[Peace-discuss] Peace-discuss Digest, Vol 152, Issue 134
Stephen Francis
stephenf1113 at yahoo.com
Mon Sep 19 15:15:05 UTC 2016
"AWARE has functioned by informal consensus rather thanvotes, and no vote was taken on the proposal, but there was
no consensus that AWARE should add our name to the list of
endorsers. So, who, what was the process in declaring "no consensus"....???... CGE commentWhy not do a real survey.See below... It's completely anonymous, other than having to pick an observer (which in itself would be an interesting endeavor)I tried it.... was simple ... works well.I'd bet $100 it'll never happen, but it's not a bad idea.
ADoodle.org - Anonymous Doodle
|
| |
ADoodle.org - Anonymous Doodle
ADoodle.org organizes a simple and anonymous vote among collegues or friends. No one has to reveal his/her own c... | |
|
On Monday, September 19, 2016 10:23 AM, "peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net" <peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Peace-discuss Digest, Vol 152, Issue 127 (David Green)
2. A highly recommended article. (Karen Aram)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2016 13:31:39 +0000 (UTC)
From: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>
To: Muhammad Yousuf <xpman10 at yahoo.com>, "C. G. Estabrook"
<carl at newsfromneptune.com>
Cc: "peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net"
<peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Peace-discuss Digest, Vol 152, Issue 127
Message-ID: <1842706226.854500.1474291899999 at mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Hi Muhammad,
Even accepting the need for the focused nature of these demands, I find the following lethally problematic:
WE DEMAND that all on-campus sexual predators, especially those affiliated with the Greek Life system, face severe penalties for all forms of sexual violence.
It's particularly discordant because it is black men in particular, including black athletes, who have been falsely or problematically accused of sexual assault on college campuses. I've written about this:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/06/24/rape-culture-the-hunting-ground-and-amy-goodman-a-critical-perspective/
Moreover, the argument has been made that demands for mandatory sentencing of rapists will deter judges from exercising discretion in relation to non-violent drug offense sentencing that have been so destructive to black males and communities. The Marshall Project has weighed in on this, in opposition to the removal of Judge Persky in the Brock Allen Turner (Stanford) case.
And whatever the possible (but by no means clear) validity of singling out Greek Life as a structural source of rape culture, it's ill-advised to "especially" single out individuals on the basis of their affiliation to face "severe penalties." That's just tone deaf to basic legal rights.
This demand simply cannot be supported as written; unfortunately, it invalidates the entire exercise. I find no pleasure in saying this.
Best,
David
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 9/19/16, C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Peace-discuss Digest, Vol 152, Issue 127
To: "Muhammad Yousuf" <xpman10 at yahoo.com>
Cc: "peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Date: Monday, September 19, 2016, 12:11 AM
Mr. Yousuf:
AWARE ("Anti-war
Anti-racism Effort of Champaign-Urbana”) was asked to
consider supporting the 13 demands of the BSFR at UIUC. The
suggestion has been discussed by email and at the regular
Sunday night meeting of AWARE. Since its founding 15 years
ago, AWARE has functioned by informal consensus rather than
votes, and no vote was taken on the proposal, but there was
no consensus that AWARE should add our name to the list of
endorsers.
The principal
reason was the specificity of AWARE’s remit as an antiwar
organization - and a corresponding reluctance to risk
distraction from it.
Several members of AWARE were also disturbed by
the demands’ being couched in the terms of identity
politics. The rhetoric of ‘intersectionality’ - “being
attentive to the needs of various communities by
incorporating what each of those communities has explicitly
stated its needs are” - seems an inadequate attempt to put
the Humpty Dumpty of American liberalism back together
again, after it’s fallen off the wall of class politics
that was its base from the 1930s to the 1970s.
(Neoliberalism pushed it, of course.)
Since the Obama administration
has enlarged the wars it was elected to end - and the new
administration will probably do more of the same - AWARE
welcomes support from BSFR and allied organizations in
opposing and ending the international crimes of the
government for which we are responsible - and which remains,
as ML King said long ago, “the greatest purveyor of
violence in the world today.” And we wish all those
organizations success with the truly progressive campaigns
they undertake in the university and the community.
