Detecting language using up to the first 30 seconds. Use `--language` to specify the language Detected language: English [00:00.000 --> 00:04.880] of the Spanish Civil War, opposed to war during the period of the Hitler-Stalin [00:04.880 --> 00:10.080] pact, and the anti-war sentiment grew in strength, as the Cold War seemed to present [00:10.080 --> 00:16.160] the situation, of an unending series of conflicts. Later on, when the U.S. got involved [00:16.160 --> 00:21.360] in the Vietnam War, opposition movements began slowly on various U.S. college campuses. [00:21.360 --> 00:27.520] These campaigns grew into very large demonstrations from 1967 until 1971. [00:27.520 --> 00:33.680] Moving forward to the 2001 Afghanistan War, there was initially little opposition [00:33.680 --> 00:38.080] in the United States and the United Kingdom. Most vocal opposition came from [00:38.080 --> 00:43.120] pacifist groups and groups promoting a leftist political agenda. In the United States, [00:43.120 --> 00:48.240] for example, the group answer was one of the most visible organizers of anti-war protests. [00:48.240 --> 00:54.240] Opposition to the Afghan War grew more widespread, partly as a result of weariness, [00:54.240 --> 00:58.800] with the length of the conflict, and partly because it conflated with the Iraq War and therefore [00:58.800 --> 01:04.400] renewing support of anti-war movements. Millions of people staged mass protests across the [01:04.400 --> 01:09.680] world in the immediate pollute to the invasion, and demonstrations and other forms of anti-war [01:09.680 --> 01:15.920] activism have continued throughout the occupation. The anti-war movement continues today [01:15.920 --> 01:22.080] with talks of possible war against Iran, the U.S. drone attacks on Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, [01:22.080 --> 01:26.160] and the military intervention in Libya, and a possible intervention in Syria. [01:26.960 --> 01:32.160] How effective is the anti-war movement today, and to what extent is the anti-war activism [01:32.160 --> 01:34.640] helping in pressuring governments out of wars? [01:40.640 --> 01:44.480] Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Asad, thank you very much for joining us on the show. [01:44.480 --> 01:51.040] Thank you for receiving me. Thank you. Asad, in a region that has been going on through [01:51.040 --> 01:56.560] different turmoil throughout the history, how important do you think an anti-war movement [01:56.560 --> 01:58.880] is in the Middle East, where you are based? [01:58.880 --> 02:06.480] Well, I think it would be important not only in the Middle East, but anywhere where there [02:06.480 --> 02:14.960] are troubles, whether the troubles are between governments or between the same population and [02:14.960 --> 02:21.200] the same country? In this case, you mean civil war? Yes, it could be civil war, in that case. [02:21.200 --> 02:27.440] And how important it is to promote peace among people, so we can, like, how can we prevent civil [02:27.440 --> 02:32.560] wars in general? Since we're talking about civil war, and you're an activist when it comes to civil [02:32.560 --> 02:41.520] war as well. How now we prevent that? Yes, this is a good question, and I think that one should [02:41.520 --> 02:50.400] start with dealing with the injuries of the past of history, because you would be really surprised [02:50.400 --> 02:59.280] if you knew how much we are carrying in our memory and in our history, [02:59.280 --> 03:10.560] things that might push us to make war later on, further on in our country's history. [03:10.560 --> 03:23.840] This is one. The second thing would be to pacify people, to put a kind of immunity among them [03:23.840 --> 03:33.120] and try to redeem, not to redeem, I mean to to cover the divide that separates different [03:33.120 --> 03:40.800] components of this population or because they're not creating gaps, and then you need to reconnect [03:40.800 --> 03:49.440] people together after a war. Yes, reconnecting comes, can come, even during the war, I mean, [03:49.440 --> 03:56.000] a shyly, of course, but it should start somewhere, I mean, but of course it would increase and [03:56.000 --> 04:03.920] become serious, and it will build for better future. Okay, now we'll talk about your activism [04:03.920 --> 04:08.640] in the work you do later on, but let me ask you this question, how can we have, like, [04:08.640 --> 04:14.240] from my understanding, there is no anti-war movement right