The world is very weary of all this and wants to laugh again
Okay, Bush ain't gonna get out of Iraq no matter what anyone says or does short of a)impeachment, b)a lobotomy, or c)one of his daughters setting herself afire in the Oval Office as a war protest. A few days ago, upon arriving in Australia, "in a chipper mood", he was asked by the Deputy Prime Minister about his stopover in Iraq. "We're kicking ass," replied the idiot king.[1] Another epigram for his tombstone.
And the Democrats ain't gonna end the war. Ninety-nine percent of the American people protesting on the same day ain't gonna do it either, in this democracy. (No, I'm sorry to say that I don't think the Vietnam protesters ended the war. There were nine years of protest — 1964 to 1973 — before the US military left Vietnam. It's a stretch to ascribe a cause and effect to that. The United States, after all, had to leave sometime.)
Only those fighting the war can end it. By laying down their arms and refusing to kill anymore, including themselves. Some American soldiers in Iraq have already refused to go on very dangerous combat missions. Iraq Veterans Against the War, last month at their annual meeting, in St. Louis, voted to launch a campaign encouraging American troops to refuse to fight. "Iraq Veterans Against the War decided to make support of war resisters a major part of what we do," said Garrett Rappenhagen, a former U.S. Army sniper who served in Iraq from February 2004 to February 2005.
The veterans group has begun organizing among active duty soldiers on military bases. Veterans have toured the country in busses holding barbeques outside the base gates. They also plan to step up efforts to undermine military recruiting efforts.
Of course it's a very long shot to get large numbers of soldiers into an angry, protesting frame of mind. But consider the period following the end of World War Two. Late 1945 and early 1946 saw what is likely the greatest troop revolt that has ever occurred in a victorious army. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American soldiers protested all over the world because they were not being sent home even though the war was over. The GIs didn't realize it at first, but many soon came to understand that the reason they were being transferred from Europe and elsewhere to various places in the Pacific area, instead of being sent back home, was that the United States was concerned about uprisings against colonialism, which, in the minds of Washington foreign-policy officials, was equated with communism and other nasty un-American things. The uprisings were occurring in British colonies, in Dutch colonies, in French colonies, as well as in the American colony of the Philippines. Yes, hard to believe, but the United States was acting like an imperialist power.
In the Philippines there were repeated mass demonstrations by GIs who were not eager to be used against the left-wing Huk guerrillas. The New York Times reported in January 1946 about one of these demonstrations: "'The Philippines are capable of handling their own internal problems,' was the slogan voiced by several speakers. Many extended the same point of view to China."[2]
American marines were sent to China to support the
Nationalist government of Chang Kai-shek against the Communists of Mao
Tse-tung and Chou En-lai. They were sent to the Netherlands Indies
(Indonesia) to be of service to the Dutch in their suppression of
native nationalists. And American troop ships were used to transport
the French military to France's former colony in Vietnam. These and
other actions of Washington led to numerous large GI protests in Japan,
Guam, Saipan, Korea, India, Germany, England, France, and Andrews
Field, Maryland, all concerned with the major slowdown in
demobilization and the uses for which the soldiers were being employed.
There were hunger strikes and mass mailings to Congress from the
soldiers and their huge body of support in the States. In January 1946,
Senator Edwin Johnson of Colorado declared "It is distressing and
humiliating to all Americans to read in every newspaper in the land
accounts of near mutiny in the Army."[3]
On January 13, 1946, 500 GIs in Paris adopted a set of demands called
"The Enlisted Man's Magna Charta", calling for radical reforms of the
master-slave relationship between officers and enlisted men; also
demanding the removal of Secretary of War Robert Patterson. In the
Philippines, soldier sentiment against the reduced demobilization
crystalized in a meeting of GIs that voted unanimously to ask Secretary
Patterson and certain Senators: "What is the Army's position in the
Philippines, especially in relation to the reestablishment of the
Eighty-sixth Infantry Division on a combat basis?"[4]
By the summer of 1946 there had been a huge demobilization of the armed
forces, although there's no way of knowing with any exactness how much
of that was due to the GIs' protests.[5]
If this is how American soldiers could be inspired and organized in the
wake of "The Good War", imagine what can be done today in the midst of
"The God-awful War".
Iraq Veterans Against the War could use your help.
