[Peace] UIUC UGL promoting administration war propaganda

[Robert Naiman]

Plus, according to press reports, the speech will not just be about the "end
of the War in Iraq" - it will be a pivot to the War in Afghanistan:

Obama Iraq speech to signal shift to Afghan focus
Mark S. Smith, Associated Press, Thursday, August 26, 2010; 4:43 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082604739_pf.html

Vineyard Haven, Mass. - With his Oval Office speech Tuesday night, President
Barack Obama will signal a shift in America's focus from the Iraq War to the
war in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Thursday.

Administration officials have portrayed the 8 p.m. EDT speech as an
important pivot point from a war that candidate Obama said should never have
been fought to a conflict that President Obama sees as vital to the nation's
security.

Previewing the speech as Obama vacationed on Martha's Vineyard, Deputy Press
Secretary Bill Burton said Obama also wants to thank U.S. troops who've
fought bravely in Iraq.
[...]
Burton said the Oval Office address "commemorates an important milepost in
American history." He said Obama will use the occasion to speak "directly
with the American people about what our mission is in Afghanistan (and) the
fact that more of our efforts and focus are now on fighting al-Qaida in
Afghanistan."
[...]


On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 9:14 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu>wrote:

>   The Undergraduate Library @ UIUC announces the following:
>
> "Witness history! Tomorrow (August 31) marks the end of the War in Iraq
> (sic). Join us at UGL to watch a live broadcast of President Obama's
> declaration of the end of the combat mission, and stay for a discussion
> afterward."
>
> I sent them a note ("That's an outrageous acquiescence to the
> administration's propaganda. The war is nowhere near over. Obama continues
> to order mass murder in the Middle East in pursuit of America's neo-colonial
> project in the region. I hope you will have someone to point that out in the
> discussion afterward..."), to which they (?) replied
>
> "Carl, come to the broadcast! I'm hoping the President's address will be
> followed by a vibrant discussion of *all* the issues. For the record, I
> don't disagree with you at all -- but it is still a historic moment, and a
> fantastically rich opportunity to talk about dozens of different things."
>
> I suppose AWARE - perhaps particularly AWARE's new undergraduate members -
> should show up.
>
> And I suppose we geezers have to go for moral support...  --CGE
>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from
Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
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