[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

[Boyle, Francis A]

As you can see, at the time I was doing everything humanly possible to prevent Obama from bombing Syria, including debunking the bogus chemical weapons charges.  Then these “leftist” warmongers came out against us. They are all Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing. Fab.
Institute for Public Accuracy
980 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020<tel:%28202%29%20347-0020> * http://www.accuracy.org<http://www.accuracy.org/> * ipa at accuracy.org<mailto:ipa at accuracy.org>
_______________________________________________________

          Monday, September 9, 2013

          * Key Author of War Powers Act: "Obama has no Authority to Attack Syria"
          * Impeachment

          Interviews Available

PAUL FINDLEY, (217) 243-8444<tel:%28217%29%20243-8444>, findley1 at frontier.com<mailto:findley1 at frontier.com>
    Available for a limited number of interviews, Findley served as a member of United States House of Representatives for 22 years. He was a key author of the War Powers Act and a leader in securing its enactment by overriding the veto of President Richard Nixon. He is also the author of six books. The federal building in Springfield, Ill. is named for him.

    He just wrote the piece "Obama has no Authority to Attack Syria<http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/264-paul-findley/1736-obama-has-no-authority-to-attack-syria#.Ui2-27xieUc>," which states: "Despite his own recent statements to the contrary, President Barack Obama has no legal authority to assault the government of Syria even as “a warning shot.”  Neither the United States Constitution, nor the War Powers Act of 1973 gives him such authority in the absence of an emergency that allows Congress no time to react. Obama cannot cite the present situation as such an emergency, given his public statement that members of Congress need not act until the completion of their scheduled vacation. He has said that his proposal is 'not time sensitive.' If Congress fails to approve a resolution approving acts of war against Syria, he cannot order any military assault into Syria.

    "On several recent occasions the President and administration officials have mentioned a “sixty day” period during which he has authority to act without approval of Congress. Such authority does not exist. It is a misreading of a provision of the War Powers Act that provides only Congress with oversight constraints on executive actions. ..." Findley also recently wrote the piece "Syria — a War We Should Reject<http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x1837080258/Paul-Findley-Syria-a-war-we-should-reject>."

FRANCIS BOYLE, (217) 333-7954<tel:%28217%29%20333-7954>, fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>
    Boyle is a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of Tackling America’s Toughest Questions. Boyle drafted articles of impeachment that were introduced by the late Rep. Henry Gonzalez<http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RfIoPGB.html> against President George H. W. Bush in 1991. Boyle said today: "Impeachment is the remedy for a president taking extra-constitutional action. Obama claims he has the authority to attack Syria when -- under the Constitution -- he does not."

See: "Cornel West: It’s 'Grounds For Impeachment' If Obama Bombs Syria Without Congressional Approval<http://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/cornel-west-its-grounds-for-impeachment-if-obama-bombs-syria>."

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020<tel:%28202%29%20347-0020>, (202) 421-6858<tel:%28202%29%20421-6858>; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167<tel:%28541%29%20484-9167>



Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Monday, October 9, 2017 9:58 AM
To: 'Karen Aram' <karenaram at hotmail.com>
Cc: Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu>; Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net; Peace <peace at anti-war.net>
Subject: RE: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

Yeah, just look at the list of “leftist” warmongers who called upon Obama to Bomb Syria over the bogus chemical weapons charges that I was doing everything humanly possible at the time to stop and was debunking too. Later Sy Hersh revealed it was all warmongering propaganda in his investigative report in the London Review of Books. It was obvious to me and others at the time that this was typical Obama Liberal Warmongering Propaganda. And most  of these “leftist” warmongers  could have easily figured it out if they wanted to. And many of them probably already had. Fab.

From: Radical Philosophy Association [mailto:RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU] On Behalf Of Richard Curtis
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 12:58 PM
To: RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU<mailto:RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU>
Subject: Re: [RPA-LIST] Jean Bricmont: The Wishful Thinking Left

Wishful thinking on the “Left” really?  Who are these supposed “Leftists” he has in mind?  It is wishful thinking by liberals!

From what I can tell we on the Left are very clear that the “rebels” in Syria are just mercenaries being paid by imperialist forces.  The battle in Syria is to preserve sovereignty in the face of imperial aggression.

Anyone who does not understand this is obviously not deserving of any respect (they are brain dead morons falling for imperial lies).

I pasted the list of signatories below and most of the names I do not recognize.  There are a few names (Alice Walker, Frederick Jameson, Norm Finkelstein and Tariq Ali) who ought to know better so I am puzzled that their names appear (I also recognized Michael Lowy, but I worry that his romanticism leads him to misunderstand the world generally, but that is just my personal view having read him in the past).  But maybe someone hit them up with a distorted version or something.  But what stands out from the list is that it is just a random list of names.  It is not a list of political intellectuals on the left.

Richard C

Signatories
Aaron Winslow, (Columbia University, United States)
Abbas Beydoun, (Poet, Lebanon)
Abdellatif Zeroual, (Left activist, Morocco)
Abdeslam Cherkouk, (Journalist, Morocco)
Abir Saksook, (Architect and activist, Lebanon)
Adam Hanieh (SOAS University of London, United Kingdom)
Adam Shapiro (Activist, United States)
Aida Seif Ell Dawla, (Human Rights Activist, Egypt)
Akram Zaatari, (Artist, Lebanon)
Ala Hlehel, (Author, Palestine)
Alex Todorova (University of Columbia, United States/Bulgaria)
Ali Amin Suwaid, (Writer, Syria)
Ali Atassi, (Journalist, Syria)
Alice Walker, (Writer, United States)
Amahl Bishara, (Tufts University, United States)
Amr Al-Azm, (Shawnee State University, Activist and board member of The Day After NGO, Syria)
Amr Saeddeine, (Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium/ Palestine)
Amy Ansell, (Emerson College, United States)
Ania Loomba, (University of Pennsylvania, United States)
AnnJanette Rosga, (Human Rights Researcher, United States)
Ann Ferguson (University of Massachusetts, United States)
Anne Meneley, (Trent University, Canada)
Anthony Arnove, (Author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal, United States)
Arturo Escobar, (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, United States/Colombia)
Asef Bayat (University of Illinois, United States)
Ashok Chowdhury, (India)
Aziza Chaouni, (University of Toronto, Canada/Morocco)
Azmi Bishara, (writer, Palestine)
Bassem Chit, (Socialist Forum, Lebanon)
Bernadette Daou, (leftist militant, Lebanon)
Bernardine Dohrn (Northwestern University, United States)
Bill Ayers (University of Illinois at Chicago, United States)
Bill Weinberg, (Journalist and author, United States)
Brian Slocock, (University of Paisley, Scotland)
Budour Hassan, (Author, Palestine)
Cara Moyer, (Emerson College, United States)
Caitlin Ella Wind, (Writer, United States)
Can Irmak Özinanır, (Faculty of Communication, Ankara University, Turkey)
Chandan Redd, (University of Washington, United States)
Chandler Davis, (University of Toronto, Canada)
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, (Feminist Scholar-Activist, India/United States)
Charles Hirschkind, (UC Berkeley, United States)
Chela Sandoval (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Claudia Castañeda, (Emerson College, United States)
David Byrne, McDonald III, (Photographer and activist, United States)
David McNally (York University, Canada)
David Wearing<https://www.facebook.com/david.wearing>, (SOAS, United Kingdom)
Dean Spade, (Seattle University Law, United States)
Deepa Kumar (Rutgers University, United States)
Diana Coryat,  (University of Massachusetts, United States)
Dyala Hamzah, (Université de Montréal, Canada)
Elena Yehia, (University of North Carolina, United States/ Lebanon)
Elias Khoury, (Writer, Lebanon)
Elliott Colla, (Georgetown University, United States)
Elsa Wiehe, (University of Massachusetts, United States/ Mauritius)
Erika Marquez, (Bryn Mawr College, United States/Colombia)
Estella Carpi (University of Sydney / American University of Beirut)
Etienne Balibar (Columbia University, United States/ France)
Faraj Bayrakdar (Poet, Syria)
Farouk Mardam Bey (Intellectual, Syria)
Fawaz Traboulsi, (Writer, Lebanon)
Felicia Pratto, (University of Connecticut, United States)
Francois Burgat (CNRS, France)
Fredric Jameson (Duke University, United States)
Gail Daneker, (Director of Peace Education and Advocacy, Friends for a NonViolent World –St. Paul, United States)
Gerry Emmett, (Resident Editorial Board, News and Letters Committees, Chicago, United States)
Ghassan Hage  (University of Melbourne, Australia/ Lebanon)
Ghassan Makarem, (Socialist Forum, Lebanon)
Ghayath Naisse, (Surgeon, Left Revolutionary Current, Syria)
Gilbert Achcar (SOAS, University of London, Lebanon/ United Kingdom)
Golbarg Bashi, (Rutgers University, United States/Iran)
Graham Peebles, (Artist and Writer, United Kingdom)
Gustavo Esteva, (Universidad de la Tierra-Oaxaca, Mexico)
Hamid Dabashi, (Columbia University, United States/ Iran)
Hani al-Sayed (American University in Cairo, Syria/ Egypt)
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso, (Sociologist, Cuba/Dominican Republic)
Hazem al-Azmeh (Intellectual, Syria)
Ibrahim Al-Assil, (Syrian Non-Violent Movement, Syria)
Ibrahim Jalal, (Artist, Syria)
Ilan Pappe (University of Exeter, United Kingdom)
Isabelle Momméja, (Activist, France)