Regards, C. G. Estabrook
> On Sep 18, 2016, at
11:04 PM, Muhammad Yousuf via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
wrote:
>
> Hello
all,
>
> I think some
major clarification is needed. I've been the head of SJP
at UIUC for the past two years, and I'm also a co-author
of the 13th demand on the list. I want to be very clear that
these demands are fully endorsed by SJP, but AWARE's
consideration of them should not be conditional on that
fact. BSFR has been an incredibly strong organizing force on
campus since their formation last year, and have deep ties
to the local chapter of Black Lives Matter. These demands
are specifically aimed at galvanizing a movement on campus
to force the University to make changes which are necessary.
To answer what seems to be Carl's main concern, we as a
collective of organizations are completely anti-war and
anti-imperialist in all forms. The reason the demands do not
specifically mention this is because that is simply beyond
the purview of what we aim to accomplish, i.e., a
"transformed University". The changes which we
seek to implement on campus are reflective of those which we
think our society as a whole needs, but made to fit the
specific needs of this University and its students, staff,
and community members with intentional focus on the most
marginalized of these groups. I sincerely hope you don't
take us to be so foolish as to think we write off the role
the US has had in propagating violence both within and
outside this nations borders. Furthermore, SJP and the
demands themselves are explicitly in support of the BDS
movement and do not see this as a sort of "ethical
capitalism" but rather as a first step to eventually
deconstructing the militaristic structures which enable
countries like the United States and Israel to exact their
state-sanctioned terrorism around the world.
>
> I also view these
accusations of identity politicking as hasty and
disingenuous at best and seriously ignorant at worse. We are
being attentive to the needs of various communities by
incorporating what each of those communities has explicitly
stated its needs are. Of the 26 or so groups who have
officially signed on to the demands, representatives of at
least 10 of them were involved in the writing and research
process. While I hope AWARE will come to the conclusion of
endorsing the demands, we will not make room for the
incredible rudeness and "holier-than-thou"
rhetoric which this email thread is rife with. If you have
specific questions or concerns on the wording or content of
the demands, please communicate with BSFR (http://www.bsfruiuc.com/contact-us) or
SJP (sjp.uiuc at gmail.com)
directly rather than speculate on our behalves and on the
behalf of all the co-signed groups.
>
> Muhammad Yousuf
>
>
> […]
>
>
> On Sunday, September 18, 2016 2:04 PM,
"peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net"
<peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>
wrote:
>
>
> Send Peace-discuss mailing list
submissions to
> peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>
> To subscribe or
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> or, via email, send a message with subject
or body 'help' to
>
peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net
>
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>
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>
> When replying,
please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Peace-discuss
digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re:
[Peace] AWARE has been asked to consider supporting
the
> 13 demands
of the BSFR at UIUC (C. G. Estabrook)
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2016 13:03:18 -0500
> From: "C. G. Estabrook" <carl at newsfromneptune.com>
> To: David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
> Cc: peace <peace at lists.chambana.net>,
Peace-discuss List
>
<Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] AWARE
has been asked to consider
>
supporting the 13 demands of the BSFR at
UIUC
> Message-ID: <2F770B4C-7D53-4473-B519-9CC6F97956FD at newsfromneptune.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="utf-8"
>
> David—
>
> You suggest that "AWARE has gained a
reputation of being aloof from the community.” That’s
true if and only if the community is taken to be represented
by Democratic liberals from Tammy Duckworth thru Mark
Wicklund to Carol Ammons. AWARE rejects their objective
support for Bush-Obama-Clinton war-making (see e.g. <http://newsfromneptune.com/2015/07/14/memo-to-prairiegreens-local-democrat-legislators/
<http://newsfromneptune.com/2015/07/14/memo-to-prairiegreens-local-democrat-legislators/>>).
>
> AWARE has claimed
from its inception to represent the real interests of our
neighbors in opposing the Bush-Obama government's
ongoing wars and the racism they inspire.
>
> AWARE has criticized
the disingenuous assertion of identity politics that the
issue is a free-floating problem of race relations,
unconnected to the economy and war - a view that serves to
defend neoliberal economics and neocon war, which have
characterized both administrations - and also probably the
next.
>
> The major
historical parallel is adduced by the historian Barbara
Fields:
>
>
"Probably a majority of American historians think of
slavery in the
> United States as
primarily a system of race relations—as though the
> chief business of slavery were the
production of white supremacy
> rather
than the production of cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco.
