I support both Peace Malaysia and the Stop War Coalition simply because they are movements of people against the US- and Anglo-imperialist war o­n Iraq.

In his article in Mother Jones magazine, writer Robert Dreyfus explained that the war o­n Iraq which will finally give the United States a string of military bases stretching from Middle East, through Central Asia and the Indian Ocean after 30 years, and it wants to gain control of Middle East oil not for the fuel per se but to have its hand o­n the oil tap so that it can control oil supply to Europe and Asia, especially China.

To achieve that end, there's been talk among US policy makers, think-tanks and strategists to require the de-nationalisation of the national oil industries in respective Middle Eastern countries, so don't be surprised if we soon start hearing arguments from imperialism's spin doctors extoling the "virtues" of deregulation of the oil industries in each nation state.

While I have a high regard for Eric Paulsen's opposition to the war o­n Iraq and his castigation of that pro-US Oon Yeoh whom malaysiakini has provided a platform o­n its website, I however disagree that Paulsen should base his refusal to support Peace Malaysia's initiative simply because it is led by Umno Youth or its affiliated organsation.

While there have been anti-war protests outside the US embassy led by opposition parties, Peace Malaysia is a major initiative which as drawn in masses of people of all walks of life including people of different ethnic origin, religion, political leaning and so o­n.

While some of its supporters may indeed have politically backward prejudiced ideas against individual American nationals rather than US-Anglo imperialism, as well as misguided prejudice against Jewish people instead of the ideology of Zionism, it is the more reason the smaller, though more politically aware supporters of Stop War Coalition, should participate and at the same time

help correct the misguided views of passionate anti-war people.

Paulsen goes o­n: "Similarly I would also not support any peace movements if they were to be led by Ariel Sharon, Saddam Hussein, Ku Klux Klan, the US National Rifle Association or Pauline Hanson, simply because these people do not believe in peace or peaceful resolution, much less democracy and human rights."

Well, the anti-war and anti-globalisation movements in the US and elsewhere comprise people from the all political persuasions with the main activists being from the far left, anarchists, environmentalists, ecologists, conservatives and far rightists and while the left and right bitterly hate each other, they are all willing to come together in a united front against the war, albeit for their own different reasons.

The above point is confirmed in this albeit right wing article in Seattle Weekly , though I have no love for Pat Buchanan and his racist anti-immigrant views.

Through its involvement and leading role in the anti-war movement, the International Answer Coalition in the United States, which is a front organisation of the leftist Workers World Party , has gained a lot of political mileage which has got the right-wing libertarians of Antiwar.com worried, judging by their criticism of the International Answer Coalition .

Both the Marxists and the conservatives oppose US imperialism for different reasons. The Marxists oppose imperialism because it will enable the US to oppress and exploit the peoples of the Third World and cause more misery for the oppressed people.

The conservatives, o­n the other hand, oppose imperialism because it goes against the principle advocated by Thomas Jefferson that as a republic, the US should not entangle itself in other countries' affairs - "trade with all but have entangling alliances with none" (Jefferson). These conservatives represent the views of the isolationist bourgeoisie in the United States.

If the Americans can unite and march against their own imperialism irrespective of political position, why can't Malaysians do the same?