[Peace-discuss] If the Russian War on Ukraine is “Genocide,” the Saudi War on Yemen is “Genocide”

Wed Apr 13 20:56:04 UTC 2022

Recall from undergrad philosophy: the assertion that "P implies Q" does not
imply that P is true. Only that, if P is true, then Q is also true.

We don't have any control over whether Biden said this. It's a "fact on the
ground." :)

On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 4:29 PM Mildred O'brien via Peace-discuss <
peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

> FALSE PREMISE:"*IF" **RUSSIAN WAR ON UKRAINE IS "GENOCIDE" *IS NOT VALID
> JUST BECAUSE BIDEN SAYS SO
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> To: peace <peace at lists.chambana.net>; Peace Discuss <
> peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
> Sent: Wed, Apr 13, 2022 2:57 pm
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] If the Russian War on Ukraine is “Genocide,” the
> Saudi War on Yemen is “GenociPlease vote in the poll.
>
>
> https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/13/2091771/-If-the-Russian-War-on-Ukraine-is-Genocide-the-Saudi-War-on-Yemen-is-Genocide
>
> *If the Russian War on Ukraine is “Genocide,” the Saudi War on Yemen is
> “Genocide”
> <https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/13/2091771/-If-the-Russian-War-on-Ukraine-is-Genocide-the-Saudi-War-on-Yemen-is-Genocide>*
>
> President Biden has crossed a rhetorical Rubicon in describing the illegal
> actions of Putin and his “Willing Executioners” in Ukraine as “genocide.”
>
> We can debate, if we want, whether President Biden’s description was
> “technically accurate.” We can debate, if we want, whether that was a good
> idea that was in “U.S. national interests,” whatever those are. We can
> debate, if we want, if this was yet another *so-called *“Biden gaffe.”
>
> But there ain’t no debatin’ which side of this rhetorical Rubicon
> President Biden is standing on now on Russia-Ukraine. He’s standing on the
> “genocide” side.
>
> All this, of course, begs a crucial “Jeopardy Daily Double” question about
> U.S. democracy, the Rule of Law, and U.S. policy in the Middle East.
>
> If the last month of Russia’s war on Ukraine was “genocide,” then *by
> what moral calculus *was the last seven years of U.S.-enabled, deliberate
> Saudi regime-imposed famine in Yemen not “genocide”?
>
> Now, of course, some Blob Establishment Concern Troll might try to claim
> that “deliberate Saudi-imposed famine in Yemen” is rhetorically excessive,
> beyond the pale. But if they did try to do that, then we could protect
> ourselves with an Impeccably-Credentialed Blob Establishment Validator. We
> could pull Marshall McLuhan from behind the movie poster in *Annie Hall*.
>
> On May 17, 2017, *Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy* made the
> following statement on the Senate floor:
>
> "The Saudis are deliberately trying to create a famine inside Yemen in
> order to essentially starve the Yemenis to the negotiating table.”
> <https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4670011/user-clip-murphy-young-yemen-murphy-saudis-deliberately-create-famine-yemen>
>
> Note that this was not Ilhan Omar, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Dellums, Mike
> Gravel, Wayne Morse, Walter Jones, Justin Amash, or Ron Paul. This was not
> the *People’s Daily World*, *Socialist Worker*, *In These Times*,
> *Jacobin*, *The Nation, Antiwar.com, *or *The American Conservative*.
> This was *Chris Murphy*. He’s universally considered “Serious” by the
> “Serious” Blob Establishment on U.S. foreign policy. He’s a member in good
> standing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was on the “short
> list” to become President Biden’s Secretary of State.
>
> But perhaps some Blob Establishment Concern Troll might try to claim:
> “Well, that was on May 17, 2017. That’s Ancient History. Let's not bicker
> and argue about who killed who.
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg30ino19Zc>”
>
> But if they did try to claim that, it would just beg *yet another *“Jeopardy
> Daily Double” question about U.S. democracy, the Rule of Law, and U.S.
> policy in the Middle East.
>
> Suppose that this statement was true on May 17, 2017, when Democratic
> Senator and SFRC member in good standing Chris Murphy said it on the Senate
> floor. Suppose that it is not true today.
>
> On *exactly which day* did it stop being true? Surely not on January 20,
> 2021, the day that President Biden was inaugurated as POTUS. Surely not
> even a Blob Establishment Concern Troll would try to claim that.
>
> So let’s assume that this was all true then and remains all true today. Is
> there anything we can do about it? If there’s nothing we can do about it,
> what’s the point? “At this point, what difference does it make?” We are all
> American Pragmatists now. We are all realists now. “Politics is the art of
> the possible.” It’s not enough to be right. We need to have a “theory of
> change.”
>
> But there *IS* something we can do about this. We can pass the Yemen War
> Powers Resolution
> <https://twitter.com/USProgressives/status/1507432639392845833> now, and
> shut down unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi regime-imposed
> famine in Yemen for good.
>
> This is not pie in the sky. Congress has passed a Yemen War Powers
> Resolution before. In our corner right now, we have Pramila Jayapal, chair
> of the Progressive Caucus. We have Peter DeFazio, chair of the House
> Transportation Committee. We have @RoKhanna, who some people claim might
> be the One
> <https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/9/2091026/-Yemen-Champ-RoKhanna-Bashes-NAFTA-in-IL-He-Running-for-POTUS>.
> We have some Constitution-loyal House Republicans. And we have Uncle
> Bernie. What’s the excuse for inaction from the DC Beltway Excuse Factory
> now?
>
> Fulfill the promise of the Democratic Platform: “Democrats will end
> support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen and help bring the war to an end.”
> <https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/renewing-american-leadership/> Pass
> the Yemen War Powers Resolution
> <https://twitter.com/USProgressives/status/1507432639392845833> now!
>
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