A New Solidarity

On June 22, international opposition to a US-proposed missile defense system based in the Czech Republic and Poland ratcheted up as thousands of people around the world participated in a 24-hour hunger strike.

This action comes on the heels of a three-week hunger strike by two Czech peace activists, Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, followed by a "chain hunger strike" that began on June 2 and continues today with Czech politicians, journalists, actors, dissidents of the former regime, athletes, intellectuals, and singers fasting for 24 to 48 hours. The people want a national referendum on the issue and an end to negotiations that subverts the will of the people.

I've written in the past of the folly and popular opposition to the missile defense scam. The Bush Administration – as Ploughshares Fund President Joseph Cirincione described to me – is "rushing to deploy a technology that does not work against a threat that does not exist."

Joanne Landy and Thomas Harrison write in a recent and valuable Foreign Policy In Focus article that Tamas and Bednar "are part of the new wave of Czech activists" – activists who didn't grow up in the Cold War or under Soviet occupation, but are a product of the grassroots, understand the power of organizing, and want no part of the Czech and US governments going over their heads to build a US military radar base that 70 percent of the Czech population opposes.

These activists are part of a great tradition of Central and Eastern Europeans who have sought a third way – independence and peace for their countries – and a way out of the endless arms race between the US and Russia. (As the great, late British historian EP Thompson described in his July, 1982 Nation cover story, "East-West – Is There a Third Way?") They are building public pressure that challenges the sense of inevitability that US and Czech leaders are trying to create in order to deploy these weapons. Like dissidents in the Cold War, these new activists are forging a movement on behalf of citizens, their voice and their rights.

Landy and Harrison note that while the Bush Administration feigns a commitment to global democracy it demonstrates a pattern of contempt for the will of the people. We see it not only in the Czech Republic and in Poland – where the vast majority of people oppose the proposed US missile interceptor sites so that the US is now exploring possible sites in Lithuania), but also in Iraq where the Administration is hell-bent on building permanent US bases and continuing the occupation against the will of the Iraqis and their elected representatives.

In early July, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Prague to sign the radar base treaty (a day Tamas refers to, with a keen sense of historical irony, as D-Day), Tamas will deliver an online petition calling for a referendum on the Czech radar site (sign on here). Currently over 120,000 people have signed on, and the simultaneous actions this weekend all over the world have created more momentum for this movement. Protests, hunger strikes and letter-writing campaigns were held in Athens, Brno (Czech Republic), Turin, Madrid, Albacette (Spain), Amsterdam, Munich, Milan, Florence, Valencia, Reykjavik, Rome, Toulouse, Koln, Budapest, Malaga, Brussels, and Guadalajara. In the US, there were actions in New York City; Saint Paul; Bangor and Brunswick, Maine; Blue Hill, Nebraska; Albuquerque; Tucson; and California.

But this tremendous grassroots opposition has received zero coverage from the US mainstream media which tends to paint what former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld called "new Europe" as uniformly pro-American. Given the exorbitant costs of missile defense, its destabilizing impact, and the popular opposition in the host countries, greater attention needs to be paid to this issue during this presidential campaign (also because the Bush Administration is attempting to paint Bush's successor into a corner by rushing deployment.)

A look at a side-by-side comparison between Senators Obama and McCain shows that the stakes are high when it comes to missile defense and the new arms race. Senator McCain will – at best – stay the course with Bush-like lunacy. Senator Obama's opposition to missile defense isn't as strong as it should be, and his campaign e-mailed me this statement:

"If we can responsibly deploy missile defenses that would protect us and our allies we should – but only when the system works. We need to make sure any missile defense system would be effective before deployment. The Bush Administration has in the past exaggerated missile defense capabilities and rushed deployments for political purposes. The Bush Administration has also done a poor job of consulting its NATO allies about the deployment of a missile defense system that has major implications for all of them. We must not allow this issue to divide ‘new Europe' and ‘old Europe,' as the Bush Administration tried to do over Iraq."

