[Peace-discuss] Fake debate

[C. G. Estabrook]

"Meeting with leaders from both parties at the White House, Mr. Obama seemed to 
be searching for some sort of middle ground, saying he wanted to 'dispense with 
the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving 
Afghanistan,' as White House officials later described his remarks.  But as the 
war approached its eight-year anniversary on Wednesday, the session underscored 
the perilous crosscurrents awaiting Mr. Obama..."  --NYT 10/7/09

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the 
spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that 
spectrum -- even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives 
people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the 
presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the 
range of the debate.'  --Noam Chomsky