now in the Middle East in general, [04:14.240 --> 04:19.920] but how can an anti-war movement in the Middle East affect the whole world, affect the whole region, [04:19.920 --> 04:27.200] maybe? Now let's agree on something, when you say anti-war movement, we mean by it, [04:27.200 --> 04:34.880] something that starts from within, not something that we import from another country or another group [04:34.880 --> 04:41.360] or another organization. I imagine that, of course. But what is the formula that is acceptable [04:41.360 --> 04:51.520] in the Middle East? Well, I think that the, once you start speaking of anti-war, you should speak [04:51.520 --> 05:06.880] also of anti-injustice and anti-aggression and anti-hatred and so on. Correct. Now, when it comes to, [05:06.880 --> 05:13.760] when it comes to your work, Mr. Assad, can you tell us more about your work and what organizations, [05:13.760 --> 05:19.360] your part of and what is the kind of work you do? Yes, I'll tell you, I'm part of an organization [05:19.360 --> 05:28.480] called initiatives of change abroad, I mean, but in the Arab world, we kept the old name, [05:28.480 --> 05:37.680] moral rearmament. In fact, it started as, if you like, a call to governments, before the [05:37.680 --> 05:46.080] second world war in Europe, to start buying weapons and preparing themselves to emiliterate [05:46.080 --> 05:57.600] war and to rearm themselves instead morally. And later on, it became initiatives of change abroad, [05:57.600 --> 06:04.560] I mean. So, I am part of this movement that changed me, because I took part in the civil war [06:04.560 --> 06:13.280] in Lebanon. I was a fighter, with the Christians, I was an officer, let's say, in intelligence [06:13.280 --> 06:20.960] services and I, at a certain level, I came to meet these guys and they told me, listen, [06:20.960 --> 06:25.600] are you, you want to change Lebanon at the Middle East? Are you ready to change yourself? [06:25.600 --> 06:30.480] Yes. And it was a shock. That's what you said, change starts from within. Yes. Yes. [06:30.480 --> 06:35.360] Now, I'll ask you to stay with me for a minute, Mr. Asap, because I'll go now to my guest [06:35.360 --> 06:39.920] via Skype, Mr. Chris. Mr. Chris, welcome and thank you for being on the show. [06:39.920 --> 06:46.400] Thank you, thank you. Mr. Chris, can you first of all give us a general idea, a general overview [06:46.400 --> 06:49.840] of the anti-war movement taking place in Britain right now? [06:49.840 --> 06:56.080] Well, over the last 12 years since the beginning of the war on terror, there's been a very, [06:56.080 --> 07:01.760] very big movement in Britain, protesting first of all over the Afghan war, the Occupational [07:01.760 --> 07:07.280] Afghanistan, and then of course, massive demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq, [07:08.240 --> 07:14.160] which have continued, which continued right through till 2006. And then there's been [07:14.160 --> 07:24.400] big protests over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2007, more big demonstrations against the [07:24.400 --> 07:32.160] attack on Gaza, and a continued state of activity to try and get the troops out of Afghanistan, [07:32.960 --> 07:41.600] and protest as well over the current the government attempts to plans to arm the rebels in Syria [07:41.600 --> 07:48.160] and into them in that way. We have protest over the war, the bombing of Libya. [07:49.360 --> 07:56.480] The movement isn't at the same scale as it was back in 2003 or 2005, but it represents the opinion [07:56.480 --> 08:01.440] of the vast majority of people who are actually opposed these foreign wars, and that's very [08:01.440 --> 08:08.000] important because it does put some pressure, and it kind of inhibits politicians at least to a [08:08.000 --> 08:12.320] certain extent, stocks who are doing some of the more extreme things they might want to do. [08:14.080 --> 08:20.320] Okay, now Mr Chris, why should people be more active as anti-war individuals? Because like [08:21.360 --> 08:27.120] can we talk about the effect war can have on a society in general, and how people should be [08:27.120 --> 08:32.640] a more aware of these effects? Yeah, I'm not in the main reason why people demonstrated [08:32.640 --> 08:38.320] and continue to protest and oppose the wars, is because they know that they're completely [08:38.320 --> 08:46.960] counterproductive. They know that in Iraq, for example, up to a million people have been killed [08:46.960 --> 08:53.520] by the Western intervention, the infrastructure has been shot to pieces, obviously the [08:53.520 --> 08:59.440] problems that you know all too well about, the refugee crisis, and the continuing [08:59.440 --> 09:03.760] damage that has been done by the wars, and I think the whole intervention was based on a [09:03.760 --> 09:09.760] lie, that was the, and then there's a whole question of the damage that it's done to our own [09:09.760 --> 09:16.160] political system here, because as you say, we were taking to war on a series of lies, [09:16.160 --> 09:22.960] a secret deal, maybe between Tony Brown and George Bush, openly lying to Parliament to the [09:22.960 --> 09:29.600] people, to the counternerves, and there's a kind of democratic deficit, there's a kind of degrading [09:29.600 --> 09:34.400] of the democratic system in Britain, which is directly linked to that whole experience of [09:34.400 --> 09:38.480] those wars. So, you know, it's been very bad, it's very bad to civil liberties as well, [09:38.480 --> 09:43.760] I mean, we've all seen the kind of things that the NSA has been up to in America in the last [09:44.960 --> 09:50.720] three or four years or more, but also GCHQ in Britain is very, very centrally involved in that [09:50.720 --> 09:55.680] as well, so civil liberties have been massively under attack. Those have been even increasing racism [09:55.680 --> 10:02.080] in British society against Muslims to direct product of the war on terror. So, you know, [10:02.080 --> 10:08.000] there's lots of reasons, lots of very, very good reasons to be against these wars, and that's [10:08.000 --> 10:12.720] before you even mentioned the hundreds of British soldiers that have died, the thousands that have [10:12.720 --> 10:18.240] been wounded, the families that have been torn apart by that whole experience. It's been a disaster, [10:18.240 --> 10:22.400] the war on terror has been a complete catastrophe, and that's why the majority of people in Britain [10:22.400 --> 10:30.080] are against it. Mr. Chris, how is, stop the war coalition involved on ground in fighting war [10:30.080 --> 10:34.720] and promoting peace? Like, what activities is the coalition involved in? [10:36.080 --> 10:43.440] Well, we've got groups up in the country, we have public meetings and protests and a whole [10:43.440 --> 10:48.880] series of events throughout the year. Sometimes we come together in London for a big event like [10:48.880 --> 10:53.440] we had a conference early this year, which was an international peace conference where we had [10:53.440 --> 10:59.840] some people come up with in the United States and elsewhere where we had thousands of people [10:59.840 --> 11:05.040] to discuss the situation of the war on terror and to debate how best to counter it. We have, [11:05.040 --> 11:09.920] as you know, over the last ten or twelve years, we've had absolutely massive demonstrations [11:09.920 --> 11:16.240] for big demonstrations of any kind in British history, two million people demonstrated against [11:16.240 --> 11:24.880] the Iraq War. We have direct action, we have a kind of an information campaign via the [11:24.880 --> 11:32.640] web and publications exposing the lies and the arguments that the government put forward to [11:32.640 --> 11:38.080] promote the wars. We also have a campaign against Tony Blair, but as we believe that Tony Blair [11:38.080 --> 11:44.080] is essentially a war criminal and that he should be brought to justice for what he's done to [11:44.080 --> 11:49.920] the Iraqi people and the fact that he's done it deceitfully and behind the backs of the [11:49.920 --> 11:55.600] of the population in Britain, behind the back of Parliament. So we've got a kind of ongoing campaign [11:55.600 --> 12:02.240] to bring him to justice, which is also very popular. So I mean, we just put the arguments against [12:02.240 --> 12:08.480] the war as high profile in society as we possibly can and as loudly as we possibly can and it [12:08.480 --> 12:15.280] has had some effect because as I say, we're now in a position where 75% of the British people think [12:15.280 --> 12:22.160] these foreign interventions should cease and then we should stop supporting U.S. foreign policy [12:22.160 --> 12:26.160] and participating in their wars. Great. That's a quite a lot of [12:26.960 --> 12:30.240] proportion. Mr Chris, I would ask you to stay with me for a minute because [12:30.240 --> 12:38.080] are we going to take a short break and we'll be right