[Peace-discuss] Ye are many - they - Brennan, Petraeus, Obama et al. - are few

[C. G. Estabrook]

...I met Murder on the way -
He had a mask like Castlereagh -
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven blood-hounds followed him:

All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed the human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew...

--Percy Bysshe Shelley, from "The Mask of Anarchy," written on the occasion of the massacre of protestors by the British Government in 1819 at "Peterloo" in Manchester. Castlereagh - an analogue for Brennan, Petraeus, et al. - was British Foreign Secretary, 1812-22. His foreign policy from 1814 was to work with the leaders represented at the Congress of Vienna to provide a conservative end to the French revolutionary wars. Even more than prime minister Lord Liverpool, he was responsible for repressive domestic measures.

The entire poem is worth reading, particularly the last stanza: 

..Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number -
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many - they are few.

--CGE

On Oct 19, 2013, at 9:22 PM, Robert Naiman <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com> wrote:

> indeed, i am quite serious. check the tbij website for the numbers.
> 
> Robert Naiman (from mobile device)
> 
> On Oct 19, 2013, at 5:59 PM, "C. G. Estabrook" <cge at shout.net> wrote:
> 
>> Brennan, the assassination priest?! You can't be serious.
>> 
>> Petraeus, if anything, is more of a cover-your-ass coward - that's how you rise in the military - while Brennan is a fanatic. 
>> 
>> In terms of the worst terrorism campaign in the contemporary world, it actually makes little difference which of these two reprobates is running it.
>> 
>> And vicious as the drone campaign is, you know that Obama is killing many more via JSOC (chaired by a civilian). 
>> 
>> --CGE
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 19, 2013, at 7:47 PM, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> I think the fact that Brennan, not Petraeus, is now head of the CIA is making a difference. Fewer civilians are getting killed in U.S. drone strikes. It's been many months since TBIJ has recorded a civilian death in Pakistan from a CIA drone strike.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Oct 19, 2013 at 7:32 PM, C. G. Estabrook <cge at shout.net> wrote:
>>> While the CIA has often been headed by civilians. What difference did it make?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Oct 19, 2013, at 7:27 PM, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Did you know that since the NSA was founded in 1952, it's never been headed by a civilian?
>>>> 
>>>> "But Binney said he would like to see the agency's management handed over to a civilian. Since its founding in 1952, the NSA, part of the Department of Defense, has always had a military leader."
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/keith-alexander-nsa-whistle-blowers_n_4118294.html
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Sat, Oct 19, 2013 at 7:17 PM, C. G. Estabrook <cge at shout.net> wrote:
>>>> Put a liberal face on the same policies. It's the Obama Way.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Oct 19, 2013, at 3:36 PM, "Robert Naiman" <noreply at list.moveon.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> > Dear C. G. Estabrook,
>>>> >
>>>> > Gen. Keith Alexander is stepping down as head of the National Security Agency. Fresh, civilian leadership is needed at the NSA to ensure that the NSA's surveillance activities fully comply with the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and all U.S. laws.
>>>> >
>>>> > Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been a consistent and vocal critic of blanket NSA surveillance of Americans that violates the basic civil liberties guarantees of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Senator Wyden is an ideal candidate to restore public confidence in NSA compliance with the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and all U.S. laws.
>>>> >
>>>> > Help us sway President Obama by signing and sharing our petition:
>>>> >
>>>> > http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/pres-obama-tap-sen-ron?mailing_id=16259&source=s.icn.em.cr&%3Br_by=1135580&r_by=2656067
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > Here's our rap to meet two predictable objections to our campaign:
>>>> >
>>>> > "It's not realistic." No-one's offering even odds that Ron Wyden will be the next head of the NSA. The point is to open political space by waging preemptive psychological warfare against the idea that someone is disqualified from heading the NSA if they are a civilian who believes that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are good law that apply to the national security state. Just as our campaign for Jeff Sachs to be President of the World Bank opened political space for the idea that the President of the World Bank can be a development expert rather than a banker or a politician, so this campaign will open political space for the idea that the head of the NSA can be a civilian who believes in the rule of law.
>>>> >
>>>> > "We need more than a new person at the top to reform the NSA." This is beyond dispute. (Also true, obviously, about the World Bank.) It should also be beyond dispute that it's easier for people to grab onto an individual who represents an idea than it is for them to grab onto a technical reform. If you advocate that Elizabeth Warren head the Fed or the SEC, everyone knows what you're talking about: cracking down on corruption in high finance. This is about bringing the national security state into transparent compliance with the rule of law.
>>>> >
>>>> > Now that you understand our strategy, can you help us advance it by signing and sharing our petition?
>>>> >
>>>> > http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/pres-obama-tap-sen-ron?mailing_id=16259&source=s.icn.em.cr&%3Br_by=1135580&r_by=2656067
>>>> >
>>>> > Thanks for all you do to help force the national security state to transparently comply with the rule of law,
>>>> >
>>>> > Robert Naiman
>>>> > Just Foreign Policy

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