Issam Aburaya, (Seton Hall University, United States)
James Cohen, (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3, France/ United States)
James L. Gelvin, (UCLA, United States)
Jamie Allinson, (University of Westminster. UCU member, United Kingdom)
Jean-Philippe Schreiber, (Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
Jean-Pierre Filiu (Institut d'études politiques de Paris, France)
Jed Murr, (University of Washington, United States)
Jeff Napolitano, (Activist, United States)
Jens Hanssen ( University of Tornoto, Canada/ Germany)
Jihad Yazigi (Journalist, Syria)
Jihane Sfeir (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Lebanon/ Belgium)
Jillian Schwedler, (University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States)
Joanne Landy, (Co-Director, Campaign for Peace and Democracy, United States)
Joe Vasicek, (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer, United States)
John Chalcraft, (London School of Economics, United Kingdom)
John Holloway (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, United States/ Mexico)
John O’Brien, (Los Angeles California, Stonewall Rebellion Participant, United States)
Joseph Daher, (University of Lausanne, Syria/ Switzerland)
Karam Dana, (University of Washington,  United States/Palestine)
Karmen Abou Jaoudeh, (Legal activist, Lebanon)
Kathy McDonough, (Wheelock College, United States)
Khaled Khalifa, (Novelist, Syria)
Khaled saghieh, (Journalist, Lebanon)
Khawla Dunia, (Activist, Syria)
Kifah Kayal, (Activist, Palestinian ex-political prisoner, Palestine)
Kirsten scheid, (American University of Beirut, Lebanon)
Kmar Bandana (Université de La Manouba, Tunisia)
Konstantin Kilibarda (York University, Mississauga territories)
Laleh Khalili, (SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom)
Lawrence Grossberg, (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, United States)
Leyla Dakhli, (Researcher, CNRS, France)
Lieven De Cauter, (Catholic University of Leuven/RITS, Belgium)
Lilia Marsali, (Teacher, United Kingdom)
Linda Quiquivix, (Brown University, United States / Guatemala)
Lindsey Collen, (left activist and novelist, Mauritius)
Loulouwa Al Rachid, (Journalist, Saudi Arabia)
Lucia Sorbera, (The University of Sydney, Australia)
Manijeh Nasrabadi, (New York University, United States/ Iran)
Manuel Barrera, (Metropolitan State University, United States)
Manuel Castells, (University Professor of Communication, University of Southern California)
Marc Saint-Upéry, (Journalist and translator, France/Ecuador)
Maria Koundoura (Emerson College, United States/ Greece)
Marisol de la Cadena, (UC Davis, United States/ Peru)
Marnia Lazreg, sociologist, USA/Algeria
Mary Nyquist, University of Toronto, Canada
Mary Rizzo (blogger and activist translator, Italy)
Max D. Weiss, (Princeton University, United States)
Mayssun Succarie, (American University in Cairo, Egypt/ Lebanon)
Mehdi Meftah, (Militant, France)
Mélanie Cambrezy, (Université de Montréal, Canada)
Mercedes Olivera B., (Antropóloga Feminista, UNICACH, México.)
Michael Cisco, (writer and teacher, United States)
Michael Lowy,  (Social scientist, France)
Mirta Tocci, (Emerson College, United States)
Mirza Waheed (Novelist, United Kingdom)
Mohamad Ali Attassi, (Writer, Syria/ Lebanon)
Mohamad Al Bardan, (Syrian Non Violent Movement, United States/ Syria)
Mohammad Moeini, (University of Massachusetts, United States/ Iran)
Mohammed Bamyeh, (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
Mona Abaza, (American University in Cairo, Egypt)
Muhammad Ali Khalidi, (York University, Canada)
Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, (Writer and Sociologist, Scotland)
Nader Atassi, (Writer, Syria / United States)
Nadia Fadil, (KU Leuven, Belgium)
Nadim N. Rouhana, (Tufts University -- United States, and Palestine)
Nadine Bekdache, (Designer/ Activist, Lebanon)
Nadje Al-Ali, (SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom)
Nasser Rabbat, (MIT, United States/Syria)
Natalie Zemon Davis, (University of Toronto, Canada)
Nidal Al-Azraq, (United States/ Palestine)
Nigel Gibson (Emerson college, United States/ Britain)
Nimer Sultany, (SUNY Buffalo Law School, United States/Palestine)
Noa Shaindlinger, (University of Toronto, Canada/Palestine)
Norbert Hirschhorn, (Physician, United Kingdom/ Lebanon)
Norman Finkelstein (American researcher and writer, United Sates)
Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison (Scholar, France)
