UC Irvine Anti War Movement against the US War on Iraq Paper Here’s paper guide: 1. Getting started: (a) Choosing your empirical case: Try to choose a mov

UC Irvine Anti War Movement against the US War on Iraq Paper Here’s paper guide:

1. Getting started: (a) Choosing your empirical case: Try to choose a movement whose boundaries you can clearly identify (e.g., anti-sweatshop movement on US college campuses during 2000-2003), rather than something too vague or general (e.g., the anti-globalization movement). Your case does not have to cover the entire life course of a movement; instead, you can focus on a specific period that seemed particularly significant to the development, success, or demise of the movement

(b) Deciding your theoretical question: Pick one of the following themes as the focus of your paper: emergence, recruitment and mobilization, movement culture, collective identity, framing, the role of social media, and movement outcomes and influences. Then, develop the theme into a specific research question for your empirical case. For example, if you are interested in the theme of mobilization, and your empirical case is the anti-sweatshop activism, then your research question might be, “Which campus organizations were most effective in recruiting students for the movement, and why?

2. Collecting data: For the purpose of writing this paper, you will collect your data from news articles. You may also supplement your news articles with documentaries or video clips available on the web, although this is entirely optional. For the print media, there are a few databases available through the University library’s website, e.g., LexisNexis Academic (http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?). For documentaries or video clips available on the web, use your discretion to choose materials that are trustworthy and appropriate, and be sure to consider the contexts in which the videos are produced rather than taking them at face value. Not all research questions are answerable by these data sources, so be sure to start early and make sure that you can find enough materials. Aim to collect 10-15 news articles as your data. You may want to collect more (e.g. 20 articles) and then choose the best 10-15 to focus on.

3. Analysis: Study your data and use them to answer your question. Look for patterns and trends as well as representative quotes. It is OK if your data do not provide a complete answer to your question; just be clear about what the data did or did not answer.

4. Writing: Write a coherent essay that includes the following sections, to be clearly marked as different sections in your essay:(a) Introduction: Introduce the general theme, the specific research question, and some background information of the movement events that you choose to study

(b) Data: Describe how you found your news articles, what your sources were, and how many articles you are using for the study.

(c) Analysis: Present the trends and patterns you found. Discuss how these patterns answer your question. Include a few representative quotes.

(d) Conclusion: Provide a brief summary and reflections.

(e) Bibliography: List all the sources (including news articles). RUNNING HEAD: ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
Anti-War Movement against the U.S. War on Iraq
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ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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Introduction
The United States has fought many wars with public opinion playing a significant role
in the course of conflicts. Berger (2020) provides that the U.S. war on Iraq was fought for about
11 years between 2003 and 2011. The battle draws its cause to the British colonization of the
region, which created tension between the communities in Kuwait and those in Iraq where
communities were controlled through proxy leaders. A strong dictatorial government led by
Saddam Hussein from the Sunni community would terrorize Kuwait as a way of bringing the
Shiite Arabs and Kurds under control (Berger, 2020). But this would be avenged by the
international community lead by Britain and the United States. The result was, besides deaths
and destruction of properties, insurgencies and paramilitary groups in Central Iraq actively
came to rise. In 2002 and 2003, however, “President George Bush cited the possibility of
Saddam Hussein acquiring weapons of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons — and thus
posing a direct threat to the United States” (Wong, 2008). The central argument to the war was,
however, in the notion that the Iraqi government was interfering with efforts by the United
Nations to inspecting the country against the possible harboring of the weapons of mass
destruction. Just like many wars, the United States has engaged, U.S. invasion of Iraqi raised
numerous signals about its legitimacy, to whether the country was justified to do so or not. A
section of both citizens of the United States and individuals and organizations in the
international community were aggrieved and protested against the decision before and after the
invasion. But how exactly the anti-war movements against Iraqi organized?
American society has always existed on divisions of groups that either support, oppose,
or neutral to wars. Politicians and media personalities use their influence to support the
American Civil war, similar to their influence in drawing or refraining the country against its
activity in the World Wars. Both sides of the divide are constructed based on their ideological
reasons for or against American engagements in the war, which benefited the country, its
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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humanitarian impact, and many other grounds. An anti-war movement may be constructed as
an active group that questions in the ideology of American involvement in war and may be
evident through a vigorous protest in the streets, online, and other forms of protestation. Minear
et al. (1996) provide media as an influential constructor and driver of public opinion as to the
print media, Television, and contemporary avenues of disseminating information are utilized
into propagating ideologies (3). The media industry, therefore, plays a fundamental role in
consolidating ideas and present them to communities for powerful arguments with the
government on opinions about the war. Cortright (2005) shows that “The U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq aroused widespread opposition in the United States and around the world and sparked one
of the largest waves of anti-war protest in history” (77). The American public and humanitarian
organizations presented the war as lacking legal justifications or moral legitimacy where Iraq
attracted sympathy from all across the world, including Europe, Asia, and within the United
States. Over 10 million people participated in protests against the, but these oppositions were
organized in the media and on physical protestations (Cortright, 2005, p. 78).
Data
The study of the organization of the anti-war movement in this context employs
information within and after the period of the war. Materials chosen for this study depict the
news of protestations and discerning opinions against the American invasion of Iraq. Several
keywords and key phrases utilized to locate ten valuable news articles that provide the
organization of the anti-war movement. Search for the materials targets the time at the onset of
the work to understand how the anti-war world consolidated its effort to prevent or end the war.
Keywords and key phrases used to locate resources for this study include the Anti-war
movement, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the U.S. War in Iraq, and protests against the war in Iraq.
Some journals and other sources of information relevant to this topic are also utilized in
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
4
facilitating adequate arguments. Resources used herein, have certified credibility as they are
sourced from reliable news outlets in the United States and around the world.
Analysis
The war in Iraq was protested from its inception, during and after the significant
assaults. An article by Institute for Policy Studies (2014), a commentary on Phyllis Bennis’
book, Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the U.N. Defy U.S. Power,
provides the intensity of anti-war protest as having intensified with the wake of a possible
invasion of Iraq. According to the commentary, “organizing culminated in mass marches on
February 15, 2003, which became the largest day of coordinated international protest in world
history” where over 800 cities across the globe criticized any move by the United States to
engage Iraq in military confrontation (Institute for Policy Studies, 2014). CNN captures the
news of protests to prevent the invasion of Iraq as “Demonstrators converged near the United
Nations to protest the possible war in just one of the more than 600 anti-war rallies around the
globe. Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 375,000” (CNN, 2003). Members of the
civil society across the globe, in collaboration with humanitarian groups and religious
organizations, envisioned the invasion as aggression rather than a fight based on profound
reason. The existence of an anti-war movement in the United States played a key role in the
presentation of opposing views of the decision to fight Iraq before the actual war could happen.
In the wake of the call to prevent U.S. invasion, (Engelhardt, 2003) argued that protests sparked
like wildfires as “demonstration organizers in the glow of the moment tend to inflate vastly;
and so you close your eyes and stick a finger somewhere in the middle — and, in the end, of
course, no one ever knows. The organization of the protests had characteristic grassroots
foundations as “Besides protests in large cities such as Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles,
