Port Militarization Resistance: We must act locally and directly to stop the US Occupation of Iraq

author : Molly Gibbs | Port Militarization Resistance topic : petrolium | Port Militarization Resistance | Port of Olympia

by Molly Gibbs

Having recently returned from Washington DC, and listening to House and Senate hearings on c-span, I believe our Federal government has failed. Both the Congress and the office of the Presidency are dysfunctional to the degree that the corporate system on which their power is based must be challenged.

The only people who can do that are you and I.

That's a large undertaking -- requiring a new electoral system, reflective of the will of the people, reinstatement of laws, habeas corpus, civil rights, and the abolition of torture, signing statements, spying on citizens, and lying as the preferred executive privilege.

Seventy percent of Americans oppose escalating ongoing wars and occupation. Did anyone hear Senator Byrd announce that our treasury is bankrupt?

Recently, an 80-year-old Korean War veteran, a 70-year-old, 63-year-old, myself and two in their 20s tried to meet with Senator Cantwell. The sign greeting us said "This Door is locked." Two aides met us in the hallway where we were forced to stand while talking. When I asked how we could effectively address the depth of concern for soldiers being deployed, we were told, "You need to accept the parameters of the political system."

Politics is all about corporate power. I learned in DC that the average amount of money a Senator needs to sustain a term in office is $50,000 per week.

No wonder our voices are met with words that mean nothing changes. It's all about money, stupid: Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Halliburton, Bechtel and Bearing Point.

The US will never leave Iraq until the Production Sharing Agreements are signed (US -- Iraqi Parliament is voting on them in March) and the new Iraq Foreign Oil Ministry is in place. 70 -- 100% of the oil will go to foreign oil corporations. Maybe the Iraqi people will control up to 30%. There is still no clean water and little electricity or fuel in Baghdad. There is a steady 70% unemployment rate and over 1.6 million refugees. We can't leave until we control more than 17 of the 80 oilfields yet to be developed.

We don't talk about what it means to be an aggressive empire, what it means to take impeachment off the table. Think Office of the Presidency. Before I went to DC Lt Ehren Watada looked me in the eye and asked, "What do you think would have happened if Richard Nixon had been indicted, rather than having resigned?" Indeed, I believe Hillary Clinton will continue the abuses of power initiated by this president, who has far expanded those of Reagan, Nixon, Johnson and Clinton. Remembering, of course, that rather than accountability for nafta -- cafta -- wto crimes, Clinton was impeached for non-impeachable offenses. Hence the timidity of this Congress, which is unable to distinguish between High Crimes, like violations of the Constitution and international law, and personal behavior. While his sexual behavior may have been immoral or inappropriate, it in no way threatened his ability to govern.

The system is broken. We the people must act locally. The potential consequences of war on Iran are too horrific to allow.

The Strykers that will deploy to Iraq in the next few weeks are part of Bush's escalation In Olympia, a large well-organized group called Port Militarization Resistance plans to block this shipment. This poses no harm to the troops currently in Iraq, unless one believes that the escalation will help those already over there. Allowing troops currently safe and secure at Ft. Lewis to deploy to Iraq puts them at high risk of death or injury. This is certainly not to support these soldiers when their mission is to protect access to oil.

A majority of Americans and local residents oppose the continued occupation of Iraq, and an even stronger majority opposes President Bush's escalation. Using the Port of Olympia to ship equipment to Iraq goes against the will of the majority in the US and within our community. Therefore, we have a democratic responsibility to resist.

The occupation of Iraq is a violation of the US constitution and international law. Allowing our publicly financed Port to be used to support the occupation is a violation of Nuremberg Principles and makes our community subject to legal consequences. Therefore we have a legal obligation to resist.

The best way to support soldiers is to prevent them from being placed into the midst of a civil war where they have a high risk of killing and being killed. Therefore we have a moral and humanitarian obligation to resist.

We have developed and intend to pursue a continuum of actions designed to achieve our goal of non-violently blocking the next shipment. There will be a wide range of people -- students, mothers, veterans, military families, laborers and grandparents, musicians, poets, gardeners and engineers, involved. This is how the will of the people can be demonstrated and understood. We share a humanitarian desire to stop endless killing and destruction. We choose to end violence as an accepted way of life, and as the accepted way to manage a shortage of resources.

Molly Gibbs is a mother who lives in Olympia and is actively involved in a number of local organizations devoted to working for peace.