CounterPunch
May 2, 2005
The Long Way Home
Getting Out of Iraq will Prove Tougher Than Getting Out of Vietnam
By KEVIN ZEESE
Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers fame, gave the worst news of the day to those examining lessons from Vietnam thirty years after the end of the war we're going to be in Iraq a long time. It will be tougher to get out of Iraq, than it was to get out of Vietnam. Why? The major difference between Vietnam and Iraq is Iraq has oil, Vietnam doesn't and we need oil.
In addition to Rep. Conyers, two other progressive members spoke, in fact they are the co-chairs of the Progressive Caucus, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). The one thing all three Members agreed on was that it is going to take an up-from-the-ground effort by the people to end the Iraq occupation.
Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, pointed out that a major difference between the Iraq War and the Vietnam War is that already only two years into the Iraq War a majority of the public opposes the war. It took many years to get that far in the Vietnam era. The anti-war movement needs to turn majority support for getting out of Iraq into the policy of the United States.
Jon Volk of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, put forward a practical first step. He suggests people ask their representatives whether there was an intent for the United States to leave Iraq or was the intent to stay there for the long-term? This is a critical first question. If the intent is to leave, then he urges people to get their representatives to sign-onto Rep. Woolsey's resolution, House Resolution 35. (See:
http://democracyrising.us/content/view/177/165/). The resolution makes the case for the need to get out of Iraq but does not set a date for doing so. So far, there are only 33 co-sponsors to the resolution not even the full Progressive Caucus, nor the full Congressional Black Caucus have signed on. Rep. Conyers ended on a high note, the people did it during the Vietnam War, the people will do it again.
Further Information:
Resolution Calling for Withdrawal, HR 35
http://democracyrising.us/content/view/177/165/Institute for Policy Studies
http://ips-dc.org/Iraq Veterans Against the War,
http://www.ivaw.net/Kevin Zeese is a director of Democracy Rising. You can comment on this column on his blog spot at DemocracyRising.US.
http://www.counterpunch.org/zeese05022005.html