U.S. Peace Movement is the One Force that Can Deter War with Iraq

Interview with Geov Parrish, a journalist with the Seattle Weekly conducted by Between The Lines' Scott Harris.

With United Nations weapons inspectors now on the ground in Iraq, the world holds its collective breath to see how the Bush administration will react, given its stated goal of overthrowing the government of Saddam Hussein. Ambiguous language in the resolution re-establishing weapons inspections in Iraq -- unanimously approved by the 15-member Security Council -- could, in the view of the White House, provide cover for a future U.S. invasion. What would constitute such a "trigger," for war, however, is a still an unanswered question.

But, with administration officials busy making their war plans and key members of Congress predicting that a conflict is imminent, the outlook for a peaceful resolution of this confrontation is bleak. Undaunted by the odds, peace groups around the globe have staged impressive demonstrations, especially in Europe, against a future U.S. strike. In a show of strength that even surprised organizers, an estimated half a million people protested the Bush drive for war in Florence, Italy on Nov. 9. Here in the U.S., 100,000 opposed to a war with Baghdad marched in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 26th in a demonstration largely ignored by the corporate press.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Geov Parrish, a journalist with the Seattle Weekly, who considers the strengths and weaknesses of the new peace movement which has developed in the U.S. in recent months to oppose the White House drive for war with Iraq.

Geov Parrish, a journalist with the Seattle Weekly, is a regular contributor to publications such as In These Times, Alternet and WorkingforChange.com. Read Geov Parrish's article "The Peace Movement Lives" online at www.alternet.org.
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