A pullet surprise for "Legacy of Ashes" by Tim Weiner
In 1971 the New York Times published its edition of the Pentagon
Papers, based on the government documents concerning Vietnam policy
which had been borrowed by Daniel Ellsberg. In its preface to the book,
the Times commented about certain omissions and distortions in the
government's view of political and historical realities as reflected in
the papers: "Clandestine warfare against North Vietnam, for example, is
not seen... as violating the Geneva Accords of 1954, which ended the
French Indochina War, or as conflicting with the public policy
pronouncements of the various administrations. Clandestine warfare,
because it is covert, does not exist as far as treaties and public
posture are concerned. Further, secret commitments to other nations are
not sensed as infringing on the treaty-making powers of the Senate,
because they are not publicly acknowledged."[6]
In his new book, "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA", New York
Times reporter Tim Weiner also relies heavily on government documents
in deciding what events to include and what not to, and the result is
often equally questionable. "This book," Weiner writes, "is on the
record — no anonymous sources, no blind quotations, no hearsay. It is
the first history of the CIA compiled entirely from firsthand reporting
and primary documents."(p.xvii)
Thus, if US government officials did not put something in writing or if
someone did not report their firsthand experience concerning a
particular event, to Tim Weiner the event doesn't exist, or at least is
not worth recounting. British journalist Stewart Steven has written:
"If we believe that contemporary history must be told on the basis of
documentary evidence before it becomes credible, then we must also
accept that everything will either be written with the government's
seal of approval or not be written at all."
As to firsthand reporting, for Weiner it apparently has to be from
someone "reputable". Former CIA officer Philip Agee wrote a 1974 book,
"Inside the Company: CIA Diary", that provides more detail about CIA
covert operations in Latin America than any book ever written. And it
was certainly firsthand. But Agee and his revelations are not mentioned
at all in Weiner's book. Could it be because Agee, in the process of
becoming the Agency's leading dissident, also became a socialist
radical and close ally of Cuba?
Former CIA officer John Stockwell also penned a memoir ("In Search of
Enemies", 1978), revealing lots of CIA dirty laundry in Africa. He
later also became a serious Agency dissident, and the Weiner book
ignores him as well.
Also ignored: Joseph Burkholder Smith, another Agency officer, not
quite a left-wing dissident like Agee or Stockwell but a heavy critic
nonetheless, entitled his memoir "Portrait of a Cold Warrior" (1976),
in which he revealed numerous instances of CIA illegality and
immorality in the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia.
There's also Cambodian leader Prince Sihanouk, who provided his
firsthand account in "My War With The CIA" (1974). Sihanouk is also a
non-person in the pages of "Legacy of Ashes".
Even worse, Weiner ignores a veritable mountain of impressive
"circumstantial" and other evidence of CIA misdeeds which doesn't meet
his stated criteria, which any thorough researcher/writer on the Agency
should give serious attention to, certainly at least mention for the
record. Among the many CIA transgressions and crimes left out of
"Legacy of Ashes", or very significantly played down, are:
* The extensive CIA role in the 1950s provocation and sabotage
activities in East Berlin/East Germany which contributed considerably
to the communists' decision to build the Berlin Wall is not mentioned,
although the wall is discussed.
* The US role in instigating and supporting the coup that overthrew
Sihanouk in 1970, which led directly to the rising up of the Khmer
Rouge, Pol Pot, and the infamous Cambodian "killing fields". Weiner,
without providing any source, writes: "The coup shocked the CIA and the
rest of the American government."(p.304) [7] Neither does the book make
any mention of the deliberate Washington policy to support Pol Pot in
his subsequent war with Vietnam. Pol Pot's name does not appear in the
book.
* The criminal actions carried out by Operation Gladio, created by the
CIA, NATO, and several European intelligence services beginning in
1949. The operation was responsible for numerous acts of terrorism in
Europe, foremost of which was the bombing of the Bologna railway
station in 1980, claiming 86 lives. The purpose of the terrorism was to
place the blame for these atrocities on the left and thus heighten
public concern about a Soviet invasion and keep the left from electoral
victory in Italy, France and elsewhere. In Weiner's book this is all
down the Orwellian memory hole.
* A discussion of the alleged 1993 assassination attempt against former
president George H.W. Bush in Kuwait presents laughable evidence, yet
states: "But the CIA eventually concluded that Saddam Hussein had tried
to kill President Bush."(p.444) Weiner repeats this, apparently, solely
because it appears in a CIA memorandum. That qualifies it as a "primary
document". But what does this have to do with, y'know, the actual
facts?
