[Peace-discuss] Fw: Message from Senator Barack Obama

[C. G. Estabrook]

Quite right.  The Bush administration kills kids in Afghanistan, and Obama
applauds and calls for more.  And he justifies it with what he must know is a lie:

"For the people of Azizabad, a small village in western Afghanistan, the dark
early morning hours of August 22, 2008 suddenly turned into a nightmare of
devastation and death. As villagers slept, U.S. forces attacked—first with guns,
then air strikes. By the next morning, according to UN investigators, over 90
people had been massacred, including 60 children and 15 women.

"The U.S. military initially claimed they had hit a "legitimate" Taliban target,
that only 5 to 7 civilians were killed—so-called "collateral damage"—and the
other 30 to 35 dead were Taliban militants. These were lies.

"Journalists who traveled to the village reported: "At the battle scene, shell
craters dotted the courtyards and shrapnel had gouged holes in the walls. Rooms
had collapsed and mud bricks and torn clothing lay in uneven mounds where people
had been digging. In two places blood was splattered on a ceiling and a
wall....The smell of bodies lingered in one compound, causing villagers to start
digging with spades. They found the body of a baby, caked in dust, in the corner
of a bombed-out room." Survivors "described repeated strikes on houses where
dozens of children were sleeping, grandparents and uncles and aunts huddled
inside with them." (New York Times, September 8, 2008)

"'Does this look like it fits a Taliban fighter?' one resident told NPR (August
27, 2008), holding up a tiny shoe and a woman’s torn veil.

"This was the third major massacre of Afghan civilians by U.S.-NATO forces this
summer alone. Since 2005, between 2,700 and 3,200 civilians are estimated to
have been killed by U.S and NATO forces, whose attacks and bombing raids are
escalating. And all this is just the latest example of the enormous suffering
the U.S.-NATO war on Afghanistan has inflicted since it was launched seven years
ago on October 7, 2001.

*"The U.S. military has since been forced to back off of its initial claims*
*about Azizabad, and is supposedly conducting an "investigation." But one thing*
*the U.S. rulers—and Bush, McCain and Obama—have not backed off of is the*
*biggest lie of all: That the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan is a legitimate war*
*of self-defense launched in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001 and*
*that the central goal is preventing future attacks on the U.S. And now there*
*are calls, including from Barack Obama, to send thousands of more troops to*
*Afghanistan."*

E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
> I just see the "I" word written all over it....Imperialism and 
> Interventionism.
> 
> Jenifer Cartwright wrote:
>> I wrote about ending the war in Afghanistan (as well as in Iraq), but of 
>> course nothing about the "n" word (negotiation) in his response (yet). 
>> --Jenifer
>> 
>> --- On *Mon, 10/20/08, senator_obama at obama.senate.gov 
>> /<senator_obama at obama.senate.gov>/* wrote:
>> 
>> From: senator_obama at obama.senate.gov <senator_obama at obama.senate.gov> 
>> Subject: Message from Senator Barack Obama To: jencart13 at yahoo.com Date: 
>> Monday, October 20, 2008, 5:50 PM
>> 
>> Dear Jenifer:
>> 
>> Thank you for contacting me to share your concern regarding the situation 
>> in Afghanistan. I appreciate hearing from you.
>> 
>> Six years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States has failed to
>>  secure the very country where the attackers plotted and trained. With both
>>  the Taliban and al-Qaeda regrouping, the current situation in Afghanistan 
>> is unacceptable and ominous. Among other reasons, the diversion of 
>> resources and attention to the ill-conceived war in Iraq has contributed to
>>  backsliding in Afghanistan, and I am committed to reverse this trend.
>> 
>> In January 2007, I introduced the Iraq War De-Escalation Act (S. 433). This
>>  binding and comprehensive legislation proposed not only reversing the 
>> President's dangerous and ill-conceived escalation, but also beginning to 
>> redeploy troops out of Iraq with the goal to have all combat forces out by 
>> the end of March 2008, a date consistent with the Iraq Study Group’s 
>> expectations. Senate Majority Leader Reid used this approach as the 
>> original model for the troop redeployment provision in the supplemental 
>> appropriations bill which President Bush vetoed in May 2007. This bill 
>> would have set a new course for U.S. policy in Iraq that, in my judgment, 
>> held the best prospect for bringing a responsible end to the war and 
>> actually getting our troops home. As Congress considers additional funding 
>> for the Iraq War, I will continue to push for a new course in Iraq that 
>> immediately begins a safe and orderly withdrawal of our combat troops, that
>>  changes our military mission to focus on training and counter-terrorism, 
>> and that focuses our military efforts on the real threats facing our 
>> country.
>> 
>> Ending the war will allow us to direct badly needed resources to 
>> Afghanistan. Our troops have fought valiantly there, but Iraq has deprived 
>> them of the support they need and deserve. We must do more to secure the 
>> country, re-enforce our counter-terrorism operations, and create economic 
>> opportunities that improve the livelihoods of ordinary Afghans so that they
>>  resist turning to extremism.
>> 
>> Development efforts in Afghanistan are also playing a crucial role in 
>> increasing the country's stability, and I am pleased that the FY 2008 
>> omnibus spending package provides over $1 billion to continue our 
>> reconstruction and counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan. This law makes
>>  funds available to address the needs of Afghan women, girls, and farmers, 
>> and supports the U.S. Agency for International Development's Afghan 
>> Civilian Assistance Program, which helps to build clinics, schools, and 
>> local capacity. As the FY 2009 budget process continues, you may rest 
>> assured that I will continue to advocate for adequate assistance to help 
>> stabilize Afghanistan.
>> 
>> Again, thank you for writing.
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Barack Obama United States Senator
>> 
>> 
>> P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email. However, if 
>> you would like to contact me again, please use the form on the website: 
>> http://obama.senate.gov/contact/
>> 
>> 
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