Omar Dahi, (Hampshire College, Syria/ United States)
Omar Dewachi, (American University of Beirut, Iraq/Canada)
Omnia El Shakry, (UC Davis, United States)
Oussama Mohamad (Film maker, Syria/ France)
Ozlem Goner, (CUNY, Turkey/ United States)
Pablo Stefanoni, (Chief editor, Nueva Sociedad, Argentina)
Paul Kellogg, (Athabasca University, Edmonton, Canada)
Paul Kingston, (University of Toronto, Canada)
Pierre Tevanian, (Writer, activist, France)
R. Radhakrishnan (UC Irvine, United States/ India)
Rabha Attaf, (Reporter, France)
Raed Firas, (Activist, Syria)
Raed Khartabil, (Activist, Syria)
Rashid Khalidi (Columbia University, United States/Palestine)
Razan Ghazzawi, (Activist, Syria)
Richard Seymour, (Writer, London School of Economics, International Socialists Network, United Kingdom)
Rime Allaf, (Writer and adviser, Syria)
Robert Young, (New York University, United States)
Robin Yassin-Kassab, (novelist and commentator, Syria/ United Kingdom)
Rola Rukbi, (Syria)
Ruba Alkhouli, (Activist, Spain)
Rupert Read, (Chair of the Green House thinktank, United Kingdom)
Saad Hajo (Cartoonist, Syria)
Saba Mahmood (UC Berkeley, United States)
Sabah Hallak, (Lebanon)
Sadiq Jalal Azem, (Writer, Syria)
Sadri Khiari (Writer, Tunisia)
Salah Mosbah, (University of Tunis, Tunisia)
Salam Kawakibi, (Arab Reform Initiative, Syria)
Salam Said (Economist/Germany)
Salameh Kaileh (Intellectual, Syria/Palestine)
Salim Vally, (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
Sami Hermez, (University of Pittsburg, United States/ Lebanon)
Samir Aita (Le Monde Diplomatique editions arabes, Cercle des Economistes Arabes)
Samuel Binkley, (Emerson College, United States)
Santiago de Rico Alba (Philosopher, Spain)
Sarah Bracke, (KU Leuven, Belgium)
Sarah Eltantawi, (Scholar of religion and writer, United States)
Sari Hanafi, (American University of Beirut, Lebanon/ Palestine)
Seda Altug, (Bogazici University, Turkey)
Sherifa Zuhur, (historian, Director, Institute of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Strategic Studies, United Kingdom)
Sherry Wolf, (Author of Sexuality and Socialism, United States)
Simon Assaf, (Activist, United Kingdom/ Lebanon)
Sinan Antoon, (New York University, Iraq/ United States)
Sirisha Naidu, (Wright State University, India/ United States)
Sonja Mejcher-Atassi, (America University of Beirut, Lebanon)
Srinivas Lankala, (University of Massachusetts, India/United States)
Stephen R. Shalom, (William Paterson University, United States)
Steve Graham, (Newcastle University, United Kingdom)
Steven Friedman, (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
Suad Joseph, (University of California, Davis, United States/ Lebanon)
Swati Birla, (University of Massachusetts, India/ United States)
Sylvie Tissot (University of Paris-8, France)
Talal Asad (CUNY, United States)
Tamera Marko, (Emerson College, United States)
Tariq Ali (Writer, journalist, and filmmaker, United Kingdom/ Pakistan)
Tewfik Allal, (Activist, Manifeste des libertés, France)
Thaer Alsahli (Activist, Syria/Palestine)
Thierry Boissière (Institut français du Proche-Orient, France)
Thomas Harrison, (Co-Director, Campaign for Peace and Democracy, United States)
Thomas Markus Kvilhaug, (International Socialist branch, Norway)
Tiffany Kreierhoff, (writer, United States)
Toufic Haddad, (author, SOAS, United Kingdom)
Vijay Prashad (Trinity College, United States/ India)
Walid Daaw, (Teacher, The left forum)
Walter Mignolo, (Duke University, United States/ Argentina)
Wendy Brown (UC Berkeley, United States)
William E. Connolly, (Johns Hopkins University, United States)
Yahya Madra, (Boğaziçi University, Turkey)
Yasmine Farouk, (Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University)
Yasser Khanjar, (Poet, Ex political prisoner in Israeli Prisons, Occupied Golan, Syria)
Yasser Munif, (Emerson College, Syria/ United States)
Yassin el-Haj Saleh (Intellectual, Syria)
Yazan Louai Al-Saadi, (Journalist, Al-Akhbar English, Lebanon)
Youssef Fakhr el-Din, (Journalist, Syria/ Palestine)
Yusef Khalil, (Activist, United States/Lebanon)
Yveline, Delacroix, (Activist, France)
Zaïneb Ben Lagha, (Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, France)
Zeinab Abul-Magd (Oberlin College, United States/ Egypt)
Zena Hallak, (Tunisia)
Zeynep Inanc, (United States)
Ziad Majed (American University of Paris, Lebanon/ France)
Ziauddin Sardar (Intellectual, Pakistan/ United Kingdom)