But Senator Obama's statement does open the door to stopping deployment – the fact is that the system hasn't proven effective in the least – even against the most basic countermeasures. On that basis alone a President Obama would need to stop any deployment.

But stopping deployment based on performance issues misses the more powerful political and moral point here – we need the next President to lead a US that truly respects and supports democracy. That's good politics and good policy. Residents of the host countries simply don't want this weapon. It's time we listen to the will of the people and fight to chart a more sane course.

Comments (23)

1. Interesting piece, Katrina.

   Any physicist worth his salt will tell you that missile "defense" is an essentially futile enterprise --for just one example, cheap decoys can be easily deployed since even a balloon travels through low Earth orbit in the same manner as a missile.

   But the larger issue right now is how do we deal with an Obama candidacy that has recently shown disturbing signs of performing the same tired old tactics that the damn Dems just cannot seem to break free from. Namely, secure the nomination, and immediately tack hard right.

   It's a bit like seeing your infant child loudly bang his head repeatedly on a concrete wall --you want to scream, STOP IT!!

   Here's an excerpted Counterpunch piece today that echoes what I've been arguing here lately:

   Obama's Rightward Lurch

   By GREGORY KAFOURY

   Barack Obama arrived on the political scene with a smile as beautiful as salvation itself, like a visitor from an idealized future, one where the races have combined to a golden hue, sent here to show us the way. Of course people fell in love with him. Yet now we see Obama drawn into the great room where the Democratic/Corporate establishment dwells, and the door is slowly closing behind him. This is not how it was supposed to be....

   Progressives were all too eager to overlook the warning signs in Obama's brief career, his support for the Patriot Act, for nuclear power, his vote against limiting credit card interest to 30%, his calls for increased defense spending, and his equivocation on full withdrawal from Iraq. These decisions were mere matters of political expediency, we were assured, not to be taken seriously.

   Yet how can political expediency explain Obama's retreat on NAFTA? Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania are all in play - how many of those voters have been broken on the wheel of NAFTA? Those who contend that the real Obama will suddenly emerge after the election to overturn an imperial foreign policy and to bring justice to the home front, might be advised not to hold their breath.

   Obama desperately needs pressure from the left, and he is amenable to pressure. Once we on the left agree that this analysis is correct, then we must choose the correct strategy.

   So far, blind support of Obama has yielded the same kind of benefits that we got from John Kerry. With the united left in his pocket, Kerry went from a declared "anti-war" candidate to a thoroughly hawkish one, berating Bush for wimping out in the face of massive civilian casualties in Falluja, and promising to win the Iraq war. Unconditional support for the Democratic nominee is unconditional surrender, with all the utter powerlessness that the terms imply.

   As one alternative, we can complain, write and blog, for all these have their place. But we are all too good at talking to ourselves, and disparate efforts without a focus are all too easily dismissed.

   We must consider support for Ralph Nader's campaign.....

   For those who claim that Nader can only hurt Obama, I suggest the opposite is true. Gore and Kerry were both doomed by the accurate perception that they were corporate to the core. People knew in their gut that these guys were not on their side. (In 2004, Kerry fled from a living wage initiative in Florida; it passed nearly three to one.) It must also be remembered that in 2000, when Nader was at 5%, a full 15% believed he was the best candidate. More importantly, Nader's positions are not just majoritarian ones, most enjoy overwhelming public support. Full military and corporate withdrawal from Iraq, major reductions in the defense budget, a crackdown on corporate crime, single-payer health care, massive investment in renewable energy and conservation, a living wage - these would provide a platform that would send Obama to a historic victory, and all are available for the taking.

   Those who insist we must work only within the Democratic Party have clearly failed to hold Obama to his promise. We must get outside the box. Obama needs a great big push, and we are the only ones who can give it to him.

   --I now brace myself for the usual chorus of Nader haters, and those who incessantly accuse him of losing Florida for Gore in 2000 blah, blah, blah.........

   Get real people, the reality of a political race in a truly democratic society is that clear voiced, principles espousing candidates are an essential tool to flush out the double talkers and confabulators.

