The local antiwar group ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) has issued a statement titled "Getting Over Carl Levin" that critiques the support--or at least indifference to his failings--that the West Michigan antiwar movement has given to Michigan Senator Carl Levin. The statement focuses on Senator Levin's recent speech at Grand Valley State University in which Levin defended President Bush's "surge" and placed much of the blame for the ongoing violence in Iraq on Iraqis. We're reprinting the statement here because it articulates much of what we have documented, primarily that Levin--despite his rhetoric--has been a consistent supporter of the US occupation of Iraq:

"Last Saturday, Senator Carl Levin descended on the city of Grand Rapids in order to share his grace and wisdom about the situation in Iraq, as well as explain how the United States should proceed in its ongoing illegal occupation of the country. Fortunately, some people saw through this charade and staged a protest against Levin. ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) delivered over 100 flyers to members of the audience that outlined Levin's ongoing support for the war though his continual voting for funding. This information is in direct contrast with the image Levin tries to present to the public. Levin initially voted against the war in 2002, but since the start of the war, he has voted for nearly every funding bill. Levin has also repeatedly compromised on bills that would require the removal of some troops from Iraq as soon as there was opposition. Even more insulting, Levin has repeatedly blamed the Iraqis themselves for the situation in Iraq, claiming that they need to quit "dawdling" on supporting US-backed political issues. Levin's talk was much of the same.

In his talk, Levin again chose to blame the Iraqis for the situation in their country. Iraq has been devastated by years of sanctions and bombings during the Clinton administration, and the current war which has killed 1.1 million Iraqi lives. How can the Iraqis possibly be to blame for the situation in their country? Levin took on a paternalistic tone in his talk as he claimed that success can only be won in Iraq if we force the Iraqis to take control of their country. Levin also added arrogantly that "The US cannot be their security blanket." Clearly, Levin fails to understand the link between destroying a country through years of bombings and sanctions and the political instability that comes as a result.

Levin's talk was advertised as a public forum, but the question and answer period clearly showed that this was not the case. Audience members were required to submit questions in writing. These questions were then sorted and filtered. Then a question was selected for Levin to answer. As a result of this, many important questions went unanswered. Questions such as, how can Levin claim to be against the war, yet continue to vote for funding, or why should the U.S. even have a say in the future of Iraq?

Levin's actions have made it clear that he is not an ally of the anti-war movement. A vote for more funding for war is a vote for war. Despite Levin's claims, the solution for Iraq is the solution that the majority of Iraqis support. The U.S. needs to end the occupation immediately. As a movement, we need to get over the illusion that politicians are our allies. Politicians and elections never stop wars, only grassroots movements can."