War

The most dangerous “state” belief–I’m sure it is sincere

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ Leave a comment

Convincing oneself that one is following a valid process, to do something one’s own lawyers believe to be legal, to achieve something  appropriate that others in the future will confirm by following this example must surely be one of the most common and self-deceptive journeys upon which the human mind can embark.

“For an administration that is the first to embrace targeted killing on a wide scale, officials seem confident that they have devised an approach that is so bureaucratically, legally and morally sound that future administrations will follow suit.”

via Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists – The Washington Post.

 

US Agencies see no move by Iran to build a bomb. Echoes of WMD findings before we invaded Iraq?

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ Leave a comment

“American intelligence analysts continue to believe that there is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb,” reports the New York Times. “Recent assessments by American spy agencies are broadly consistent with a 2007 intelligence finding that concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program years earlier, according to current and former American officials. The officials said that assessment was largely reaffirmed in a 2010 National Intelligence Estimate, and that it remains the consensus view of America’s 16 intelligence agencies.”

See item #2 on the following link:

http://law.fordham.edu/national-security/25410.htm

In many instances, didn’t Obama set the expectations he is failing to meet?

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ 1 Comment

I really don’t want to be unsympathetic to Barack Obama, or any president, yes, including his predecessor, for having a strong ego and lots of self-confidence.  Deciding to run for a major party’s nomination, securing it and then running for election against the nominee of the opposing party are not for the short-winded, weak-willed or those racked with self-doubt.  In fact, I don’t want a president who lacks self-confidence.  But some explanation of things done or left undone at odds with campaign commitments, whether they be apologies for personal failings in key areas or simply thoughtful expositions of why one has chosen a path other than that proposed  need not undermine a healthy ego or a self-confident character.

A cynic might think Obama would rather run in 2012 against the background of a Republican Congress than with a Democratic one that had failed to meet public expectations and thus isn’t going to do more than the minimum to rally Democratic voters in a year when he is not on the ballot.  But that’s like deliberately choosing to enter the second half of the game behind rather than ahead of the other team.  It may be the modern political calculus but it takes some getting used to to accept that being in the lead the whole game isn’t better.

Glenn Greenwald (I know, him again) makes a list of items in which Obama has not only failed to live up fully to his campaign pledges but has either failed completely or has adopted the very policies he criticized when practiced by his predecessor.  Sometimes he’s gone farther than Bush did to make these latter policies unacceptable.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/17/obama/index.html

“Imperial Irony” US won’t allow suits for torture but Iraq must pay for Saddam regime’s outrages against human rights…Glenn Greenwald again…

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ 1 Comment

So, to recap:  the U.S. creates a worldwide regime of torture, disappearances and lawless imprisonment.  Then, the Bush administration, the Obama administration, and the American federal judiciary all collaborate to shield the guilty parties from all accountability (Look Forward, Not Backward!), and worse, to ensure that not a single victim can even access American courts to obtain a ruling as to the legality of what was done to them, let alone receive compensation for their suffering, even while recognizing that many of the victims were completely innocent and even though other countries have provided the victims with compensation for their much more minor role in what happened.  Our courts even ensure that Blackwater guards are shielded from prosecution for the cold-blooded murder of Iraqi citizens.

Here is the link where this amazing story is elaborated:  http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/11/exceptionalism/index.html

How bad would it be to just “pull out” of Afghanistan?

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ Leave a comment
KABUL, Afghanistan- Afghan President Hamid Kar...
Image via Wikipedia

Every now and then, in fact frequently, the Karzai administration takes some step or makes some pronouncement that causes me to wonder if the dire consequences of a “pull out” would, in fact, be worse than what we have now and the direction that government is going.  Today the Washington Post reports on Karzai’s efforts to limit international (read US) involvement in anti-corruption investigations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/08/AR2010090805935.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzhead

Moral obligations to be met before we leave Afghanistan…Women and our Afghan allies

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ 3 Comments

Women and the people who have truly cast their lot with us deserve some consideration before we leave Afghanistan, however much we may want to just pack up and go.

Here is a link to an NPR program on women and their current treatment by the Taliban.  Imagine what is likely to happen to them without us there.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129306237&ft=1&f=1149

Note that education of women, in and of itself, is opposed by the Taliban.  And  we’ve been prating about how we have helped secure educational opportunities for them.  If we leave messily, as we almost certainly will, we will not have lived up to our moral obligation to them.

Then remember the people who did not make it aboard the helicopters picking up evacuees from the roof of the US embassy in Saigon (and remember, there were people all over South Vietnam, not just in Saigon, who had placed themselves and their families in jeopardy if we left without securing their safety).  Some of those people suffered greatly and others did not.  In either case we did not live up to our moral obligation to them, those who escaped retribution did so without our help.

I really would like to see us out of there.  I really would not like to see women and those who have served us suffer for our leaving.  Any suggestions?

Glenn Greenwald on the unprecedented erosion of our liberties and disregard of constitutional safeguards

~ Steve Wilkerson ~ Leave a comment

Here is an excellent piece on the mis-use of the “fear” and “war” concerns to justify abuse of governmental power as well as the lowering of our standards as a country dedicated to the preservation of individual liberties.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/08/26/surveillance/index.html