* Moreover, the book scarcely scratches the surface concerning the
dozens of foreign elections the CIA has seriously interfered in; the
large number of assassination attempts, successful or unsuccessful,
against foreign political leaders; the widespread planting of phoney
stories in the international media, stories that were at times picked
up in the American press as a result; manipulation and corruption of
foreign labor movements; extensive book and magazine publishing fronts;
drug trafficking; and a virtual world atlas of overthrown governments,
or attempts at same.
"A Legacy of Ashes" is generally a good read even for someone familiar
with the world of the CIA, but it's actually often rather superficial,
albeit 700 pages long. Why has so much of importance and interest been
omitted from a book which has the subtitle: "The History of the CIA";
not, it must be noted, "
A History of the CIA"?
Whatever jaundiced eye Weiner focuses on the CIA, he still implicitly accepts the two basic beliefs of the Cold
War: 1)There existed out there something called The International
Communist Conspiracy, fueled by implacable Soviet expansionism;
2)United States foreign policy meant well. It may have frequently been
bumbling and ineffective, but its intentions were noble. And still are.
Some sundry shooting from the lip
Football star Michael Vick has been condemned for allegedly helping to execute dogs.
But is killing a dog morally worse than killing a chicken, cow, pig,
lamb, or fish which is done every hour of every day to enable
non-vegans to enjoy the kind of diet they've become accustomed to? The
fact that a dog is much more likely to be someone's pet doesn't answer
the question; it only explains why that someone is upset over
canineicide but cares much less about the liquidation of the other
animals.
Home run king Barry Bonds is vilified for
reputedly using steroids to build up his strength. He may have an
asterisk put next to his record because this, presumably, gave him an
unfair advantage over other baseball players who are "clean". But of
all the things that athletes put into their bodies to improve their
health, fitness and performance, why are steroids singled out? Doesn't
taking vitamin and mineral supplements give an athlete an unfair
advantage over athletes who don't take them? Should these supplements
be banned from sport competition? Vitamin and mineral supplements are
not necessarily any more "natural" than steroids, which in fact are
very important in our body chemistry; among the steroids are the male
and female sex hormones. Why not punish those who follow a "healthy
diet" because of the advantage this may give them?
"Do you think homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?" was the
question posed to presidential candidate Bill Richardson by singer
Melissa Etheridge. "It's a choice," replied the New Mexico governor at
the August 9 forum for Democratic candidates. Etheridge then said to
Richardson, "Maybe you didn't understand the question," and she
rephrased it. Richardson again said he thought it was a choice.[8]
The next time you hear someone say that homosexuality is a choice, ask
them how old they were when they chose to be heterosexual. When they
admit that they never made such a conscious choice, thus implying that
people don't choose to be heterosexual, the next question to the person
should be: "So only homosexuals choose to be homosexual? But what comes
first, being homosexual so you can make the choice, or making the
choice and thus becoming homosexual?"
Why is the Bush administration so unenthusiastic about preventing global warming? Perhaps this news report provides a clue.
"The Arctic sea ice will retreat hundreds of miles farther from the
coast of Alaska in the summer, the scientists at the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration concluded. That will open up vast waters
for fishermen and give easier access to new areas for oil and gas
exploration."[9]
We can say that the United States runs the world
like the Taliban ran Afghanistan before the US ousted them from power
in 2001. Destabilizing actions are taken against Venezuela like
punishing a woman caught outside not wearing her burkha. Harsh
sanctions are imposed on Iran in the manner of banning music, dancing,
and kite-flying in Kabul. Cuba is subverted and hurt in dozens of ways
like the religious police whipping a man whose beard is not the right
length.
NOTES
[1] Sydney Morning Herald, September 6, 2007
[2] New York Times, January 8, 1946, p.3
[3] New York Times, January 11, 1946, p.1
[4] Ibid., p.4
[5] For more information about the soldiers' protests, see: Mary-Alice Waters, "G.I.'s and the Fight
Against War" (New York, 1967), a pamphlet published by "Young Socialist" magazine.
[6] "The Pentagon Papers" (NY Times Edition), p. xii-xiii
[7] See William Blum, "Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II", p.137-8
[8] santafenewmexican.com/news/66424.html
[9] Washington Post, September 7, 2007, p.6
William Blum is the author of:
Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir
Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire
Previous Anti-Empire Reports can be read at this website at "essays".
To contact Blum simply send an
email
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