President Obama has repeatedly called the US occupation of Afghanistan a "war
of necessity", in contrast to the war of choice his predecessor waged (and of
course is still ongoing) in Iraq.
While I am no mind-reader, I'm not sure the president really still believes
that, or he may want to come up with a different way to describe the situation
in Afghanistan and the region. Certainly there are grave problems in Afghanistan
and in neighboring Pakistan that deserve attention and resources from the US,
other countries in the region and the global community.
WASHINGTON - When student Hemnecher Amen joined a protest outside the White House recently, it was the latest visible opposition here to US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hardly anyone took notice.
"There's a lot of apathy and a growing disconnectedness to what's going on in world affairs," the frustrated Howard University junior told AFP as some 200 people, including a handful of students, gathered for the march.
"Students are more interested in trying to get a job and make money. That's essentially the bottom line."
This week begins with a significant new straw in the political wind for President Obama to consider. The California Democratic Party has just sent him a formal and clear message: Stop making war in Afghanistan.
Overwhelmingly approved on Sunday by the California Democratic Party's 300-member statewide executive board, the resolution is titled "End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan."
This past Wednesday, Admiral Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff) announced that the Pentagon will seek additional war funds for
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in 2010. While he did not give a firm
dollar amount, the New York Times reported that defense budget analysts
are kicking around the number of $50 billion.
The occasional sign at an antiwar demonstration used to ask, "What if they had a war and nobody came?" Unfortunately, right now the question is more like "What do we do when they have an antiwar demonstration and nobody comes?" While I can't readily come up with a satisfying answer to that one, I thought it might at least be a useful first step to find out why they're not coming.
The escalation of war in Afghanistan may be only a stalking horse for an even larger war in Pakistan as the United States seeks to secure the nukes there that might fall into the hands of terrorists. These newly proposed wars are only the Obama phase of what is likely to be an endless 21st-century crusade called "the war on terrorism."
While waiting to be processed
at the Anacostia Park Police Station, I was drawn to a mounted post-9/11,
Bush-era FBI reward poster. "The Cost of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance",
propagated the sign. The unrestrained madness is as prevalent today
as it was eight years ago: Obama is continuing Bush's war folly.
If you've driven past the Benton County Courthouse between 5 and 6 p.m. over the past few years, you've likely seen them.
"Them" being the group of Corvallis residents holding signs and flags asking for military restraint and peace.
They've been out there since the first day of the United States invasion of Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001.
Wednesday marks the eighth anniversary of the daily peace vigil, which depending on the day and time can have anywhere from a handful of people participating to hundreds.
The protesters convened for a final planning meeting, already triumphant, convinced that nine months of preparation was about to pay off. Antiwar organizers who had come to Washington from 27 states exchanged hugs inside a Columbia Heights convention hall and modeled their protest costumes: orange jumpsuits, "death masks," shackles and T-shirts depicting bloody Afghan children. Then Pete Perry, the event organizer, stood up to deliver a welcome speech.
"This is a great moment for our movement," he said. "We are continuing an incredible tradition."
On the outskirts of a desert town in the Moroccan-occupied territory
of Western Sahara, about a dozen young activists are gathered. They are
involved in their country's long struggle for freedom. A group of
foreigners-veterans of protracted resistance movements-is conducting a
training session in the optimal use of a "weapons system" that is
increasingly deployed in struggles for freedom around the world.
