[Peace-discuss] Phyllis Bennnis remarks about Obama's speech

[Morton K. Brussel]

The writer discusses what Phyllis omitted. Interesting and important. --mkb

Dear Phyllis and other readers interested in stopping war and militarism,
 
Thank you for the insightful and necessary comments in RED to President Obama's SOTU speech.  You did a job that many of us who listened to President Obama wished we could do to answer many of the fake 'concerns' he highlighted, but it takes time, patience and knowledge to do such anexposé, so I am recognizing your effort and the result. I took the time to print out the speech along with your comments in red and it came to over 20 pages, so indeed you spent quite some time considering how to answer him.
 
You are very clear on the economic issues and zeroed in on exposing Washington's failure to address the astronomical military budget: When I goggled 'U.S. military budget' two days ago I found this shocking info: "United States’ total defense (war) budget spending is between $1.01 and $1.35 trillion in fiscal year 2010. [additional $37 billion supplemental bill to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was expected to pass in the spring of 2010, but has been delayed by the House of Representatives after passing the Senate.[4][5] Defense-related expenditures outside of the Department of Defense constitute between $319 billion and $654 billion in additional spending,6]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States   You did present the figure later on"  "This is a war we cannot win and we cannot afford.  We will never have money for jobs and health care and education and infrastructure while we are paying more than one TRILLION dollars this year for wars and the military budget."
 
In several places you were specific and right on target:  
"You want money for jobs, President Obama??  How about cutting the THIRTY BILLION DOLLARS you agreed to give Israel in military aid over these ten years.  George W. Bush first cut the deal – but you agreed to implement it.  Wouldn’t that money be better spent on 600,000 new green jobs here at home?"
 
And you gave the figure regarding the MILLION dollars spent on every soldier in Afghanistan. 
"We knew President Bush didn't understand that, but we hoped President Obama understood the need not to only assert that, but to act on it -- which means ENDING the US war in Afghanistan, bringing home the troops, and then working to provide real support, reconstruction, reparations and more, to the people of Afghanistan to whom we owe so much." 
 
Again, Phyllis, you speak passionately on ending the wars.  Good. We all seem to be clear on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and hopefully are opposing drone attacks on the people in Pakistan and Yemen.  And here is where I find I must make a criticism for something very important that you LEFT OUT - the attacks and the issue of IRAN and North Korea, which is why I am addressing you and the UFPJ list serve.
 
I credit you with making a general response: But the world that favors peace wants us to end our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not expand them through demanding participation in coerced coalitions."
 
It was unclear To me as to what "coerced coalitions" you were referring to, but it was a disappointment that when the head of the Empire spoke so specifically against Iran and North Korea, linking the nuclear issue to Iran and terrorists, you didn't at least raise some of the factual information that by now is quite well-known and that you yourself wrote about in the IPS primer your wrote:  "Iran in the Crosshairs".  
Obama wanted to take credit where it doesn't belong, and he should have been called on it. 
"American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.
 
Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons." 
 
You could have noted that it is the U.S. which is in violation of the NPT Article VI to move toward nuclear disarmament and full and complete general disarmament and is not carrying out its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. And you could have stated that sending aircraft carriers loaded with SAM missile launchers to the Korean Peninsula and the Persian Gulf is exactly the opposite of an "effort to secure peace".    
 
In these two paragraphs, when Obama, the leader of the U.S. Empire spoke so deceitfully and tried to place the blame of proliferation of nuclear weapons on Iran and North Korea, you were silent.  Why?  And Obama's speech very purposefully and dishonestly linked  "so they never fall into the hands of terrorists" with Iran, justifying the unjust sanctions against both Iran and North Korea.  Both of these nations have endured years of sanctions, lies and efforts at interference and de-stabilization, and it is the U.S. keeping the north and south Korean people from coming closer and repairing their differences.  You wrote nothing in response.  
 
As a strong supporter of the rights of the Palestinian people, you must be aware that Iran's support for the people of Palestine is real and strong and is why the neo-cons constantly refer to Iran as "supporting terrorists".  Iran's open challenge to the racism and oppression in West Bank and Gaza and their defense of the Islamic peoples' struggles of resistance has come at a cost of "popularity" if you will, and I wish you had not let Obama "Off the hook' so to say.  
 
These two countries have been at the center of American foreign policy of "regime change", disinformation regarding their societies and role in the Asian region, have been mercilessly subjected to years of cruel sanctions and even threats of nuclear attack by the United States and Israel, but you said almost nothing.  
 
It is our responsibility as spokespersons against militarism and war to bring up those issues which are not so clear in the minds of the American people.  Polls show that many of our people understand the awful cost of continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they are much less clear about the rights of sovereignty and independence that both Iran and North Korea defend.  So at least you could have written a few sentences to make people think about the terrorism practiced by sanctions and threats of using atomic weapons against Iran to force it to comply with U.S. imperial diktats.
 
The Arab Street is just now confronting the most reactionary, U.S. supported regimes in the Middle East, and Iran's strength in confronting Israel and the U.S. is admired by many in the "Arab Street".  Unlike our "Orientalist" leaning Iranians and academics residing in the U.S., the working class and oppressed sections of the Arab and Muslim states have applauded the leadership of the Islamic Republic for its unwillingness to bend under such constant threats by U.S. and Israel and the other NATO powers.  
 
I don't expect you to feel about Iran as I do, as a dual citizen, I consider Iran my second homeland, but I do expect you to put a little pin prick in Obama's "phony anti-nuclear" balloon, and defend Iran for its work in exposing the proliferation by the U.S. and Israel and for its call: Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for NONE.  Iran's call is real and it is honest, and we in the peace/anti-war movement should be recognizing it as such.  And although some in the peace movement think that sanctions are a lesser evil than bombing and invasion, they are a prelude to war and should be strongly opposed by peace advocates.
 
Many thanks for your patience in this rather long response....
 
Peace through Justice,
Ellie Ommani, co-founder of the American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC) 
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