From: Radical Philosophy Association [mailto:RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU] On Behalf Of Mitchel Cohen
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 9:30 AM
To: RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU<mailto:RPA-LIST at LISTSERV.UTK.EDU>
Subject: [RPA-LIST] Jean Bricmont: The Wishful Thinking Left

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/14/the-wishful-thinking-left/print

August 14, 2013

The Unwitting Agents of the Imperial Order
The Wishful Thinking Left

by JEAN BRICMONT

Louvain, Belgium.

Once upon a time, in the early 1970s, many people, including myself, thought that all the "struggles" of that period were linked: the Cultural Revolution in China, the guerillas in Latin America, the Prague Spring and the East European "dissidents", May 68, the civil rights movement, the opposition to the Vietnam war, and the nominally socialist anti-colonial movements in Africa and Asia. We also thought that the "fascist" regimes in Spain, Portugal and Greece, by analogy with WWII, could only be overthrown through armed struggle, very likely protracted.

None of these assumptions were correct. The Cultural Revolution had nothing to do with the anti-authoritarian movements in the West, the Eastern European dissidents were, in general, pro-capitalist and pro-imperialist, and often fanatically so, the Latin American guerrillas were a pipe dream (except in Central America) and the national liberation movements were just that: they (quite rightly) aimed at national liberation and called themselves socialist or communist only because of the support offered to them by the Soviet Union or China. The southern European "fascist" regimes transformed themselves without offering a serious resistance, let alone an armed struggle. Many other authoritarian regimes followed suit: in Eastern Europe, in Latin America, in Indonesia, Africa and now in part of the Arab world. Some collapsed from inside, other crumbled after a few demonstrations.

I was reminded of these youthful illusions when I read a petition "in solidarity with the millions of Syrians who have been struggling for dignity and freedom since March 2011", whose list of signatories includes a veritable who's who of the Western Left. The petition claims that "The revolution in Syria is a fundamental part of the North African revolutions, yet it is also an extension of the Zapatista revolt in Mexico, the landless movement in Brazil, the European and North American revolts against neoliberal exploitation, and an echo of Iranian, Russian and Chinese movements for freedom."

The signatories of course demand the immediate departure from power of Bashar al-Assad, which is supposed to be the only "hope for a free, unified, and independent Syria". They also characterize Russia, China and Iran as standing "in support of the slaughter of people", although they are "allegedly friends of the Arabs"; they acknowledge that "the U.S. and its Gulf allies have intervened in support of the revolutionaries", but blame them for "having done so with a clear cynical self-interest" and trying to "crush and subvert the uprising". It is not clear how this squares with the next line of the text, which claims that "regional and world powers have left the Syrian people alone".

The upshot of the petition consists in grandiose claims of "solidarity" from "intellectuals, academics, activists, artists, concerned citizens and social movements", "with the Syrian people to emphasize the revolutionary dimension of their struggle and to prevent the geopolitical battles and proxy wars taking place in their country." Nothing less!

This petition is worth analyzing in detail, because it nicely summarizes everything that is wrong in today's mainstream leftist thinking and it both illustrates and explains why there is no Left left in the West. The same sort of thinking dominated the Western Left's thinking during the Kosovo and the Libyan wars, and to some extent during the wars in Afghanistan ("solidarity with Afghan women") and Iraq ("they will be better off without Saddam").

First of all, the presentation of the facts about Syria is very doubtful. I am no expert on Syria, but if the people are so united against the regime, how come that it has resisted for so long? There have been relatively few defections in the army or in the diplomatic and political personnel. Given that the majority of Syrians are Sunnis and that the regime is constantly depicted as relying on the support of the "Alawi sect", something must be wanting in that narrative about Syria.

Next, like it or not, the actions of "Russia, China and Iran" in Syria have been in accordance with international law, unlike those of the "U.S. and its Gulf allies". From the viewpoint of international law, the current government of Syria is legitimate and responding to its request for help is perfectly legal, while arming rebels is not. Of course, the leftists who sign the petition would probably object to that aspect of international law, because it favors governments over insurgents. But just imagine the chaos that would be created if every Great Power was arming the rebels of its choice all over the world. One could deplore the selling of arms to "dictatorships", but the U.S. is hardly in a position to lecture the world on that topic.

