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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial>" Naiman to Yemen "</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial>It has a great " ring "
!</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Bob, If you haven't already thought of it,
you need to do daily dispatches to your Fellow Workers and Conrades, and all
parties interested in the TRUTH in C-U and the WORLD !</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Bon Voyage and Good Luck
!</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial><STRONG>Keep us posted.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4 face=Arial>David Johnson</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=naiman@justforeignpolicy.org
href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">Robert Naiman</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net
href="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 06, 2013 5:06
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Peace-discuss] @HuffPo: In
Yemen, Let's Redeem President Obama's War on Terror Reform Speech</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><A
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/in-yemen-lets-redeem-pres_b_3397943.html"
target=_blank>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/in-yemen-lets-redeem-pres_b_3397943.html</A><BR
clear=all>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV dir=ltr><BR>
<P>Have you ever gotten on a boat or a train when you didn't have
<I>exactly</I> the right ticket for that boat or that train at that
<I>particular</I> time?</P>
<P>True confessions: I have.</P>
<P>The situation requires a certain degree of <I>chutzpah</I> --
self-confidence in your ability to redeem a promise for more than some people
think it is actually worth.</P>
<P>There's no question that in his <A
href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university"
target=_blank>recent speech</A> at National Defense University, President
Obama promised to substantially reform the so-called "war" previously known as
the "Global War on Terror."</P>
<P>How <I>exactly</I> he promised to reform it has been a matter of
substantial debate. </P>
<P>Has the president promised to end "signature" drone strikes that target
unknown people, a major cause of civilian casualties? <A
href="http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/the-signature-strikes-program/"
target=_blank>The jury is still out</A>.</P>
<P>Next week, I'm going to Yemen on a <A
href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2013/06/06-3" target=_blank>peace
delegation organized by CodePink</A>. We'll be meeting with families of
prisoners at Guantanamo, and families that have been harmed by U.S. drone
strikes in Yemen. We hope by our presence to help lift up their stories where
the American public can see them. I am confident that the abusive policies of
the former "Global War on Terror" will not stand when we make the innocent
victims of these policies more visible. </P>
<P>I have an audacious goal for our trip: help redeem President Obama's
promise of reform as it applies to Yemen, so that six months from now, we can
look back and say, in Yemen, the so-called "war" previously known as the
"Global War on Terror" was substantially reformed following President Obama's
speech.</P>
<P>We plan to meet with the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. I hope to hand-deliver <A
href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/yemen" target=_blank>this
petition</A> to the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, calling for
Yemenis at Guantanamo to be sent home and for U.S. drone strikes in Yemen to
end. At this writing, 8,300 people have signed. I hope that by the time I
deliver it in Sanaa next week, more than 10,000 people will have signed.</P>
<P>I'm not under any illusions that these demands are going to be met
immediately. But here are three things that, following President Obama's
speech, I claim are realistic goals for reforming the former "Global War on
Terror" in Yemen in the next six months:</P>
<P>1) Send home all <A
href="http://www.news.com.au/world-news/yemen-prepares-for-return-of-guantanamo-inmates-56-yemenis-cleared-for-release/story-fndir2ev-1226650996167"
target=_blank>56 Yemenis at Guantanamo</A> who have been cleared for release
by the U.S. government. Eight-six of the 166 prisoners at Guantanamo -- 52
percent -- have been <A
href="http://za.news.yahoo.com/us-hands-over-two-ex-guantanamo-detainees-mauritania-142820543.html"
target=_blank>cleared for transfer</A>. Fifty-six of the 86 cleared for
transfer -- 65 percent -- are Yemenis. So we could reduce the number of
prisoners who have been cleared for transfer by 65 percent just by sending
home the Yemenis cleared for transfer; we could reduce the number of prisoners
at Guantanamo overall by 34 percent just by sending home the Yemenis who have
been cleared for transfer. If you count the evil of Guantanamo by the number
of men imprisoned there, we can reduce the evil of Guantanamo by a third just
by sending home the Yemenis who have been cleared for transfer. </P>
<P>2) Transfer control of any drone strikes in Yemen from the CIA to the U.S.
military, so that essential information about the operation of this policy can
enter the public domain. In particular, so that we can see whether the policy
fully complies with U.S. and international law, what the impact of the policy
is on innocent civilians, and what steps the U.S. is taking to redress the
grievances of innocent civilians harmed by the policy.</P>
<P>3) End "signature" drone strikes in Yemen targeted against unknown persons,
based on intelligence suggesting "terrorist-like" behavior that would never
pass muster in a court of law. </P>
<P>I claim that these are realistic short-term goals because many people think
that President Obama has already promised to do them. Regardless of whether he
really has so promised, I claim that with sufficient public pressure and
attention, an ambiguous promise will be good enough to reach our destination.
</P>
<P><I>If you want to add your voice to my attempt to redeem President Obama's
promise in Yemen, you may do so <A
href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/yemen"
target=_blank>here</A>.</I></P><SPAN class=HOEnZb></SPAN><BR
clear=all></DIV></DIV>-- <BR>Robert Naiman<BR>Policy Director<BR>Just Foreign
Policy<BR><A href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org"
target=_blank>www.justforeignpolicy.org</A><BR><A
href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org"
target=_blank>naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</A><BR></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
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