Barack Obama said last Tuesday night to Congress, ” I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.”
I wonder how people in the Middle East felt hearing that, having been bombed as if they are terrorists for most of this decade, either directly by US planes, or with US made weapons, as in Gaza? An Iraqi in Sikrit, said, “In fact, the US forces achieved one thing: That is destroying Iraq … We hope that the US soldiers will leave our country sooner rather than later in order to put an end to the bloodiest pages in Iraq’s history.”
The US Defense Department is finally allowing the news media to photograph caskets and funerals of US military, even as Robert Gates and the generals in charge are warning that the next year, with 17,000 more US troops going into Afghanistan, is going to be very “rough.”
Thursday, Obama announced plans to remove some troops from Iraq over a 19 month period, unless the generals advise him otherwise. The remaining 30,000 to 50,000 troops will be re-named “advisors” and stay indefinitely; the 17 US bases will remain in US control.
Those who are breathing a sigh of relief that US troops are being slowly removed from Iraq should stop and realize that this is part of an overall strategy to deepen and strengthen, not end, US domination of the region. Those who think our job is to “help” Barack Obama carry out this plan are not looking at the interests of the people here, or in the Middle East, in stopping this occupation immediately.
From World Can’t Wait Steering Committee member Elaine Brower: It’s NOT OK!
“As I sit here tonight listening to the crap about extending troop withdrawal 19 months, instead of 16 months, and keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq as so called “advisers” or “trainers” or whatever they want to nickname them, I am outraged! I expected this, but did you? This is wrong. The occupation is wrong, and those of us in the anti-war movement have been screaming this at the top of our lungs for the last 6 years, even before the first boots were on the ground in Iraq.
Even before the campaign of “shock and awe” even lit up the skies above innocent people. What the hell are we thinking?
Mobilize on the 19th, do something loud and meaningful. Complacency is not acceptable, nor is silence. People are dying, people are crippled for life, we must act now. We owe it to the Iraqi people.”
6 comments ↓
A great example of the “antiwar” president. The war he’s going to “end” is actually going to be continued at a lesser level, at the same time he’ll be escalating another.
And possibly starting a third.
What happened to the “antiwar” movement in this country? As long as war is waged by a democrat it’s ok or something? Disgusting. I’m glad to find people who prefer peace here!
I was hoping that with the election of Obama we could see the end of “Wars for Profits”. But it is beginning to look like business as usual.
Is ther any reason to believe that that “business as usual” will not include things that are not “wars”, for example , the continued spying on the people of America, the continued business of feed the rich and starve the poor?
You know, we really need to do something besides whine. I have advocated two needs for sure – Punishment and formation of a Coalition of Independents. If we don’t do something to stop the corruption in Washington, it’s not going to stop. For sure the one way to keep it going is to do nothing.
Cliff, business as usual is spot on. Even the rhetoric seems to be the same. “Ending the war in Iraq” doesn’t mean ending the war, it means continuing it by keeping 50,000 troops there even after the “withdrawal”
Orwell anyone?
I completely expected this to happen. Everyone hated the Bush admin for their big spending and wars… huh, kind of sounds like the democratic party doesn’t it. So what do they do? Elect a democrat who continues the huge spending and wars. Didn’t people have this same reaction when Bush won the first election based on a non-interventionist platform only to do a 180 after 9/11?
Vote Ron Paul.
Ron Paul sure did call it! And he’s still calling it now. We need to end this absurd foreign policy and this insane miiltary empire before it ends us!
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