One
> historian has gone so far as to
call slavery ‘the ultimate segregator’.
> He does not ask why Europeans seeking the
‘ultimate’ method of segregating
>
Africans would go to the trouble and expense of
transporting
> them across the ocean for
that purpose, when they could have achieved
> the same end so much more simply by
leaving the Africans in Africa.
> No one
dreams of analysing the struggle of the English against
the
> Irish as a problem in race
relations, even though the rationale that the
> English developed for suppressing the
‘barbarous’ Irish later served
>
nearly word for word as a rationale for suppressing Africans
and
> indigenous American Indians. Nor
does anyone dream of analysing
> serfdom
in Russia as primarily a problem of race relations, even
> though the Russian nobility invented
fictions of their innate, natural
>
superiority over the serfs as preposterous as any devised by
American
> racists."
>
> The question is
whether endorsement of these demands advances AWARE’s
anti-war anti-racism program. It may, but I’m not
convinced it does; it may serve as a distraction. —CGE
>
>
> > On Sep 18, 2016, at 10:42 AM, David
Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
wrote:
> >
> >
Gus Wood is one of the founding members.
> >
> > They
organized last Fall 2015
> >
> > They have repeatedly in their public
speeches ( the founding rally last Fall and the more
recent May Day rally ) have specifically spoke out against
capitalism, austerity, police militarization, and racism /
white supremacy ( and made a specific clear distinction
between white supremacy and being " anti-white "
).
> >
> > Of
the individuals I know in the group who are the main
founders and organizers, they are all anti-war.
> >
> > Do we want
to split hairs here as to if they represent / advocate for
ALL of AWARE's demands or do we find common ground with
the fact that they share almost all of our values and goals.
Anti-authoritarian, anti racist and anti capitalist.
> >
> > After all,
part of AWARE's name is " anti-racism ".
> >
> > The
concern about supporting liberal identity politics group is
a legitimate concern, as those of you know me, know that I
hate liberal identity politics, and I wouldn't be asking
this of AWARE if I didn't think they were deserving of
support.
> > Also, for whatever
reason, AWARE has gained a reputation of being aloof from
the community. An endorsement of the black Students for
Revolution ( primarily for the reasons I stated above )
would help greatly in countering that misconception.
> >
> > Do what
you want, but in my humble opinion, this would be a good
move.
> >
> >
David Johnson
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Carl G. Estabrook [mailto:galliher at illinois.edu]
> > Sent: Saturday, September 17,
2016 8:56 AM
> > To: David Johnson
> > Cc: davegreen84 at yahoo.com;
karenaram at hotmail.com;
kmedina67 at gmail.com;
Ron Szoke; stuartnlevy at gmail.com;
salevy at illinois.edu
> > Subject: Re: [Peace] AWARE has been
asked to consider supporting the 13 demands of the BSFR at
UIUC
> >
> >
Who are they and what's their history?
> >
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> >> On Sep
17, 2016, at 8:35 AM, David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
wrote:
> >>
>
>> Black Students for Revolution is NOT an Identity
Politics organization !
> >>
> >> I have been conversing and
interacting with many of the students in this organization
for some time now.
> >>
> >> They are unabashed
ANTI-CAPITALISTS !
> >>
> >> They have stated this publicly on
many occasions, in particular at the recent May Day rally on
campus.
> >>
>
>> The following demands in the list also indicates
that they are class
> >> based
;
> >>
>
>>>> 1. WE DEMAND that UIUC immediately and
permanently halt tuition hikes.
>
>>>> 2. >> WE DEMAND that the racial and
ECONOMIC demographics of UIUC students, faculty and staff
reflect the racial and ECONOMIC demographics of Illinois by
2032.
> >> 8. WE DEMAND a living
wage for all University employees and subcontracted workers
and that this rate be indexed for inflation.
> >>>> 9. WE DEMAND all
employees of UIUC have access to at least six months of paid
parental leave following the birth or adoption of a
child.
> >>>> 10. WE DEMAND
that UIUC cease and desist job outsourcing and hire directly
from underrepresented populations in Urbana-Champaign and
the surrounding communities.
>
>>>> 11. WE DEMAND that UIUC work towards
bridging the gap between this campus and the surrounding
Black community of Urbana-Champaign.
>
>>>> 12. WE DEMAND that UIUC implement
fair-chance admissions and employment policies for those
with past conviction records (Ban the Box).