   Another ironclad political rule is that those who win with a weak or watered down platform are wounded well before they even set foot in the White House.

   We can't afford to let that happen this time.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:11pm

2. Once again. Why the hell are we deploying a system that is proven ineffective in a country that does not want it there. First make sure the system works then deploy it somewhere that they they don't mind having it. Bush's complete disregard for the will of other countries and for tax payer money is staggering. When you have this many people around the world protesting this including 70% of the host population you need to stop and rethink, something Bush is not good at. There is a point when conviction turns into foolishness and Bush has proven that time and again even when his path is the wrong path he will foolishly stick to it.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:25pm

3. Odds?....3:2 the missile system is up and operational by Christmas.

   If the Czech or Polish government were going to stop this, it would have been stopped a long time ago.

   Hate to sound like LVLIB...but doesn't sound like "the movement" is going to stop it.

   Posted by Mask at 06/24/2008 @ 2:26pm

4. A New Solidarity? Hmmmmm.......well maybe not. Interesting reaction by comments recently by Senator Schumer in the Wall Street Journal. Doesn't look like everyone is on board with the New Solidarity...particularly those who have suffered at the hand of the former Soviet Union, suffer from the continous meddling of Russia in the affairs of former Soviet satellites, and those who suffer at the hands of Neo Nazis Russian nationalists whom Putin and Medvedev apparently turn a blind eye to when it is well within their powers to round up the lot and put them in jail.

   "From the Estonian American National Council:

   Articles in English 10 Jun 2008 EE Online Trüki E-post

   From the Estonian American National Council:

   Please distribute and contact Senator Schumer!

   On June 3, 2008, Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) published an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Russia Can Be Part of the Answer on Iran." Sen. Schumer proposes that the United States abandon plans for NATO's anti-missile system in Central Europe as it "mocks Mr. Putin's dream of eventually restoring Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe." He also proposes to recognize Russia's "traditional role" in the Caspian region, and "make Russia whole if it joins in our Iranian boycott."

   Sen. Schumer suggests these actions to coerce Russia to join in a boycott to impose stronger economic sanctions against Iran, in order to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

   The full article can be viewed at: http://online.wsj.com/article/... and is also below. l For your convenience, below is a sample letter to Senator Schumer. Please revise as you wish or write your own version, but the main thing is to express your opposition to „Russian hegemony over Easter Europe." You can send your correspondence via e-mail to http://schumer.senate.gov/Schu... or fax: 202-228-3027 (Washington, D.C. office). If you live in New York State, it is especially important for you to voice your opinion! ________________

   The Honorable Charles E. Schumer United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

   Dear Senator Schumer:

   As an Estonian American (if applicable) and your constituent ( if applicable), I was deeply distressed by your June 3, 2008, opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal entitled "Russia Can Be Part of the Answer on Iran." The country of Estonia, and my relatives and compatriots, suffered greatly under "Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe." I was utterly shocked by your suggestion that the nation of my ancestors, as well as all of the other Central and East European countries, who only recently were able to regain their freedom from Soviet occupation, be used as trade commodities in order to appease or entice Russia.

   For decades Estonians were mercilessly persecuted by Russia, whose "greatness" you suggest Mr. Putin to restore. Yet, in your opinion piece, you find it possible to suggest that modern-day Russia be allowed to dominate the independent nations of Central and East Europe in order for the U.S. to achieve its goals.

   Your recommendations and suggestions are incongruent with America's long-maintained stand of never recognizing the incorporation of Estonia, nor of the other two Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania, by the Soviet Union. The United States has been extremely supportive of the countries in the former Soviet bloc as they have striven to eliminate Russian hegemony in Central and East Europe and establish themselves as independent, vibrant, and democratic nations. Proposals such as yours suggest that the United States, the strongest democratic state in the world, play into Russia's longing for its past "greatness and glory," achieved by the domination of others, and allow it to again control other nations.

   While I agree that an Iran with nuclear capability is a threat, this is not the way to deal with it! I respectfully call upon you to publicly retract your statements in the Wall Street Journal op-ed, and to indicate your support for the continued independence of all Central and East European countries.

