[Peace-discuss] First Black President Defeats U.S. Antiwar Movement

[Morton K. Brussel]

Thanks Randall for this article. and their website. I can't disagree  
with most of what is said here, except that UFPJ may not be rightly  
characterized—various currents are in play there—, and that the fact  
that Glen Ford speaks as he does, means there still remains an antiwar  
constituancy, which may grow as Obama's hollowness becomes  
increasingly transparent. --mkb



On Apr 15, 2009, at 8:35 PM, Randall Cotton wrote:

> This caught my eye, as Glen Ford's commentaries often do, mainly  
> because I
> generally agree with him 100%, as in this case.
>
> First Black President Defeats U.S. Antiwar Movement
> A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
>
> "Obama pretends he wants peace, and anti-war members of Congress  
> pretend
> to believe him."
>
> In the streets, on the campuses and on Capitol Hill, the anti-war  
> movement
> is no longer moving anywhere. It has been crippled by the Obama  
> Effect,
> the deep and wide delusion that imperialism with a Black face is  
> somehow -
> something else. When a movement disbands itself without coming even  
> close
> to achieving its objective, that is a defeat. We can now definitively
> state that, for the time being, the U.S. anti-war movement has been
> defeated - not by Republicans, but by Barack Obama's Democratic Party.
>
> A recent article in The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress,  
> relates a
> meeting among staffers for Out of Iraq caucus leaders Barbara Lee,  
> Maxine
> Waters and Lynn Woolsey. They were supposed to come up with a  
> response to
> President Obama's announcement that he would immediately send 4,000
> additional troops to Afghanistan, with lots more to come. Obama is
> determined to leave at least 50,000 troops in Iraq for an open-ended
> period of time under the guise of "training" the Iraqis, and is  
> rapidly
> merging Afghanistan and Pakistan into one theater of war, called Af- 
> Pak.
> Clearly, the Obama administration is expanding its war in Af-Pak,  
> and has
> no intention of ending the U.S. military presence in Iraq - ever. The
> staffers for the Out of Iraq caucus leaders spent two hours trying  
> to come
> up with a position. They failed.
>
> For all intents and purposes, the Out of Iraq caucus has ceased to
> function. Black Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters have at  
> times
> shown great courage in the face of stupendous odds. But they will not
> confront Barack Obama, even when he expands the arenas of war,  
> claims that
> combat soldiers are merely trainers and advisers, and pushes through  
> a war
> budget that is bigger than any of George Bush's war budgets. Obama
> pretends he wants peace, and anti-war members of Congress pretend to
> believe him.
>
> "The anti-war movement has hit rock-bottom because of its failure to
> challenge this particular president."
>
> Another Capitol Hill publication, the Congressional Quarterly,  
> recently
> ran an article on the low demonstration turn-out and money woes of the
> anti-war movement. A March 21st rally at the Pentagon drew pitiful  
> numbers
> of demonstrators, only 3,000 according to police. Organizers claim  
> they
> can't raise money these days, and have been forced to cut staff. A
> spokesperson for ANSWER, the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism  
> Coalition,
> said the peace movement is seeing the impact of the "promises the  
> Obama
> campaign made." Outgoing United for Peace and Justice leader Leslie  
> Cagan
> says her money people aren't giving because "It's enough for many of  
> them
> that Obama has a plan to end the war and that things are moving in the
> right direction."
>
> But Obama has no plans or intention to end his wars except on  
> imperialism'
> s own terms - which means never-ending war, just like under Bush - a  
> basic
> truth that United for Peace and Justice refuses to recognize or admit.
> ANSWER organizers also fail to confront the Obama White House head- 
> on. The
> Congressional Quarterly article concludes that the anti-war movement  
> is
> suffering from the results of "its own successes." That's absolute
> nonsense. The anti-war movement has hit rock-bottom because of its  
> failure
> to challenge this particular president, an imperialist with charm, a
> warmonger with a winning smile. Obama has whipped them, but good.  
> And they
> will stay whipped, until they stand up like men, like women, like  
> leaders.
>
> www.blackagendareport.com
>
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