> >>>> 13. WE DEMAND that UIUC
release an annual, easily-accessible, and comprehensive
report of all its investments and move to divest from
socially and politically negligent corporations.
> >>
> >>
They of course advocate for African American rights, which
is understandable, but they do NOT just focus on that, like
an identity politics organization would. As you see they
have at it's core a class based economic agenda /
demands.
> >>
>
>> They also as an organization have worked and
supported the rights of the Palestinian people and the local
U of I organization " Students for Justice in
Palestine.
> >>
> >> This is called " CLASS based
intersectionality " as opposed to JUST
intersectionality with NO class base, which is merely a
smogasboard of identity politics groups.
> >> BIG difference !
> >>
> >>
For the reasons stated above, I think we SHOULD endorse the
Black Students for Revolution.
> >>
> >> I hate identity politics , in
particular how it is used by neo-liberals to divide us, and
I would not advocate for any organization that was not class
based and anti-capitalist and anti war.
>
>> Remember, police militarization and brutality is
the counterpart of the policy of endless war.
> >>
> >>
David Johnson
> >>
> >>
> >>
-----Original Message-----
> >>
From: Peace [mailto:peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net]
On Behalf Of
> >> Carl G.
Estabrook via Peace
> >> Sent:
Friday, September 16, 2016 10:35 PM
>
>> To: Peace-discuss List
>
>> Cc: Brussel, Morton K; Karen Medina; peace
> >> Subject: Re: [Peace] AWARE has
been asked to consider supporting the
>
>> 13 demands of the BSFR at UIUC
>
>>
> >> I think we should
try to have a serious discussion of this proposal, online
and perhaps in several meetings.
>
>>
> >> The central question
would seem to be, How does it comport with AWARE's
antiwar remit?
> >>
> >> But there are obviously other
important questions, e.g., What do we know of ‘Black
Students for Revolution’?
> >> A
severe critic might suggest that a similar list could be
circulated by ‘Some Students for Self-Promotion.’
> >> I’m old enough to remember
where the loudest voices for ‘militant action’ came from
during the Vietnam war: they were provocateurs.
> >>
> >>
The list certainly raises (once again) questions of the
nature and provenance of identity politics (the mainstay of
the Clinton campaign).
> >> See
Adolph Reed's mordant description (expressed I admit in
somewhat clotted prose):
> >>
> >> "[Identity] politics is
not an alternative to class politics; it is a class
politics, the politics of the left-wing of neoliberalism. It
is the expression and active agency of a political order and
moral economy in which capitalist market forces are treated
as unassailable nature.
> >>
"An integral element of that moral economy is
displacement of the critique of the invidious outcomes
produced by capitalist class power onto equally naturalized
categories of ascriptive identity that sort us into groups
supposedly defined by what we essentially are rather than
what we do. As I have argued, following Walter Michaels and
others, within that moral economy a society in which 1% of
the population controlled 90% of the resources could be
just, provided that roughly 12% of the 1% were black, 12%
were Latino, 50% were women, and whatever the appropriate
proportions were LGBT people.
>
>> "It would be tough to imagine a normative
ideal that expresses more unambiguously the social position
of people who consider themselves candidates for inclusion
in, or at least significant staff positions in service to,
the ruling class” <http://bennorton.com/adolph-reed-identity-politics-is-neoliberalism/>.
> >>
> >>
It’s difficult to see how a serious critique of US
war-making can arise from identity politics. (Not enough
blacks and women among Special Forces killers?) It would
seem that US war-making arises from domestic and foreign
class conflicts; given that we’ve killed more than 20
million in 37 nations since WWII, we should be clear about
causes.
> >> <https://www.popularresistance.org/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-in-37-nations-since-wwii/>.
> >>
> >>
AWARE has seen as its task for 15 years to encourage
awareness of how and why the US government is the greatest
purveyor of violence in the world today.
> >> And to do that we must tell the
truth and shame the devil, as Hotspur says.
> >>
> >>
I’m not convinced that endorsing these demands contributes
to that effort. —CGE
> >>
> >>
>
>>>> On Sep 15, 2016, at 9:53 PM, Karen Medina
via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net>
wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Dear Peace-Discuss,
> >>>>
>
>>>> At the next AWARE meeting*, I will present
the 13 demands of the "Black Students for
Revolution" at UIUC for consideration. BSFRUIUC has
asked if AWARE will sign on to be a community
supporter/endorser of the demands.
