4.10.2003
You've probably already read "The Reason Why" by George McGovern. I read the Nation as hardcopy, and had just found the time to give it a read.
4/10/2003
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I hope things in Iraq are going as smoothly as the reports from corporate media paint them. I worry about our troops there now as well as troops that will be there for the foreseeable future.
I remember hearing the US had won in Afghanistan, and was going on to jumpstart democracy there, rebuild the war torn country- be "Heroes", after it all, in a sense.That "war torn" link goes to Salon.com, if you are not a member you need to click on the link in the right hand corner and watch an ad for a day pass- yeah, I know, but the article is really informative:
The White House calls Afghanistan a success story. But the failure to commit needed resources has left it a chaotic, increasingly dangerous country where violent warlords run amok. Are we going to repeat our mistake in Iraq?
April 10, 2003 | President George W. Bush signed the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act into law last Dec. 4, authorizing $3.3 billion in economic, political, humanitarian and security assistance for Afghanistan over the next four years. The next month, Bush submitted the 2003 budget authorization to Congress but requested slightly less than that.
As in: $0.00.
I had a bunch of thoughts running through my head (as did this journalist I found today) when I saw that Mr Bush and Blair were going to talk about liberating the Iraqi people in a place both ironic and portentious; Belfast of all places. It reminds me that religion is used is a smokescreen to obscure more complex less 'telegenic' issues such as autonomy dignity and justice.
I hope that our troops can come home now that we have bombed the inhabitants of Iraq into freedom, that regime change has occured, Hussein is out of power. I hope our soldiers do not become an occupying force. England has occupied Ireland for hundreds of years at a great and ongoing cost to human life. The occupation of Iraq also has me in mind of the Israeli Defence Forces treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Occupation is bad for both sides of the equation, those in power as well as those subjected to power, I offer this link to B`Tselem, which illustrates the horror for both Israeli and Palestinian folks. Take time to explore the site.. There is a dehumanizing effect on the society in power as well as the individual who as a soldier enforces it. As an American I find 'exjudicial killings' known as assassinations to be wrong. Often innocent civilians are killed or maimed. In a Democratic state no one person can be prosecuting Attorney Judge and Executioner.
People are people, and a society that sees "the other", Palestinians, Bedouin nomads as so dehumanized that gas mask containing protective kits are not supplied to them as they are to Israeli citizens and when court ordered the state supplies ones that are expired or about to be we see just what effect Occupation has. Whether it is a young person blowing himself up as a weapon or a young soldier shooting a stone throwing child these are both fatal symptoms of a system bereft of humanity.
I hope stabilizing Iraq will be smooth and safe for our troops as well as the Iraqi people; although it seems like a jump to be able to go from bombing folks to being their pals. Time will tell..
How Iraq is rebuilt will determine whether the United States will use its immense power to act as a quasi-imperial power, or as a responsible global partner. It will say a great deal about whether this is the last unilateralist war for regime change launched by the Bush junta, or the first in a series of "wars without end" to reshape the globe.
The stakes in this debate are too high for the anti-war movement to sit it out
Please write your Legislators and talk to everyone you know about the Patriot Act I and II (Go here for comprehensive links), Bush and Congrssional Republicans want to further rob America from "we the People". Standing by the principles your country was founded on is the best way to show your Patriotism, a way your kids and your kid's kids will appreciate. We need to reclaim America and help her stay the course.
I'm having computer problems (IE), excuse the post if it seems choppy: I've lost work on Blogger a couple times...
4/10/2003
|
I hope things in Iraq are going as smoothly as the reports from corporate media paint them. I worry about our troops there now as well as troops that will be there for the foreseeable future. I remember hearing the US had won in Afghanistan, and was going on to jumpstart democracy there, rebuild the wartorn country- be "Heroes", after it all, in a sense.That "wartorn" link goes to Salon.com, if you are not a member you need to click on the link in the right hand corner and watch an ad for a day pass- yeah, I know, but the article is Really informative:
The White House calls Afghanistan a success story. But the failure to commit needed resources has left it a chaotic, increasingly dangerous country where violent warlords run amok. Are we going to repeat our mistake in Iraq?
April 10, 2003 | President George W. Bush signed the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act into law last Dec. 4, authorizing $3.3 billion in economic, political, humanitarian and security assistance for Afghanistan over the next four years. The next month, Bush submitted the 2003 budget authorization to Congress but requested slightly less than that.
As in: $0.00.
I had a bunch of thoughts running through my head (as did this journalist I found today) when I saw that Mr Bush and Blair were going to talk about liberating the Iraqi people in a place both ironic and portentious; Belfast of all places. It reminds me that religion is used is a smokescreen to obscure more complex less 'telegenic' issues such as autonomy dignity and justice.
I hope that our troops can come home now that we have bombed the inhabitants of Iraq into freedom, that regime change has occured, Hussein is out of power. I hope our soldiers do not become an occupying force. England has occupied Ireland for hundreds of years at a great and ongoing cost to human life. The occupation of Iraq also has me in mind of the Israeli Defence Forces treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Occupation is bad for both sides of the equation, those in power as well as those subjected to power, I offer this link to B`Tselem, which illustrates the horror for both Israeli and Palestinian folks. Take time to explore the site.. There is a dehumanizing effect on the society in power as well as the individual who as a soldier enforces it. As an American I find 'exjudicial killings' known as assassinations to be wrong. Often innocent civilians are killed or maimed. In a Democratic state no one person can be prosecuting Attorney Judge and Executioner.
People are people, and a society that sees "the other", Palestinians, Bedouin nomads as so dehumanized that gas mask containing protective kits are not supplied to them as they are to Israeli citizens and when court ordered the state supplies ones that are expired or about to be we see just what effect Occupation has. Whether it is a young person blowing himself up as a weapon or a young soldier shooting a stone throwing child these are both fatal symptoms of a system bereft of humanity.
I hope stabilizing Iraq will be smooth and safe for our troops as well as the Iraqi people; although it seems like a jump to be able to go from bombing folks to being their pals. Time will tell..
How Iraq is rebuilt will determine whether the United States will use its immense power to act as a quasi-imperial power, or as a responsible global partner. It will say a great deal about whether this is the last unilateralist war for regime change launched by the Bush junta, or the first in a series of "wars without end" to reshape the globe.
The stakes in this debate are too high for the anti-war movement to sit it out
Please write your Legislators and talk to everyone you know about the Patriot Act I and II (Go here for comprehensive links), Bush and Congrssional Republicans want to further rob America from "we the People". Standing by the principles your country was founded on is the best way to show your Patriotism, a way your kids and your kid's kids will appreciate. We need to reclaim America and help her stay the course.
I'm having computer problems (IE), excuse the post if it seems choppy: I've lost work on Blogger a couple times...
4/10/2003
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