with all the signatures and comments you add, will be delivered to the White House by Cindy Sheehan and many other activists.
Sign the petition at DontAttackIran.org
Here are some approaches and talking points I threw out in my last diary :
What can you do ? What can we do ?
We need to throw up a withering counterfire to even the idea that US strikes on Iran would be anything less than insane. We need to broadcast a number of other themes too.
I'm going to lay out here a number of concrete steps YOU can take and WE can take.
Simple steps:
1. Recommend this diary. Few seem to be saying these things now, and they must be said - loudly. I don't have the time to be doing this. It's just that an invasion of Iran would mess up my life - and the World in which I live - even more than spending the time now to write this. Really. I'm acting in my own best self interest.
2. Call your political representatives. Ask them why the Democrats ( or moderate Republicans ) are so paralyzed about the the Bush Administration push to attack Iran. If you are a Democrat, ask why the Democrats aren't using the substantial cover being provided by those from the US defense establishment who have stepped out to say such an attack would be disastrous. If you are are Republican, suggest that you are disgusted and planning to leave the party in the event of such an attack.
3. Protest tactics, personal networks :
WHY is the center and left so paralyzed ? Call your parents, call your friends, call anyone you can - and email them, whatever you can:
Hang banners from highway overpasses : "Attacking Iran is INSANE"
Arrange protest vigils in your city / town [ see talkingpoints/themes belowe ]
4. The Internet : make noise. You know how, and not just here - there are many political forums on the Net. [ See my themes, below. ]
5. A more ambitious plan : a fund for a dKos ad - in partnership with other groups/orgs typically depicted as less "partisan" or more to the center of the political spectrum.
Where ? - I don't know : the NYT, maybe even a TV ad if there's enough $ A TV ad would be great to try for because the big networks would probably initially refuse and then they could be accused of facillitating the Bush Adm. push for war on Iran.
If there's enough interest, this idea will become a separate diary - not necessarily by me but perhaps by some more prominent dKos member. Details can be arranged. For now, let me say this : I'm frightfully broke, and my wife would probably punch me in the head for this, because we've got unpaid bills aplenty, but here's my pledge of $200 - to buy an ad/ads publicizing the fact that a US attack on Iran would be disastrous and batshit insane.
_______
Talking Points, Themes :
The Bush Administration lied repeatedly about alleged Iraqi WMD's - So, we should trust them know about Iranian WMD's
"Iraq, Iran... Here we go again - but WORSE"
"WW4 - Just a few airstrikes away"
"Iraq - "Mission Accomplished" [ what was the mission ? ], Iran....."
"George Bush - Would you buy a used pretext for war from this man ?"
here are some more aggressive themes :
WHY is the Bush Administration aiding the growth of Islamic Radicalism ?
Why is it considering throwing NAPALM on the already growing fire ?"
"What the HELL do they think will happen in Pakistan - and all over the Islamic world if they use Nuclear weapons on Iran ?
WHY do they want to help Islamic radicals to take over in Pakistan and get control of an entire nuclear arsenal ?
Are they trying to provoke WW3 - or do they think of it as "Armageddon" ?
WHY does George W. Bush love Islamic terrorists so much that he wants 10 times as many of them ?