[Peace-discuss] Restore Sanity? Jon Stewart Gave Senator Coburn a Bum Rap on Haiti Aid

[Robert Naiman]

The public has a big stake in the success of Jon Stewart's campaign
against the debasement of public discourse, because the debasement of
public discourse has been a major obstacle to enacting the policies
that America needs, like ending the war in Afghanistan.

If a report this week in the New York Times is substantially correct,
the US has taken significant steps towards pursuing a negotiated
political solution that could end the war. There has been significant
debate about these developments. Are they real or hyped? If Pakistan
and Mullah Omar remain excluded, won't that sink the talks? These are
important questions. What does not seem to have happened so far is any
significant attempt to shut down these developments by accusing the
Obama Administration of "wanting to cut and run," "being soft on
terrorism," or "not caring about Afghan women." That's a positive
development which we should work to maintain. The steps reported this
week are steps that could have been taken much sooner, saving many
lives and many billions of tax dollars, if the proposal to do so four
years ago by then Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had not
been unjustly shot down by then House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

This is why the broad public interest would be served if Jon Stewart
would lead by example and acknowledge that when in a national
broadcast he accused Sen. Tom Coburn of holding up $1.15 billion in
reconstruction aid for Haiti, the charge was false.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/restore-sanity-jon-stewar_b_772476.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/10/22/125341/36

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/738

--
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern