Nonviolence and the Middle East Crisis

NVT hadn't received any copy about nonviolent resistance to the Middle East
crisis so I decided to take a quick look around to see if anything is going
on.  The most widely publicized event was leading seaman Terry Jones' refusal
to report for duty on the HMAS Adelaide as it sailed for the Gulf.  One
newspaper reported that he was the first of three who refused to report for
duty with the Australian Task Force.  Senator Jo Vallentine of Perth, reported
on August 24th that "a number of RAN personnel didn't show up at the last
minute" and she suspected that others were seriously considering jumping ship.
She also mentioned that about thirty protests had already occurred at
different Australian bases and that a national coalition had formed to bring
back the frigates from the Gulf.

A quick look at the Pegasus network showed an impressive amount of nonviolent
activity in the U.K., Europe and the U.S.A.  For example, two U.S. Marines
have refused to obey their orders to go to the Gulf, and one of them was on
the fifth day of a hunger strike on the 29th of August.  Daniel Berrigan had
personal knowledge of at least a dozen more that had refused to go to the
Gulf.  There were rumours of other resisters but accurate information from
military offices was difficult to obtain.  Perhaps a better indicator was that
the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors' (CCCO) phones have been
jammed by calls from military personnel pursuing Conscientious Objector (CO)
status.

I felt sad to read a War Resisters International report about an August 3rd
mass execution of 120 Iraqi officers who refused to take part in the invasion
of Kuwait, a very courageous act largely overlooked by the western press. 
It's probably not surprizing since one report said that media interviews and
photographs in the crisis area are allowed only under the supervision of
Pentagon officials.

Generally, the Pegasus entries showed large numbers of local, regional,
national and international organizations;  as well as individuals; conciously
or unconciously using nonviolent tools to deal with the Middle East crisis. 
The nonviolent tools readily identified included rallies; vigils; blockades;
petitions; leafleting; letter writing and phone campaigns; education in the
form of teach-ins and seminars; public speaking like street speaking; personal
discussions with friends, workmates, schoolmates, etc; marches; various forms
of civil disobedience at bases, consulates, oil company offices; and other
things I probably overlooked.  Some organizations offered legal advice, others
offered grants to help start local organizing, some provided information and
statistics that could be used in campaigns, and the list goes on.  There is
even a Basque Peace Ship sailing toward the Gulf, hoping it will be joined by
courageous sailors.

This brief investigation has provided evidence of clear and numerous examples
of investigation, education, negotiation, preparation and direct action being
carried out by an informal international grassroots resistance which has grown
rapidly in response to the crisis in the Middle East.  Although it is given
little space by the media, it is probably the main reason we are not at war
now.

Jerry D. Smith
Editorial Collective