Moreover, it is "Russia and China" who have, by their vote at the UN prevented another U.S. intervention, like the one in Libya, which the Western Left, opposed very lukewarmly, if at all. In fact, given that U.S. used the U.N. Resolution on Libya to carry out a regime change that the resolution did not authorize, isn't it natural that Russia and China feel that they were taken for a ride in Libya and say: "never again!"?

The petition sees the events in Syria as an "extension of the Zapatista revolt in Mexico, the landless movement in Brazil, the European and North American revolts against neoliberal exploitation, and an echo of Iranian, Russian and Chinese movements for freedom.", but they are careful not to link them to the anti-imperialist governments in Latin America, since the latter stand squarely against foreign interventions and for the respect of national sovereignty.

Finally, what should make anybody think that the "immediate" departure of Bashar al-Assad would lead to a "free, unified and independent Syria"? Aren't the examples of Iraq and Libya enough to cast some doubts on such optimistic pronouncements?

That brings us to a second problem with the petition, which is its tendency towards revolutionary romanticism. The present-day Western Left is the first to denounce the "Stalinist" regimes of the past, including those of Mao, Kim Il Sung or Pol Pot. But do they forget that Lenin fought against tsarism, Stalin against Hitler, Mao against the Kuomintang, Kim Il Sung against the Japanese and that the last two ones, as well as Pol Pot, fought against the U.S.? If history should have thought us anything, it is that struggling against oppression does not necessarily turn you into a saint. And given that so many violent revolutions of the past have turned sour, what reason is there to believe that the "revolution" in Syria, increasingly taken over by religious fanatics, will emerge as a shining example of freedom and democracy?

There have been repeated offers of negotiations by "Russia, China and Iran", as well as from the "Assad regime" with the opposition as well as with its sponsors (the "U.S. and its Gulf allies"). Shouldn't one give peace and diplomacy a chance? The "Syrian regime" has modified its constitution; why be so certain that this cannot lead a "democratic future", while a violent revolution can? Shouldn't one give reform a chance?

However, the main defect of this petition, as well as with similar appeals from the humanitarian  interventionist Left in the past, is: to whom are they talking? The rebels in Syria want as many sophisticated weapons as possible- no signatory of the petition can deliver them, and it is hard to see how the "global civil society, not ineffective and manipulative governments" can do it. Those rebels want Western governments to provide them with such weapons-they couldn't care less what the Western Left thinks. And those Western government hardly know that the wishful thinking Left even exists. And if they did, why would they listen to people with no serious popular support, and so no means of pressuring governments? The best proof of that is given by the cause to which so many signatories have devoted a good part of their lives: Palestine. Which Western government pays any attention to the demands of the "Palestine solidarity movement"?

Just because the petition has no effect in Syria does not mean that it has no effect tout court. It weakens and confuses what is left of antiwar sentiments, by stressing that "our" priority must be empty gestures of solidarity with a rebellion that is already militarily supported by the West. Once this mindset is acquired, it becomes psychologically difficult to oppose U.S. intervention in the internal affairs of Syria, since intervention is precisely what the revolutionaries that we must "support" want (apparently, they have not noticed, unlike the petitioners, that the West wants to "crush and subvert the uprising"). Of course, defenders of the petition will say that they don't "support" the more violent extremists in Syria, but who exactly are they supporting then, and how? Moreover, the false impression that the "world powers have left the Syrian people alone" (while, in fact, there is a constant flood of arms and jihadists into Syria) comes partly from the fact that the U.S. is not foolish enough to risk a World War, given that Russia seems to mean what it says in this affair. The thought that we might be on the brink of a World War never seems to occur to the petitioners.

Defenders of the petition will probably say that "we" must denounce both U.S. imperialism and the oppressive regimes against which the "people" revolt. But that only shows the depth of their delusions: why claim doing two things at once, when one is not capable of doing either, even partly?

If such petitions are worse than doing nothing, what should the Left do? First of all, mind its own business, which means struggling at home. This is a lot harder than expressing a meaningless solidarity with people in faraway lands. And struggling for what? Peace through demilitarization of the West, a non-interventionist policy, and putting diplomacy, not military threats, at the center of international relations. Incidentally, a non-interventionist policy is advocated by the libertarians and by the paleoconservative Right. This fact, plus invocation of pre-World War II history (the Spanish civil war, the Munich agreements), is constantly used by the Left to give anti-interventionism a bad name. But this is silly: Hitler is not really being constantly resurrected, and there are no serious military threats faced by the West.  In the present situation, it is a perfectly legitimate concern of American citizens to cut back the costs of Empire.