back, please and gentlemen, stay in tune. [13:31.120 --> 13:34.000] Even. Women's rights redefined. [13:43.680 --> 13:47.120] Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Early in all, we talked to our two guests. [13:47.120 --> 13:52.320] Mr Asad and Mr Chris, we talked about the work, stop the war coalition does and also [13:52.320 --> 13:56.400] the organizations that Mr Asad is involved in. Mr Asad, you've said that you're involved [13:56.400 --> 14:01.120] in the first organization. Can you tell us more about the activities that you do regarding [14:02.560 --> 14:08.320] peace and call like reconciliation also promoting anti-war sentiment? [14:08.320 --> 14:15.280] Yeah, in fact our main work is to speak about personal change and that one should change [14:16.880 --> 14:21.680] to improve his family, society, his country, everything. [14:21.680 --> 14:31.280] According to some moral values, but we had the occasion because I had changed, [14:31.280 --> 14:38.240] I mean and because in the year 2000 I addressed a public letter of apology to the Lebanese [14:38.240 --> 14:46.240] population regarding what I had done during the civil war in Lebanon, in the name of Christianity [14:46.240 --> 14:52.960] and of Christ and of my country. So we have the occasion together with another [14:52.960 --> 15:01.520] ex-factor also who was the Muslim side. We go and meet young people in schools, universities, [15:02.480 --> 15:10.720] clubs, etc to talk about how hatred starts in the hearts, you know, and how you carry it, [15:10.720 --> 15:17.840] and how you slip into violence very easily, and what you are able to do during the war [15:17.840 --> 15:25.120] since unbelievable, and what is the best way to get out of this? So basically you just promote peace [15:25.120 --> 15:31.440] throughout workshops and maybe seminars and talks. Yes. Okay, Mr Asad, I want you to stay with me [15:31.440 --> 15:37.920] for a minute because I go now to our guest to joining us via phone, Mr Ryan Becker, Mr Brian Becker, [15:37.920 --> 15:42.880] thank you for being on the show. Thank you for having us. Thank you. Mr Brian, can you give us a [15:42.880 --> 15:48.320] general overview of the work of the answer coalition and the role you play on ground in [15:48.320 --> 15:52.720] pressuring the US government out of wars or trying to pressure the US government? [15:53.760 --> 16:01.040] Certainly the answer coalition has been in existence since September 14, 2001. We formed just [16:01.040 --> 16:07.040] three days after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in Pentagon. We were [16:07.040 --> 16:11.760] concerned that the Bush administration at that time would take advantage of that horrible [16:11.760 --> 16:20.720] attack in order to carry out a cynical shift in US foreign policy specifically in intervention [16:20.720 --> 16:27.520] as foreign policy, and we saw that manifest itself quickly with the invasion of Afghanistan [16:27.520 --> 16:34.240] and then in March 19, 2003, the invasion of Iraq. During that time period, the answer coalition [16:34.240 --> 16:41.120] organized literally hundreds of thousands of people, almost every month, starting in October [16:41.120 --> 16:48.320] 2002 until after the invasion of Iraq, generating an anti-war movement that began in the United [16:48.320 --> 16:53.840] States, but then became a worldwide movement. Since then, we have continued to oppose [16:53.840 --> 17:00.960] US foreign policy, which we consider to be aggressive in imperial and its designs and its objectives, [17:00.960 --> 17:06.560] we have continued to oppose the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan. We have posed an organized [17:06.560 --> 17:13.520] large-scale activities in the United States against the bombing of Libya in 2011. And just recently, [17:13.520 --> 17:20.800] we have been organizing events, rallies, demonstrations against the use of drone warfare that's [17:20.800 --> 17:26.960] targeted assassinations against people in other lands, drone technology that's quickly migrating [17:26.960 --> 17:32.720] and infecting to the cities of the United States. And right now, we're organizing an opposition [17:32.720 --> 17:40.800] to the step-up US intervention, vis-à-vis proxies, but also coordinated by the CIA for intervention [17:40.800 --> 17:47.040] in Syria. So, we're an active historicization. We link the issues of war abroad with the [17:47.040 --> 17:51.360] pressing issues of social and economic justice within the United