   Sincerely,"

   Posted by OneVote at 06/24/2008 @ 2:27pm

5. Katrina, calling this a movement is rather hyperbolic. If one takes just the populations of the US, Canada, and Europe, you have around a billion people. From that, 120,000 people have signed this petition. You can get more signatures on a petition for almost any mundane topic in a weeks time or even a weekend.

   It sounds to me more like an attempt to create a false image of protest rather than anything of substance.

   But, nice try.

   Posted by lvliberty1 at 06/24/2008

   The 65% of the Czech population that do not want it there is enough for me.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:30pm

6. Excellent post, One Vote.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:32pm

7. "But while the Americans and the Czechs recently concluded their negotiations, the Polish government has balked at the US terms on offer, insisting on large-scale military aid from the US to modernise its armed forces in return for agreeing to host the silos for 10 interceptor rockets."

   That is the meat of the reason that the Polish government is trying to ignore the will of their people. They want us to give them guns and training kind of like Israel. We don't need to front the bill for another country. We are not arms dealers.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:33pm

8. "We are not arms dealers."

   Posted by Cccomfo1

   Would that it were so.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/24/2008 @ 2:38pm

9. Excellent post, One Vote.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/24/2008 | ignore this person | warn this person

   What KVH does not address is that many of the former Soviet bloc states have large contingents of Russian heritage citizens who can trace their roots back to relocation programs instituted by Stalin in an effort to Russiafy their satellites. Many of the relocated Russians (and their progeny) owe more allegiance to Russia than they do their own countries. I don't doubt that much of the base of support for the New Solidarity comes from folks who motives aren't exactly and clearly aligned with "world peace."

   Posted by OneVote at 06/24/2008 @ 2:48pm

10. Surely there are more relevant topics that this hunger strike...

    Posted by JOMAMMA at 06/24/2008

    "a 24 hour hunger strike."

    Their suffering must have been.....extraordinary.

    folly. and stupid.

    Posted by Benchrest at 06/24/2008 @ 5:40pm

11. POP 867 with 392 housing units!!!

    At any given moment there might be more birds in the town than people...

    ~Posted by Monsta' Maasch (aka The Nitwit from Nebraska)

    Uh, there are many more birds than people in most any given city you care to name, Bozo.

    Ever been to NYC?

    By the way, there are also more bacterial cells in and on each person than there are eukaryotic (our own) cells that comprise the human body itself.

    In your case, Monsta', the cells that comprise your neural system, quite frankly, appear to function sub-optimally, or perhaps they've simply been decimated by a few too many of your favorite German lager over the years?

    Boy's about as sharp as a bowlin' ball.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/24/2008 @ 7:41pm

12. Katrina:

    Did you run out of Finland stories? WEV!

    Posted by sntauri at 06/24/2008 @ 9:04pm

13. I appreciated reading about the New Solidarity. I bet those numbers on the petition would skyrocket if the press actually informed people about the billions of dollars about to be wasted on a Czech Radar missile system, also known as "Star Wars," which the majority of the people in the Czech Republic don't want. And what if they found out that it's triggering a new Cold War and nuclear tensions that endanger all?

    If thousands of people were willing to do a hunger strike even for one day across the globe, that gives me hope that millions would be willing to do it if the word spread.

    Nor would I only look at the numbers. According to the petition website, over the last few days Jan Tamas has been invited to Strasbourg for a special session with the Members of the European Parliament willing to work on the issue. Also, the Vice President of the European Parliament has agreed to go to Prague to attend a conference opposing the US base.

    Not bad! Today's activism will have a different style than the past and this points in that direction. Thanks, Katrina for recognizing what's new.

    Posted by Hermes at 06/24/2008 @ 9:14pm

14. Posted by Hermes at 06/24/2008 @ 9:14pm

    Hermes, a "one day" "hunger strike"...is not a hunger strike...it's a "day of fasting".

    How long did GANDHI hunger strike?