In fact, it would be perfectly possible to set up a broad Left-Right coalition of people opposed to militarism and interventionism. Of course, within that coalition, people might still disagree on Gay marriage but, important as this issue may be, it should perhaps not prevent us from working together on issues that might also seem important to some people, such as World peace, the defense of the U.N. and of international law, and the dismantling of the U.S. empire of bases. Besides, it is not unlikely that a majority of the American public could be gained to such positions if sustained and well organized campaigns were set up to persuade them.

But of course, the spirit of the petition goes exactly in the opposite direction, towards more U.S. involvement and interventions. Many signatories certainly think of themselves as anti-imperialists and pro-peace, and some of them have had an important role in opposing previous U.S. wars. But they do not seem to have noticed that the tactics of imperialism have changed since the days of the national liberation movements. Now, that decolonization is complete (with the exception of Palestine), the U.S. is attacking governments, not revolutionary movements, that are considered to be too independent. And, in order to do that, they use a variety of means that are similar in their tactics to the revolutionary or progressive movements of the past: armed struggle, civil disobedience, government funded "N"GO's, colored revolutions, etc.

The latest example of these tactics is the attempt by Western governments to use the LGBT community as ideological storm troopers against Russia and the Winter Olympics, in a transparent effort to deflect public attention from the embarrassing fact that, in the Snowden affair, it is Russia and not the U.S. that is on the side of freedom. It is to be feared that the humanitarian interventionist Left will jump on the bandwagon of this new crusade. Yet, as Gilad Atzmon has pointed out, with his usual slightly provocative style, it is unlikely that this will do any good to the LGBT community in Russia, since this sort of support allows their opponents to brand them as bearers of foreign influence. It is not a good idea for any minority, anywhere in the world, to be seen as agents of a foreign power, and least of all, of a government so hated for its arrogance and its interventionism as the present U.S. administration. And incidentally, the people who call for boycott of the Winter games in Russia had no objection to holding the Olympic games in London, which implies that, in their eyes, taking anti-gay measures is a serious crime, whereas wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are mere peccadillos.

People who succumb to the illusions of revolutionary romanticism or who side with the apparent underdog, regardless of the underdog's agenda, are being taken in by the tactics of present-day imperialism. But those who aspire to a more peaceful and more just world order, and who think that a precondition of this order is the weakening of U.S. imperialism, easily see through this camouflage. These two different world views divide both the Left and the Right: liberal interventionists and neoconservatives on one side, libertarians, paleoconservatives and traditional leftists on the other, and it may call for new and heterodox alliances.

------------------------------------------
JEAN BRICMONT teaches physics at the University of Louvain in Belgium. He is author of Humanitarian Imperialism.  He can be reached at Jean.Bricmont at uclouvain.be<mailto:Jean.Bricmont at uclouvain.be>



Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Karen Aram [mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, October 9, 2017 9:46 AM
To: Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>>
Cc: Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>; prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net<mailto:prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net>; Peace <peace at anti-war.net<mailto:peace at anti-war.net>>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

Exactly, when speaking with those opposed to war, any initial exhilaration I feel at hearing their opposition, is immediately dashed when they assume, its all about Trump and we need to get rid of him,   and get a Democrat in power, or a third party candidate, Bernie.

I control my need to ask, where have you been for over eight years now, by pointing out Bush put us into 2 wars, Obama extended those to now 7.

On Oct 9, 2017, at 07:14, Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>> wrote:

And I would add that Amy Badman is typical for what passes for most of the American “left” these days—warmongers. Fab.

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Monday, October 9, 2017 8:05 AM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>
Cc: Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>; prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net<mailto:prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net>; Peace <peace at anti-war.net<mailto:peace at anti-war.net>>
Subject: RE: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

Ditto for Amy Badman on Syria. Fab.

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Karen Aram [mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2017 7:42 AM
To: Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>>
Cc: Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>; prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net<mailto:prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net>; Peace <peace at anti-war.net<mailto:peace at anti-war.net>>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

I wasn’t aware of Amy’s support for Libyan intervention at the time, but given her take on Syria of recent, I no longer pay attention to DN when it comes to foreign policy.

Trump, also supported intervention in Libya, accusing Gaddafi of murdering thousands.

Its’ time people recognize that anything anyone says when running for office, especially as regards foreign policy, should be ignored. Foreign policy is set in stone, and has been for decades by the various groups who run our government. NSA, CIA, CFR, Pentagon, State Dept., and the many contractors who profit from war, own the DNC and GOP. The only difference in either party or groups holding power is strategy and tactics, and their only concern is “power”. There is no difference in the goal of perpetual war and containment of China and Russia. Containment of these two powerful, nuclear armed nations will ultimately lead to WW3.

