<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Yes, indeed, particularly as the outgoing administration is moving heaven and earth to convince the new administration to follow its war plans.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Those policies are so bad that “Obama" can be replaced with “Trump” in the following flyer, and it would unfortunately make sense.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I.e., the Obama administration primarily made things worse. Compare the depredations the USG is responsible for today with eight years ago: <<a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2016/01/07/how-many-bombs-did-the-united-states-drop-in-2015/" class="">http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2016/01/07/how-many-bombs-did-the-united-states-drop-in-2015/</a>></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">That testifies to the continuity of US war policy, even under an agreeable mask. And now the political establishment is trying to make sure that Trump changes nothing.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">But the self-proclaimed “most transparent administration in history” was far from that, and did an excellent job of hiding the crimes it was committing.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">E.g., most Americans have no idea how many people Obama has killed with his drone assassinations. (It’s a “secret” program.) </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">—CGE</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Jan 7, 2017, at 7:30 AM, Stuart Levy <<a href="mailto:salevy@illinois.edu" class="">salevy@illinois.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class="">
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Here's another flyer from eight years ago (December, 2008). As
Obama did then, Trump now needs a protest movement.<br class="">
<br class="">
=============================================================<br class="">
AWARE calls on the Obama administration<br class="">
to live up to the promise of change<br class="">
<br class="">
Do we need to do this? Shouldn't we just wait and see what he
does? No!<br class="">
There's a great deal of power and trillions of dollars of money at
stake in<br class="">
keeping things as they are, from the military industry, the new
"security"<br class="">
industry, the media industry, the oil industry, the banking
industry, from many<br class="">
sorts of powerful constituencies. They speak with confidence,
calling Obama's<br class="">
Bush- and Clinton-era appointments "pragmatic" and
"non-ideological".<br class="">
<br class="">
Beware of such labels: "pragmatism" implies not questioning
assumptions, such as the<br class="">
assumption that the US has an inalienable right to use military
force anywhere in<br class="">
the world, that major changes to the way we use energy or provide
health care are<br class="">
just not feasible, that "free market" practices serve our people
well, that erosion<br class="">
of civil liberties and use of torture are regrettable but
necessary. That's why...<br class="">
<br class="">
Obama Needs a Protest Movement [*]<br class="">
<br class="">
Obama is being compared with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who brought
in the New Deal,<br class="">
the fruits of which (Social Security, labor protections,
infrastructure creation, ...)<br class="">
we still depend on. But as Frances Fox Piven[*] and others argue,
FDR didn't and<br class="">
wouldn't have done it alone: "mass protests [...] forced him to make
choices he<br class="">
would otherwise have avoided [...] the rise of protest movements
forced the new<br class="">
president and the Democratic Congress to become bold reformers."<br class="">
<br class="">
Obama and the Congress need our pressure now to resist pressure from
our opponents,<br class="">
who are not waiting. We must call on the Administration to carry
out the best of<br class="">
Obama's promises, and to do other things which he has not promised.
Join us [**],<br class="">
join other groups, act on your own, but act. Write letters to the
editor, to the new<br class="">
Administration, to Congress. Make signs and demonstrate. Talk with
your neighbors.<br class="">
<br class="">
Some things AWARE [**] calls on the new Administration and Congress
to do:<br class="">
<br class="">
- Withdraw from Iraq *all* US troops, *and* all military
contractors.<br class="">
The Iraqi Parliament agreed to a 2011 deadline, but don't wait.<br class="">
Make it plain that the US will keep no military bases there.<br class="">
<br class="">
- End the war in Afghanistan. As in Iraq, our invasion violates
international law;<br class="">
and as in Iraq, our violent presence there only strengthens our
opponents. Even<br class="">
our own military have acknowledged that military means will not
suffice in<br class="">
Afghanistan. Encourage the Afghan government's efforts to
negotiate with the<br class="">
Taliban, including all who are willing to talk.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Cease illegal and counterproductive incursions into Pakistan,
Syria, Somalia, ...<br class="">
<br class="">
- Renew US efforts to resolve Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
including dismantling<br class="">
West Bank settlements. Support the 2002 Arab League offer for
peace in exchange<br class="">
for a return to the 1967 borders and agreement on refugee
status. Negotiate with<br class="">
Hamas (as 64% of Israelis support doing) -- they won free and
fair elections.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Put our vast military spending, including our own weapons of
mass destruction,<br class="">
on the table for cuts.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Close Guantanamo Bay, and end use of torture, as promised, and
promptly.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Whether by prosecution of those who created and justified the
policies, or by a<br class="">
Truth Commission, ensure that the world and the US people know
we understand that<br class="">
wars of aggression, torture and arbitrary imprisonment are never
acceptable.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Talk with Iran, as promised, without preconditions. Reestablish
US diplomatic<br class="">
representation. Make clear that the US will accept a peaceful
Iranian nuclear power<br class="">
program under international supervision. Seek Iran's help in
resolving Middle East<br class="">
conflicts, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine, and
Lebanon.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Rethink our policies toward Central America and Latin America.
End our<br class="">
long-running, counterproductive embargo against Cuba, and open a
dialog<br class="">
with the Cuban government. Repair relations with Venezuela and
Bolivia,<br class="">
including restoring Bolivia's preferential access to US markets.<br class="">
<br class="">
- Repudiate the Bush Administration's signing statements, and the
whole notion<br class="">
that a President can override laws by fiat. Stop this terrible
precedent now.<br class="">
<br class="">
[*] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081201/piven">http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081201/piven</a><br class="">
Article by Frances Fox Piven's in the Dec. 1, 2008 issue of The
Nation<br class="">
<br class="">
[**] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.anti-war.net/">http://www.anti-war.net/</a> AWARE meets every Sunday at 5PM in
the basement<br class="">
of the Independent Media Center, Broadway & Elm, Urbana.<br class="">
==========================================<br class=""></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>