    Posted by Mask at 06/25/2008 @ 08:50am

15. Thanks for the news, KvdH. Let the nay-sayers persist in their incessant saying of nay (as Jon Stewart would say). This petition will grow, and in the Czech Republic, at least, the government will pay attention.

    I love the Czechs! Recently their government has contributed a lot of money to help out the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Iowa, which has recently suffered a lot of damage in the flooding.

    I'd like to send those hearty hunger strikers some fresh kolaches from Jerabek's New Bohemian Bakery in Saint Paul, with my thanks! Alas, this isn't really possible. Of course, carrying kolaches to the Czech Republic would be like carrying coals to Newcastle or, as the Germans would say, like carrying owls to Athens.

    I have to laugh at all the commenters on this thread who say that the anti-Star-Wars movement doesn't matter because it's so small. Okay, wise guys, so how many of YOU are there? And what will you do if the proposed Strategic Boondoggle in the Czech Republic gets canceled? Will you fast for a day? Will you even send an e-mail? - Some movement YOU are!

    Posted by JakobFabian at 06/25/2008 @ 09:29am

16. After reading several of Katrina Van Oxygenthief's entries, it seems clear to me that she's forgotten what team she's on. It's amazing how a pampered life of privilege does that to people sometimes. Criticism, rather than gratitude, is the easy road that's taken by the far left in this country, and it's a shame.

    Posted by jimmylove at 06/25/2008 @ 11:47am

17. as the Germans would say, like carrying owls to Athens.

    i have never heard this, not from germans, not from anyone.

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/25/2008 @ 12:57pm

18. Dear "Emile DuBois,"

    well, now you have heard it!

    And you can look it up at a website called "LEO" ("Link Everything Online"), my favorite German-English online dictionary. (dict.leo.org) Simply type the words "Eulen nach Athen" in the "Search" box.

    The expression "Eulen nach Athen tragen" could of course be "veraltet" and now no longer in fashion in the German-speaking world. Modern Germans, especially of the younger generation, may find it "spießig." I don't mind, now that I'm over forty.

    Posted by JakobFabian at 06/25/2008 @ 5:47pm

19. JakobFabian

    thanks, I wiki-ed it already. verry inneresting.

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/25/2008 @ 5:58pm

20. Few remarks from Czechia: Most of the 120000 signatures under the online petition are Czech. There is definitely an anti-base movement in the Czech Republic. Another proof is a hard-copy petition for referendum on the base (according the the Czech Petition law, more difficult to collect signatures, stronger political relevance)which reached 100000 signatures recently. The "Iran threat" was never perceived here as serious for good reasons, and the Czech government knows it. So it has occasionally tried to wield the "Russian threat" instead. But: There has never been any "Russian minority" in the country that would threaten us. Since Gorbachev Russians have been aware of the fact that dominating the Central East Europe was a futile exercise with costs far exceeding any possible benefits. Yes, we will need Russian gas and oil. But to secure access on the basis of mutual agreements within the broader European framework appears a much better solution than trying to extort it from Russia via the U.S. military domination.

    Rudolf Prevratil, Prague

    Posted by prevratil at 06/25/2008 @ 8:23pm

21. prevratil

    good to hear from you, Rudy

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/26/2008 @ 09:51am

22. How can we believe ANYthing Obama says now, when he lied about the one essential aspect of American Democracy, the Constitution? Or has our attention to foreign affairs led us to ignore his support of the FISA Cave-in Bill, despite his Promise to filibuster telecom immunity last October?

    He is just another politician, saying ANYthing to get elected, and ready to abuse power once there.

    Do YOU care about the Constitution, Katrina?

    Your next web poll ought to be asking what your readers think of Obama's traitorous act.

    Posted by sjduskin at 06/26/2008 @ 10:16pm

23. Why do the Czechs need a missile defense again?

    Oh, wait, so the US Federal Government can transfer a bunch of wealth from our citizens and give it to defense contractors. Duh! Sorry. Brain fart.

    Posted by ginza00 at 06/28/2008 @ 8:32pm