Only the American people standing up to government through solidarity and civil resistance can bring about change and progress. Many Americans are organizing against the government now, but they aren’t united, and they aren’t focused on those who possess power. We need total system change.

On Oct 9, 2017, at 04:56, Boyle, Francis A via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

– even “Democracy Now!” reported that...
Yeah well Amy Badman fully supported Obama’s unconstitutional war against Libya for eight months that killed about 50,000 Muslims/Arabs/Africans of Color, Men, Women and Children, destroyed Libya as a State and turned Libya into Somalia on the Med, along with her Boy Toy Juan Cole of UMichigan, a reported CIA Asset. Fab.


Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Peace [mailto:peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Carl G. Estabrook via Peace
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2017 4:48 AM
To: Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>
Cc: Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>; prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net<mailto:prairiegreens at lists.chambana.net>; Peace <peace at anti-war.net<mailto:peace at anti-war.net>>
Subject: [Peace] Trump's defeat by the political establishment leads to war

Trump/Bannon’s America First policy put the interests of the immiserated middle class ahead of those of globalizing corporations. The political establishment (including - but not limited to - the Obama-Clinton administration) couldn’t stand that. So they destroyed it, to further their long-standing policies to retard the economic development of Eurasia, seen as a threat to the US one-percent’s profits. They’re wiling to kill a lot of people to do that.

"Americans pushed into pro-war frenzy by elite-controlled MSM & NATO”: <https://www.rt.com/usa/406059-msm-nato-americans-war-support/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.rt.com_usa_406059-2Dmsm-2Dnato-2Damericans-2Dwar-2Dsupport_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=iioab8BLQ6IJxt-3gLhYzf1aAvTbGVgzPJj9W_0ugn0&m=fx941YGuFXhPiboclUgMtQvGyjblE2AW-UmV13K9co4&s=BcnN-XIETCRkksZRkZwTU59kLI4n8ZWM9v--64GXJAc&e=>>:

...the failure of Donald Trump’s America First policy ... Trump has done a pretty horrible job selling his policy. There was a non-interventionist component that he campaigned on, which proved pretty popular, particularly in places like the Rust Belt.

...these numbers ... started to shift when the election campaign began. They reflect a concerted campaign by the mainstream media and by the national security state, which has unprecedented access and control over mainstream media – particularly CNN and MSNBC – to bring the American public’s views in line with the elites’ [views] of our interventionist bipartisan foreign policy consensus in Washington. Two years of non-stop red-baiting, Russia hysteria, and fearmongering over North Korea have done the trick, particularly among Democrats.

...liberals tend to support interventionist policies at higher rates than even Republicans...

From 2015 to this summer we saw a 20 percent surge in the number of Americans who would support sending troops to defend South Korea. We also see, for the first time in history, a majority of Americans willing to send US troops to fight and die for Latvia against Russia, and that is a reflection of their support for NATO.

Liberals disproportionately support these militaristic policies, which seem to suggest support for a hot war with Russia, and even hot war with China. It would be disastrous if they took place. So why didn’t that take place? Because of the partisan war against Trump, who has been portrayed as an enemy of NATO – even though he is now as supportive of NATO as ever; as someone who is a Manchurian candidate of Russia, who is controlled by Putin’s nine-dimensional chess and has colluded with Russia. So, Democrats tend to see Russia in a negative light, and they support interventionist policies.

But if you also look at CNN and MSNBC versus Fox News, which is the de-facto channel of the Republican Party and Trump, you see non-stop contributors from the national security state – like James Clapper, Michael Hayden, the former CIA director – pushing these kinds of militaristic policies. So, these are the channels that Democrats watch. Their media, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, has really stepped up the fearmongering and militarism.

So, you see a total reversal from the Bush period, the Bush era – when Democrats were staunchly against the Iraq war, because it was Bush’s war. And now you see the people that are against guns that are against mass shooting – favoring pointing guns and committing mass shootings abroad...

In 2014, Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State, wife of the neo-conservative Robert Kagan, said that Americans were ready to fight and die for Latvia. That wasn’t true at the time. Now it is. These attitudes have been manufactured.

They’ve been partly manufactured by NATO propaganda. We heard at lot – especially on CNN from figures like Jake Tapper, “Deep State Jake,” who almost every show is pushing regime change in one of the non-compliant states. We heard a lot about the Zapad [West] military exercises, thinking Romania, where Russia was said to have amassed 100,000 troops on NATO borders – even “Democracy Now!” reported that...
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