California; rallies were held across the United States in smaller towns such as Gainesville,
Georgia; Macomb, Illinois; and Juneau, Alaska…” (CNN, 2003).
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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The New York Times captured the anti-war protest in a global perspective. The
beginning of the invasion “brought protesters into the streets of London, Berlin, and New York,
among many other cities. There were chants of “Bush, murderer” and signs reading “No blood
for oil.” Hundreds of thousands gathered in public squares and outside U.S. military bases,
embassies, and consulates all around the world” (Brunner, 2018). people across the globe
pictured the Bush government as having a private agenda in its decision to the war rather than
proving a pint with a public interest. The protests had a global face as citizens from the over
50 countries that were directly or indirectly supported the war came out in the streets to show
solidarity against the United States. Over 100,000 protesters were witnessed in Madrid, while
about one million protested in London (Barkham, 2017). Millions of people protested in Rome
as organizations such as the Catholic Church, human rights groups. Students organizations
actively mobilized the youth and participated in protests against the war (Loviglio, 2003).
According to Brunner, “Public outrage preceding the invasion grew steadily over several
months, culminating one month before the invasion, when a massive rally brought together
more than three million protesters in Rome, in what was the largest anti-war rally ever”
(Brunner, 2018). A similar phenomenon was witnessed in Finland and other European
countries at the same time on March 22, 2003 (Hamasaeed & Nada, 2020). The protest was
organized of many fronts, however, with a common argument of respect for human rights.
The organization of the protests across the globe would not be possible without the role
of the media. President Bush’s weekly address to the nation concerning the situation of Iraq
was fundamental to educating the lame ground and the dimension of the war (Lichtblau, 2003).
Similarly, the contemporary news outlets helped in educating the masses across the globe on
the same. However, the internet played a central role in making sure that protesters, particularly
the youth, are updated and are more creative in wedging the war effectively. Cortright provides
that “The Iraq anti-war movement marked the emergence of the Internet as a powerful tool of
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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mass mobilization” as “Antiwar activists used the Internet as a means of communication,
coordination and education among decentralized networks of organizers around the world”
(79). A study conducted by Lichtblau (2003) on the effect of the internet on the course of the
anti-war protests, online platforms played a fundamental role in developing the large scale
membership of the movement through the ability of the internet to create meet-up tools,
fundraising, and coordination of local actions. His mechanism was effective in that it created a
unique device for the timely sharing of information with people with similar opinions as well
as dissenting views through discussion boards, listservs, and weblogs (Lichtblau, 2003, 231).
The wake of the invasion, according to Kahney (2003), saw a successful protestation through
the internet as a broad spectrum of protesters, including politicians, youths on campus, the
elderly, religious groups s and other parties were drawn to the signing of petitions through antiwar websites and mailing lists. The internet “made a major difference in getting our message
out there, especially because the mainstream media isn’t covering the anti-war movement”
(Kahney, 2003). Kahney also provides the internet to have. It is provided a valuable new tool
for organizers of the protests to facilitate the protests with efficiency.
Anti-war protests against the war in Oran in 2003 were majorly formulated at the global
scope. Human rights activists, religious groups, politicians, college students, and many other
individuals and organizations rallied a message of prevention and ending the war. U.S. invasion
of Iraq war was presented as an unjustified and illegitimate accusation of the sovereign state
on malicious harboring of weapons of mass destruction. The effect of the message can be
measured with reference to the number of people who turned up to the protest. Protesters
across the globe occurred almost synchronically with the dame messages, opinions, and
arguments against the unadvised military action in Oran, mainly due to the prominent role of
the media. The internet became an essential platform for propagating anti-war sentiments
through active engagement of parties across the globe in real-time. The occurrence of the anti-
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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war protests at the global scope answers my question of the rally’s geographic coverage. The
involvement of many parties in the protests provides for the question of who the organizers and
the participants of the expression of aggressive opinions about the war were. A discussion of
the media in the news articles and other resources utilized offers an answer to the mechanisms
to have facilitated the organization of the protest.
Conclusion
Generally, eleven-years long U.S. war on Iraq was an infamous action that was
condemned by both local and international on a scale like no other in the history of conflicts
around the world. It was based on a malicious accusation of Iraq as engaging in the production
of weapons of mass destruction and unwillingness to allow inspection on the same by the
United Nations. Even as the country was not given enough time to present its case, an invasion
proved to be destructive to the country’s social, political, and economic structure. People from
all walks of life protested against the decision of subjecting the country on military action as
they had the view that the ground for such aggression was unnecessary, malicious and could
be avoided if there was a will. The organization of the anti-war protest was successful through
synchronized utilization of media outlets, particularly the internet, to converge opinions while
putting people in the streets to protest at almost the same time. The success of the anti-war
movement was based on the creation of a single voice regardless of the geographical location
of a protester, tire language, gender, economic performance but with a forged empathy for
humanitarian good.
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AGAINST THE U.S. WAR ON IRAQ
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