[Peace-discuss] Obama embraces a fraud: Brits

[John W.]

On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 8:48 AM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu> wrote:

And Obama has once again done what he's good at, John: distracting you from
> the
> killing being done in your name.


"Nefarious Obama Conceals Fact That Sum Total of Murder in World Perpetrated
in Name of 'Wason'"




> John W. wrote:


>  It's a good enough essay, but I love how you twist all of your subject
>> lines
>> into vitriole against Obama, Carl.  Here are some suggestions for future
>> posts:
>>
>> "Obama Enjoys Repast of Succulent Afghan Babies" "Obama Joins Al Qaeda as
>> Chief Terrorist, Replacing bin Laden" "Obama Becomes World's Chief
>> Terrorist,
>> Replacing Bush" "Obama Rains Down Fire on Gaza, Says Fire Is from
>> 'Heaven'" "Obama Find Hell 'Pleasant' After Brief Tete-a-Tete with Satan"
>> "Satan Finds
>> Obama 'A Man After My Own Heart', Sources Say" "Dr. Ruth: Like Clinton,
>> Obama
>> Derives Sexual Satisfaction from Slaughter of Innocents" "Obama Takes
>> Lessons
>> from Madoff in Defrauding Public, Betraying Trust" "APA Unanimous:  Obama
>> Is
>> Deranged Psychotic Serial Killer" "Charles Manson: If I Could Have Voted,
>> It
>> Would Have Been For Obama. No Question." "Obama Uses Charisma as Secret
>> Weapon to Perpetrate Unholy Acts"
>>
>> Please let me know if you need any more.
>>
>> Helpfully,
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 11:35 AM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu<mailto:
>> galliher at uiuc.edu>> wrote:
>>
>> [Obama has said that Afghanistan and Pakistan are now the front-line in
>> the
>> "war on terror" as his justification for sending 30,000 more US troops to
>> Afghanistan, doubling the current US military there. Here he's given the
>> lie
>> by the British Foreign Secretary.  --CGE]
>>
>> 'War on terror' was wrong * David Miliband * The Guardian, Thursday 15
>> January 2009
>>
>> The terrorist attacks in Mumbai seven weeks ago sent shock waves around
>> the
>> world. Now all eyes are fixed on the Middle East, where Israel's response
>> to
>> Hamas's rockets, a ferocious military campaign, has already left a
>> thousand
>> Gazans dead.
>>
>> Seven years on from 9/11 it is clear that we need to take a fundamental
>> look
>> at our efforts to prevent extremism and its terrible offspring, terrorist
>> violence. Since 9/11, the notion of a "war on terror" has defined the
>> terrain. The phrase had some merit: it captured the gravity of the
>> threats,
>> the need for solidarity, and the need to respond urgently - where
>> necessary,
>> with force. But ultimately, the notion is misleading and mistaken. The
>> issue
>> is not whether we need to attack the use of terror at its roots, with all
>> the
>> tools available. We must. The question is how.
>>
>> The idea of a "war on terror" gave the impression of a unified,
>> transnational
>> enemy, embodied in the figure of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. The reality
>> is
>> that the motivations and identities of terrorist groups are disparate.
>> Lashkar-e-Taiba has roots in Pakistan and says its cause is Kashmir.
>> Hezbollah says it stands for resistance to occupation of the Golan
>> Heights.
>> The Shia and Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq have myriad demands. They are
>> as
>> diverse as the 1970s European movements of the IRA, Baader-Meinhof, and
>> Eta. All used terrorism and sometimes they supported each other, but their
>> causes
>> were not unified and their cooperation was opportunistic. So it is today.
>>
>> The more we lump terrorist groups together and draw the battle lines as a
>> simple binary struggle between moderates and extremists, or good and evil,
>> the more we play into the hands of those seeking to unify groups with
>> little
>> in common. Terrorist groups need to be tackled at root, interdicting flows
>> of
>> weapons and finance, exposing the shallowness of their claims, channelling
>> their followers into democratic politics.
>>
>> The "war on terror" also implied that the correct response was primarily
>> military. But as General Petraeus said to me and others in Iraq, the
>> coalition there could not kill its way out of the problems of insurgency
>> and
>> civil strife.
>>
>> This is what divides supporters and opponents of the military action in
>> Gaza.
>> Similar issues are raised by the debate about the response to the Mumbai
>> attacks. Those who were responsible must be brought to justice and the
>> government of Pakistan must take urgent and effective action to break up
>> terror networks on its soil. But on my visit to south Asia this week, I am
>> arguing that the best antidote to the terrorist threat in the long term is
>> cooperation. Although I understand the current difficulties, resolution of
>> the dispute over Kashmir would help deny extremists in the region one of
>> their main calls to arms, and allow Pakistani authorities to focus more
>> effectively on tackling the threat on their western borders.
>>
>> We must respond to terrorism by championing the rule of law, not
>> subordinating it, for it is the cornerstone of the democratic society. We
>> must uphold our commitments to human rights and civil liberties at home
>> and
>> abroad. That is surely the lesson of Guantánamo and it is why we welcome
>> President-elect Obama's commitment to close it.
>>
>> The call for a "war on terror" was a call to arms, an attempt to build
>> solidarity for a fight against a single shared enemy. But the foundation
>> for
>> solidarity between peoples and nations should be based not on who we are
>> against, but on the idea of who we are and the values we share. Terrorists
>> succeed when they render countries fearful and vindictive; when they sow
>> division and animosity; when they force countries to respond with violence
>> and repression. The best response is to refuse to be cowed.
>>
>> • David Miliband is the foreign secretary milibandd at parliament.uk<mailto:
>> milibandd at parliament.uk>
>
>
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