Can the Peace Movement Reinvent Itself?

For months now, the antiwar movement has defined itself in opposition to George W. Bush, to his bulldozer style, his hellbent drive toward war with Iraq, his barely disguised contempt for dissent -- domestic and foreign -- and his preference for "shock and awe" over treaties. The movement may have been hazy about what it wanted, but it was crystal clear about what it didn't want: war with Saddam Hussein. At this juncture, with war launched, the antiwar movement faces both a tactical dilemma and a programmatic one. Up to now, organizers have aimed to prevent the outbreak of war. So how do they keep the troops energized despite their evident defeat? And what should their new goals be?

But first a look at the protesters' successes to date. For all its ragged edges, the movement against war in Iraq mushroomed into a global force unprecedented in speed and scale. After a slow start, even the myopic mainstream press eventually latched on to the immensity of the movement afoot around the world. Never in the history of the world had so many marched in common cause.

It all began with a handful of the usual suspects last fall, but in just a few months millions of people were protesting in demonstrations worldwide. Scores of city councils, including Los Angeles', passed resolutions opposing a war. E-mail petitions circulated, newspaper ads were placed, churches and unions passed resolutions. Capitol Hill was besieged by protest faxes. It quickly added up to more than isolated protests: A genuine movement was born, with all the brio and confusion, the ingenuity and cant, the multiple tactics and squabbling styles and the heated political conflicts that movements embody.

Now comes the fork in the road. The militants are already arguing (with conviction and some logic) that conventional tactics have failed and have concluded (with equal conviction but less logic) that it's time for an upturn in civil disobedience. United for Peace and Justice, the coalition that cosponsored the huge demonstrations in New York and elsewhere Feb. 15, has now endorsed civil disobedience in Washington. By Friday, some 1,400 demonstrators had been arrested in San Francisco sit-downs. We can expect more traffic blocking and the like. On the edges of protest, unsupported by the coalition, there will probably be window smashing and other violence. Producers will round up the usual photogenic clashes between police and protesters for the evening news.