>
>>>> http://www.bsfruiuc.com/our-demands
> >>>> *(I might miss this
upcoming meeting, but the next week's meeting
> >>>> then)
> >>>> -- karen medina
> >>>>
-------------------------------
>
>>>> 1. WE DEMAND that UIUC immediately and
permanently halt tuition hikes.
>
>>>> 2.
> >>>>
WE DEMAND that the racial and economic demographics of UIUC
students, faculty and staff reflect the racial and economic
demographics of Illinois by 2032.
>
>>>> 3.
> >>>>
WE DEMAND that all on-campus sexual predators, especially
those affiliated with the Greek Life system, face severe
penalties for all forms of sexual violence.
> >>>> 4. WE DEMAND that UIUC
makes a permanent commitment not to consolidate or combine
the LGBT Resource Center and Women’s Resource Center in
addition to the continued autonomy of all cultural centers
and ethnic studies programs.
>
>>>> 5. WE DEMAND that UIUC collect and track
gender and sexuality based demographics as an official
population.
> >>>> 6. WE
DEMAND that queer and trans students be given priority for
all university sponsored all-gendered housing options and
that genderqueer and trans students be offered these spaces
at a discounted rate corresponding with the less expensive
standard housing option.
>
>>>> 7. WE DEMAND that UIUC hire a truly
independent consultant to review
>
>>>> the salaries of all University employees in
order to detect and correct gender and race-based pay
inequality 8. WE DEMAND a living wage for all University
employees and subcontracted workers and that this rate be
indexed for inflation.
> >>>>
9. WE DEMAND all employees of UIUC have access to at least
six months of paid parental leave following the birth or
adoption of a child.
> >>>>
10. WE DEMAND that UIUC cease and desist job outsourcing and
hire directly from underrepresented populations in
Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding communities.
> >>>> 11. WE DEMAND that UIUC
work towards bridging the gap between this campus and the
surrounding Black community of Urbana-Champaign.
> >>>> 12. WE DEMAND that UIUC
implement fair-chance admissions and employment policies for
those with past conviction records (Ban the Box).
> >>>> 13. WE DEMAND that UIUC
release an annual, easily-accessible, and comprehensive
report of all its investments and move to divest from
socially and politically negligent corporations.
> >>>>
>
>>>> List of Endorsing Local Organizations
> >>>> • Black
Students for Revolution
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• SJP - Students for Justice in Palestine
> >>>>
>
>>>> • Planner’s Network
> >>>>
>
>>>> • MEChA - Movimiento Estudiantil
Chicano de Aztlan
> >>>>
> >>>> • AASSCC - African
American Studies Scholars Cultural Committee
> >>>>
>
>>>> • CUTES - Campus Union for Trans
Equality and Support
> >>>>
> >>>> • UMMA - United
Muslim & Minority Advocates
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• GEO - Graduate Employees Organization
> >>>>
>
>>>> • MSU - Mixed Student Union
> >>>>
>
>>>> • Women of Pride
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• BLM-CU (community) - Black Lives Matter - Champaign
Urbana
> >>>>
> >>>> • SACC - Students for
an Arab Cultural Center at Illinois
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• The Gharbzadegi Art Collective
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• Allies and Accomplices for Racial Justice
> >>>>
>
>>>> • Men of Impact*
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• Students Against Sexual Assault
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• My Sister’s Keeper*
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• STEM Boycotts the War Machine
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• NAISO - Native American and Indigenous Student
Organization
> >>>>
> >>>> • SECS - Students for
Environmental ConcernS
> >>>>
> >>>> • WORD - Writers
Organizing Realistic Dialect
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• ASA - Arab Student Association
>
>>>>
> >>>>
• UIUC Beyond Coal
> >>>>
> >>>> • Black Rose/Rosa
Negra Central Illinois Chapter
>
>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
_______________________________________________
> >>>> Peace mailing list
> >>>> Peace at lists.chambana.net
> >>>> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace
> >>
> >>
_______________________________________________
> >> Peace mailing list
> >> Peace at lists.chambana.net
> >> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace
> >>
> >
> >
_______________________________________________
Peace-discuss mailing list
Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:22:35 +0000
From: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com>
To: Peace-discuss List <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>, Peace
Discuss <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Subject: [Peace-discuss] A highly recommended article.
