Obama’s Decision on Afghanistan, Part 1

This Tuesday night we get to hear how Obama will increase a pointless war by infusing it with thousands of soldiers, and spend billions and billions more of our money (and China’s money) not on the United States, but on fighting this pointless war.  There is no reason to be fighting this war in Afghanistan other than to control that country and control future pipelines.  We are not “helping women” or “helping the people”.  They are sick of war.  Many support the Taliban because they hate the U.S.  and the Taliban is increasing.   Eight years of war there has been a complete failure.  Hundreds of thousands of people have died and have been displaced.

It would be more ethical to fund peacemaker teams and construction supplies so the Afghans could do the work of building and rebuilding themselves.  They need the work. I’m sure they don’t appreciate all these ‘foreigners’ stealing their jobs, like Americans don’t appreciate people from other countries being given preference for American jobs. No one likes it. We need to provide money and building supplies and help where needed, but also leave when not wanted.

When will we start applying some logic to Afghanistan? When money gets out of politics.  Obama always wanted to continue the Afghan war.  It can’t be won. Yet he was elected anyway, not just because he gave us “hope” but because of enormous amounts of special interest money,  and a media love affair.   He promised so much and it sounded so good.   And now we get another 10-20 years of war while Obama picks up the Nobel Peace Prize.  There is something very wrong with that picture.

Cindy Sheehan has every right to be angry, and she is still writing about the wars.   Here is her recent analysis of the situation. She seems to be as angry at people who voted for Obama as with the war itself. She’s right that those who voted for Obama should have been aware he would try to win the Afghan war, because he said he would during the campaign.  Most of us hoped he was saying it mainly to get elected, and didn’t really mean it.  He did, though.   President Obama needs our support, but he also needs to know we are not happy with the Afghanistan war. (Or land mines. Or his lack of leadership on climate change.)

You Get What You Voted For!

by Cindy Sheehan

Friday, 27 November 2009–  The so-called anti-war movement currently finds itself in somewhat of a quagmire: What to do when the man you raised money for, volunteered for, and yes, even voted for, actually fulfills one of his most repulsive campaign promises?

First of all, I never understood why, or how, peace people could support someone who voted to pay for the wars while he was a Senator and was quite clear on the fact that he would increase violence in Afghanistan and perform a slow, painful and very incomplete withdrawal from Iraq. Principles that were proclaimed so loudly while Bush was president get shoved aside and buried now that a Democrat is president and how do you get your principles back from the dung-pile of selling out?

Secondly, On January 23^rd of a rapidly dissipating 2009, Barack Obama perpetrated his first war crime (as president) by authorizing a drone attack in Pakistan. In February of this same year, he ordered an increase of roughly 20,000 more troops to Afghanistan: more war crimes, no corresponding outcry. However, when I cried out, I was roundly attacked by the “left” for not giving Obama a “chance.” 2009 is going to be the most deadly year for our troops and Afghan and Pakistani civilians on record. I think George Bush is calling: he wants his Nobel Peace Prize back.

It is being widely reported (and it seems hotly anticipated by some)—that even though the “anti-war” movement wrote a letter to Obama and asked him to “pretty please” not send any more troops to Afghanistan and had us calling the White House all day on Monday the 23rd when Obama was scheduled to hold his final “war summit”—that the U.S. will commit 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan which is a 50 percent increase in troop strength in the Land of Certain Empire Death.

What is the “anti-war” movement’s response going to be? Candlelight vigils; “honk if you love peace” rallies; a hundred rounds of “We Shall Over Come” (someday, not today or tomorrow); or, is the “anti-war” movement going to say: “Phew, McChrystal asked for 80,000, but our letter worked—he’s only sending 34,000?”

True story: in October of 2005, U.S. troop deaths were going to reach 2000, within days and the “movement” was planning its response. I called for a die-in, with risk of arrest, in front of the White House and MoveOn.org called for a candlelight vigil in Lafayette Park. MoveOn.org moved their vigil to another location because they told me that their members weren’t ready to do civil disobedience and some of them may be accidentally swept up in some kind of a “peace sweep.” I said, “Fine, MoveOn.org, have a candlelight vigil for 2000 like you did for 1000 and next year you’ll have one for 3000, then 4000, and then 5000.” I think many of MoveOn.org’s members were ready, I just don’t think that MoveOn.org was then, or is now. They didn’t do it when Bush was president, I can’t imagine MoveOn.org standing up for peace when their man is the one doing the killing.

So, here we are four years, thousands of U.S. troops deaths and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths later, and the Pope of Hope, the Dalai O’bama, the Nobel Laureate will soon be condemning thousands of more to the same fate and his supporters have given him permission to do so, no matter how many letters they write, petitions they sign or phone calls they make.

In the end, you always get what you vote for.

I knew that this surge was a done deal no matter how much political posturing and pandering occurred. I chained myself to the White House fence on October 5^th and was arrested with 60 other people protesting the wars and demanding that peace be put on the proverbial table. But those were symbolic actions and the problems we are facing are deadly and in full Techno-Color, real. The time for symbolism and street-theater ended years ago, but moribund actions won’t seem to just go away gracefully, so we will have to cut them off, cold turkey!

On Monday, November 30, the Peace of the Action Coalition will be sending out a press release condemning the escalation and announcing our Mother of all Protests (MOAP) that will begin in the spring.

Cindy Sheehan is a peace activist, Gold Star Mother, organizer of ‘Camp Casey’ memorials and war protests at the Texas ranch of President George Bush, and a nominee for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. She is a member of United Progressives and a Progressive Partner.

Source: United Progressives

It’s too early for people to decisively form an opinion about Obama’s policies, which are still being formed, but we do have to criticize his bad decisions, or his lack of action on some huge issues. (climate change). This week will be full of pundits and bloggers criticizing Obama. People who hate war will make a big stink about the increase in troop levels. I’ll be one of them. I hate war, and I hate pointless wars even more. Obama needs to know he is doing the wrong thing on Afghanistan, but when he does something right we will support him.

I’m not too hard on people who voted for Obama, since I was one of them, and we all had our own reasons.  Sarah Palin was the most frightening aspect of the campaign.  John McCain was wrong on a lot of things, and didn’t look too healthy. Cynthia McKinney lost her way and started to say crazy things.  I supported her up until she said things I simply couldn’t believe.  The real progressives had long dropped out of the race by the end.  The only option left was to not vote at all, or to vote for the guy who seemed the most grounded and logical, and that man is now our president.  Unfortunately, he’s keeping some campaign promises we hoped he didn’t really mean (Afghanistan) and totally dropping those we hoped he did mean (climate change).

You don’t really get what you vote for — because I voted for action on climate change, and instead, we got war in Afghanistan and bank bailouts.  Many other people voted for change and got Wall Street.  Other people voted for hope and got Timothy Geithner.  You really don’t get what you vote for, many times.