[Peace-discuss] Obama admin. gives up pretense of democracy

[C. G. Estabrook]

‎[With more than two-thirds of Americans in a new NYT/CBS poll saying  
that the U.S. should not be fighting in Afghanistan, the Obama  
administration here gives up any pretense at democracy. Defense [sic]  
Secretary Panetta rejects - as Obama clearly does - the idea that the  
opinion of the US public can limit whom the US government can kill.  
And since our democracy is a sham - "Polls are for dogs" - two-thirds  
of the Congress can be counted on to continue to vote money for war.  
Extra-parliamentary pressure - as in the 'Vietnam era' - will be  
necessary to restore democracy in the US. --CGE]

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Panetta: ‘War can’t be guided by polls’

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there is no question that the  
US public has had enough of the Afghan war, but also notes that the  
war's strategy shouldn’t be determined by polls.

“We cannot fight wars by polls,” he told reporters after meeting  
his Canadian and Mexican counterparts in Ottawa. “If we do that,  
we're in deep trouble. We have to operate based on what we believe is  
the best strategy to achieve the mission that we are embarked on.”

Panetta stated that the mission in Afghanistan was to safeguard the  
American people and to make sure the country never again becomes a  
“safe haven” for the Taliban and al-Qaeda. He also said that the  
commitment to the effort must be to ensure that lives lost in the  
conflict were not lost in vain.

Panetta’s statements were backed by Canadian Defense Minister Peter
Mackay, whose country has 1,000 troops in Afghanistan.

“Polls are for dogs,” Mackay said, quoting former Prime Minister  
John Diefenbaker “This is our generation's war, this is a test of  
perseverance.”

<http://rt.com/news/american-troops-withdrawal-afghanistan-551/>
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