States, which of course, [17:51.360 --> 17:58.400] very grave issues. There are 30 to 40 million Americans who are unemployed or under-employed, [17:58.400 --> 18:05.680] many, many millions more going into poverty while a big part of the national treasury goes for war [18:05.680 --> 18:12.080] and militarism and the invasion and occupation and bombing of other people. So, we try to combine [18:12.080 --> 18:17.280] a piece and social justice and try to educate the American public about these issues. [18:17.280 --> 18:24.960] OK, Mr. Ryan, why is it that the anti-war movement, a lost momentum, like especially in recent [18:24.960 --> 18:29.360] years, especially after 2008 elections of President Obama? [18:29.360 --> 18:36.880] Well, I think there are two reasons. One, of course, is that many people identified the [18:36.880 --> 18:44.160] Iraq invasion with George W. Bush and anticipated that the Obama administration would represent [18:44.160 --> 18:48.640] not simply the absence of Bush, but something new and different. And I think there is a hopefulness [18:48.640 --> 18:54.960] on the part of many people in the anti-war movement that Obama would quote, do the right thing. [18:56.240 --> 19:02.800] And secondly, and I think this is important is that a factor for U.S. politics is the [19:03.760 --> 19:10.720] the significance of American soldiers and Marines who are fighting killing, being killed, [19:10.720 --> 19:16.960] being wounded, in other words, the personal engagement of American service people in foreign wars. [19:16.960 --> 19:22.800] And I think what we saw in the case of Libya, the U.S., along with its NATO partners, [19:22.800 --> 19:26.880] bombed Libya relentlessly. The number of U.S. casualties was exactly zero [19:28.160 --> 19:33.680] during the course of the bombing campaign. And so, the American government constructed a foreign [19:33.680 --> 19:39.840] policy that was equally aggressive, but make sure that all the bleeding was done on the other side. [19:39.840 --> 19:45.360] And I think that was done as a political calculation to keep the American political opposition [19:45.360 --> 19:50.160] on the sidelines. Okay. Mr. Ryan, thank you for joining us. Keep up the good work. Thank you very [19:50.160 --> 19:54.960] much. Right, thank you. Thank you. Now, I'll go back to my guest via Skype, Mr. Chris. [19:56.560 --> 20:02.080] You've heard, as I was speaking, to my guest, Mr. Brian. And we talked about how the anti-war [20:02.080 --> 20:10.240] moment lost its momentum somewhere somehow. Do you agree with this? Clearly, until the troops [20:10.240 --> 20:14.800] came out of Iraq, there was a very, very strong movement. And the British troops did come out [20:14.800 --> 20:22.880] of Iraq in the promise was made at East in 2006. So, that was important. And then there have been [20:22.880 --> 20:29.760] a series of demonstrations since then. There have been a major, a major size. The teachers [20:29.760 --> 20:37.360] I mentioned, the demonstrations against the attacks by Israel on Gaza, which have been, you [20:37.360 --> 20:45.360] know, demonstrations of historic size. So, and that's right, until 2009, 2010. So, I wouldn't, [20:45.360 --> 20:53.440] I wouldn't write off the anti-war movement. I think what's happened is that the British government [20:53.440 --> 20:59.760] has enforced to commit withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan, which is to some extent, you know, [20:59.760 --> 21:06.320] stop people going out on the streets. But if the British government decided to participate [21:06.320 --> 21:11.280] in another war, for example, if there was an attack on Iran and the British government [21:11.280 --> 21:16.320] committed to supporting an Israeli strike or a US strike, I think we're deeply glad on the streets [21:16.320 --> 21:20.880] again, because one thing that hasn't changed indeed one thing that has actually increased [21:20.880 --> 21:25.680] has been the topic of opposition to wars. So, I think it's a complicating picture. I mean, [21:25.680 --> 21:29.200] I agree with what he says about Obama. I think people thought Obama was going to be different. [21:30.960 --> 21:34.880] And in a sense, he has been different, but not in the way that people host, because what he's [21:34.880 --> 21:40.320] done is he's changed in the strategy. So, that now, you know, they're not sending American troops [21:41.600 --> 21:47.440] in any serious numbers into the place they want to attack. They're attacking the most drones. [21:47.440 --> 21:52.960] Exactly. And that obviously is a, you know, they hope that that's a kind of cost-free [21:54.240 --> 21:59.280] operation from their point of view. They're distracting that they can do. They can conduct without [21:59.280 --> 22:04.560] consulting with the people and people that even know about it. So, I think that's had an impact as well. [22:04.560 --> 22:09.840] But in general terms, and it's true in America as well, it's a very, very big [22:09.840 --> 22:18.080] section of the population that completely opposes these kind of imperial wars. And that's very, [22:18.080 --> 22:22.640] very important. Okay, this course I want you to stay for a minute. I'll go now to my guest [22:22.640 --> 22:28.880] in the studio, Mr. Assad. Mr. Assad, how important do you think is getting the youth involved [22:28.880 --> 22:34.960] and like getting youth activists all together in fighting war and in creating more peace in [22:34.960 --> 22:44.000] the society? Listen, I think that it's obvious that the youth are those who are asked to [22:44.000 --> 22:53.840] carry guns, whether in a war or in a civil war, and they will be its first victims. Of course. [22:53.840 --> 23:01.200] So, the more we talk to young people, we address them about being nonviolent, about [23:01.200 --> 23:14.320] looking towards other solutions, because at the end violence helps nobody, and nobody wins a war or a civil [23:14.320 --> 23:20.880] war, saying that everybody loses. Okay, now, what tools are you used to implement to youth? [23:20.880 --> 23:28.720] Like, how can we get them involved, really? Well, it's, if I may continue what I was trying to [23:28.720 --> 23:37.520] explain about the organizations I work in, we have recently created a new movement which is not [23:37.520 --> 23:46.480] registered yet. We call the ex-fighters, and we address to the Lebanese population recently three [23:46.480 --> 23:55.600] weeks or a month ago, maybe, our first press declaration, we called it from the ex-fighters to the [23:55.600 --> 24:01.760] new fighters, because we have new fighters today, young people carrying guns and going to fight [24:01.760 --> 24:10.240] the other inside our country. So, this is one way which is to address them directly. Now, [24:10.240 --> 24:18.240] the other way is through what we are trying to do in this gathering of 29 NGOs that work together [24:18.240 --> 24:26.320] for civil peace, that we called Wadatunahalasun our, our unity will save us. Okay, Mr. [24:26.320 --> 24:30.240] Mr. Assad, I would have to interrupt you here. Thank you very much for being on the show. [24:30.240 --> 24:33.600] Mr. Chris, thank you also for being on the show, and I would like to thank also [24:33.600 --> 24:57.040] to Brian Becker for joining us via phone. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. See you next week. Bye bye. [26:03.840 --> 26:16.320] Bye! [26:16.320 --> 26:25.080] The only constant variable in life is change. [26:25.080 --> 26:44.440] Broder perspective, arguments and counter arguments on our platform, global insights, the globe [26:44.440 --> 26:56.440] on our platform. [27:14.440 --> 27:34.920] It is also fine to die in our beds, on a clean pillow and among our friends. [27:34.920 --> 27:43.840] It is fine to die once our hands crossed on our chests, empty and pale. [27:43.840 --> 27:51.320] But no scratches, no chains, no banners and no petitions. [27:51.320 --> 28:02.600] It is fine to have an undustful death, no holes in our shirts and no evidence in our ribs. [28:02.600 --> 28:07.760] It is fine to die, with a white pillow not on the pavement. [28:07.760 --> 28:13.800] One of our cheeks, our hands resting in those of our loved ones, surrounded by desperate [28:13.800 --> 28:21.080] doctors and nurses with nothing left but a graceful farewell. [28:21.080 --> 28:28.220] Being no attention to history, leaving this world as it is, hoping that someday someone [28:28.220 --> 28:37.720] else will change it. [28:37.720 --> 28:47.720] It is fine to die once our hands crossed on our chests, empty and pale. [28:47.720 --> 28:53.640] It is fine to die once our hands crossed on our chests, surrounded by desperate [28:53.640 --> 29:13.480] times. [29:43.480 --> 30:12.600] We believe that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. [30:13.480 --> 30:23.480] I'll let the Jock News channel, the truth, fears no questions. [30:43.480 --> 30:50.480] This is Undo Townery. [30:50.480 --> 31:03.480] Undo Brown, when they turns to clarity.