demonstratr

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything - almost a month.  Sorry about that.  During election time it’s hard not to sound like a pundit and I would prefer not to say anything rather than to spew the trash that passes for “news” on CNN, etc. 

Anyway, there are a lot of important and interesting things to talk about now.  The first thing to say is: DON’T BE CONFUSED - Dems are not doves.  For the Democratic Party (at least officially), the war in Iraq was imprudent, illconceived, and poorly carried off.  It was not, however, immoral.  It is as important now as it was before this midterm turnaround to be pro-peace and against this war.  Another thing that we must remain aware of is: just because they say “troop withdrawal,” it doesn’t mean they’re truly going to WITHDRAW THE TROOPS.  Indeed, the US military’s version of “troop withdrawal” could prove much worse for Iraqis than the status quo.  As in Vietnam, the US will probably step up the air campaign as part of relieving the burden on the ground.  And, as anyone with any sense knows, “precision guided weapons” aren’t exactly precise.  We must work toward a peaceful, just, and equitable end to the violence in Iraq.  We cannot, however, purchase the lives of a few American soldiers at the price of thousands of Iraqi lives.  Therefore, we must be clear in our demands - COMPLETE US WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ.  This will be a long fight (it could be a decade or more before this war ends), but we can win. 

On another note, all the above-mentioned tactics become even more predictable when you consider Bush’s choice to replace Rumsfeld.  Bush has tapped Robert Gates to succeed Donald Rumsfeld as the Defense Secretary (more aptly Secretary of War-Mongering or Head of the Dept. of Slaugher).  According to Robert Parry from Consortuim News, “The 63-year-old Gates has long faced accusations of collaborating with Islamic extremists in Iran, arming Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq, and politicizing U.S. intelligence to conform with the desires of policymakers - three key areas that relate to his future job.”  (You can find this and other material on Gates at http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110906A.shtml.)  Not only this, but Gates is also known to have been a key member in the Iran Contra affair.  (For more on this there was an excellent interview on DemocracyNow! this morning.  You can see this at www.democracynow.org.)  This is particularly timely as Daniel Ortega, against whom the US-funded Contras were fighting in Nicaragua, has just been elected as the President in Nicaragua.  All this was, of course, against US wishes (indeed our noble warriors for the cause of democracy threatened to cut off all aid to Nicaragua if Ortega won and they are alleged to have engaged in even more controversial electioneering.)  I can’t imagine why Hugo Chavez doesn’t love FREEDOM…  The American people may lack a sense of history but the American government does not.  Robert Gates is being brought in to aid George W. Bush and his imperialist cronies (as he has countless times) in their attempt to subjugate the Middle East and South and Central America.  Without much work - I’m sure - one could link him directly to the Nixon administration and their ”peace with honor.”

Just so you know, 21 US soldiers have died in the first 8 days of fighting in November.