Message-ID:
<CY1PR15MB0347603250766C3AB144A2E0A3F40 at CY1PR15MB0347.namprd15.prod.outlook.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Freedom Rider: Standing with Syria
by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
“There is only one question now: when will America tell its minions to stop fighting?”
American and NATO aggressions must be opposed wherever they surface in the world. That statement ought to be the starting point for anyone calling themselves left, progressive, or anti-war. Of course the aggressors always use a ruse to diminish resistance to their wars of terror. In Syria and elsewhere they claim to support freedom fighters, the moderate opposition and any other designation that helps hide imperialist intervention. They label their target as a tyrant, a butcher, or a modern day Hitler who commits unspeakable acts against his own populace. The need to silence opposition is obvious and creating the image of a monster is the most reliable means of securing that result.
The anti-war movement thus finds itself confused and rendered immobile by this predictable propaganda. It is all too easily manipulated into being at best ineffectual and at worst supporters of American state sponsored terror.
For five years the United States, NATO, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar and Turkey have given arms and money to terrorist groups in an effort to topple Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Some of those bad actors felt flush with success after overthrowing and killing Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. They had high hopes of picking off another secular Arab government. Fortunately, Assad was hard to defeat and the barbarians cannot storm the gates. Most importantly, Russia stopped giving lip service to Assad and finally provided military support to the Syrian government in 2015.
“American presidents, beginning with Jimmy Carter, have all used jihadists at opportune moments when they want regime change.”
The United States government is responsible for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria. The so-called barrel bomb doesn’t kill more people than conventional weapons provided by the United States and its puppets. There would not be bombs of any kind, sieges, starving children, or refugees if the Obama administration had not given the green light to the rogues gallery.
Whatever their political beliefs or feelings about Assad, Syrians did not ask the United States to turn their country into a ruin. They don’t want ISIS to behead children, as they infamously did on camera. American presidents, beginning with Jimmy Carter, have all used jihadists at opportune moments when they want regime change. The name of the country under attack changes but the story ends with massive human suffering.
Instead of siding unequivocally with America’s victims some in the anti-war movement instead live in greater fear of being labeled “pro Assad.” Assad didn’t invade Iraq and kill one million people. George W. Bush did that. Assad did not give support to jihadists to destroy Libya, kill 50,000 people, ignite a race war and create another refugee crisis. Barack Obama did that. The list of human rights abuses carried out by the American government is a long one indeed. There is torture in the United States prison system, the largest in the world. American police are given tacit permission to kill three people every day. Yet the fear of being thought of as an Assad supporter is so powerful that it silences people and organizations who should be in the forefront of confronting their country domestically and internationally.
Of course American propaganda is ratcheted up at the very moment that sides must be chosen. Any discussion or debate regarding Syria’s political system was rendered moot as soon as the United States targeted that country for destruction. There is only one question now: when will America tell its minions to stop fighting?
“The fear of being thought of as an Assad supporter is so powerful that it silences people and organizations who should be in the forefront of confronting their country domestically and internationally.”
Obama didn’t start a proxy war with an expectation of losing, and Hillary Clinton makes clear her allegiance to regime change. The United States will only leave if Syria and its allies gain enough ground to force a retreat. They will call defeat something else at a negotiating table but Assad must win in order for justice and reconciliation to begin.
Focusing on Assad’s government and treatment of his people may seem like a reasonable thing to do. Most people who call themselves anti-war are serious in their concern for humanity. But the most basic human right, the right to survive, was taken from 400,000 people because the American president decided to add one more notch on his gun. Whether intended or not, criticism of the victimized government makes the case for further aggression.
The al-Nusra Front may change its name in a public relations effort, but it is still al Qaeda and still an ally of the United States. The unpredictable Donald Trump may not be able to explain that he spoke the truth when he accused Obama and Clinton of being ISIS supporters, but the anti-war movement should be able to explain without any problem. Cessations of hostilities are a sham meant to protect American assets whenever Assad is winning. If concern for the wellbeing of Syrians is a paramount concern, then the American anti-war movement must be united in condemning their own government without reservation or hesitation.
Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well as athttp://freedomrider.blogspot.com. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.<http://blackagendareport.com/>
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