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Nir Rosen: “We Managed to Make the Taliban Look Good”
Rep. Kucinich on Afghanistan War: "We're Acting Like a Latter Day Version of the Roman Empire"
Nir Rosen, independent journalist and fellow at the NYU Center on Law and Security, responds to President Obama decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Rosen has covered both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. His latest articles cover the current state of the US occupations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
As President Obama unveils his plan to escalate the war in Afghanistan, we speak with Ohio Congressmember Dennis Kucinich. “The United States is going deeper and deeper into debt,” says Kucinich. “We have money for Wall Street and money for war but we don’t have money for work…for healthcare. We have to start asking ourselves, ‘Why is it that war is a priority but the basic needs of people in this country are not?’”
© 2009 Democracy Now!
20 Comments so far
Show AllAlthough I agree with a lot of what Dennis says, I think he nullifies it by remaining with the corrupt democratic party, and encouraging people to vote for their corporate-sponsored candidate in the end. Does he not see the futility of saying, on the one hand, I am for peace, while being part and parcel of a party which supports war. Kucinich, in my view, would be much more credible if he went independent.
Au contraire. Staying with the Dems and taking back the party from corrupt conservative usurpers shows the bravery and tenacity Dems need to succeed, not giving up and fleeing to a third party that could also be taken over by conservatives.
Perhaps, then again one wonders if the Dems have reached a point of corruption from which there is no return, much like capitalism has. Seems worse to pretend you are for something you are not to deceive the many into voting for you; then, once elected, turning around and doing the exact opposite. Rather than rally for Obama, Dennis could have simply kept quiet. Personally, my conscience would bother me to tell people to vote for someone I knew (or thought it likely) would betray them.
Either that, or Obama is really powerless to affect change, meaning any president is now irrelevant. Once Obama took office, his choice of cabinet told me everything I needed to know, along with his refusal to investigate Bush-Cheney for possible crimes. Unfortunately, he didn't disappoint me in that regard. I wish Paul Wellstone was still alive, and wonder if he would have remained with the democratic party himself.
If you have to compromise yourself to reach the top, you will almost surely remain compromised once in power. Even though I think Obama knows what is right, he lacks the courage and/or will to act upon it. If so, the presidency will take a huge toll on the man inside the suit.
The sad truth is, it does not matter what party he belongs to. In order to change anything, the electoral system, interest representation system, campaign finance, money as free speech, corporate personhood, media oligopoly must be overhauled from the ground up.
Although I would like to see Dennis K. as a Green or Socialist party member, I welcome his discourse. Even though he is a D party member he is ostracized by fellow Ds.
The "conservative usurpers" part is bs, if you mean Repubs. In that case, and only from what I've read, without ever having read the contrary, the Dem. Party is guilty of more war crimes or wars than the Repub. Party is; and the latter was hijacked by the neocons and, I guess, Bushes starting a few decades, or so, ago. Dem. Party supporters flame the Repub's while denying their own extreme criminality, rogueness. They need to take the logs or planks out of their eyes.
I have to make multiple posts due to not being able (again) to make more than very short posts (similarly with sending emails), but this is just to say that I'm neither Dem. nor Repub.; being [independent]. I'll independently evaluate and decide for myself, thank ya very much.
Sure, it's what they need to succeed in correcting the party, but that's not the question, which, instead, is whether or not they can feasibly succeed; and they evidently can't for as long as the party's leadership doesn't go through a major change. And that depends on what? Well, voters certainly have their role in this; but many are "dumb animals".
The British are investigating their leading criminal, former prime minister Tony Blair, and his deception of his own cabinet in order to do Bush’s bidding and provide some cover for Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq. The UK investigators have been denied the ability to bring criminal charges, but the issue of war based entirely on orchestrated deception and lies is getting a hearing. It will reverberate throughout the world, and the world will note that there is no corresponding investigation in the US, the country that originated the False War.
Meanwhile, the US investment banks, which have wrecked the financial stability of many governments, including that of the US, continue to control, as they have done since the Clinton administration, US economic and financial policy. The world has suffered terribly from the Wall Street gangsters, and now looks upon America with a
critical eye.
The United States no longer commands the respect it enjoyed under President Ronald Reagan or President George Herbert Walker Bush. World polls show that the US and its puppet master are regarded as the two greatest threats to peace. Washington and Israel outrank on the most dangerous list the crazy regime in North Korea.
The world is beginning to see America as a country that needs to go away. When the dollar is over-inflated by a Washington unable to pay its bills, will the world be motivated by greed and try to save us in order to save its investments, or will it say, thank God, good riddance.
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. His new book, How the Economy was Lost, will be published in January by AK Press / CounterPunch. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com
The banks have "controlled" for much longer than only since the Clinton administration.
Unfortunately, Dennis Kucinich's opinions are never aired on the MSM networks, only crackpots like Lynn Cheney and similar ilk ever seem to get on the weekend talk shows and night time news hours. The MSM has all accepted that we somehow need this escalation without any serious questioning of it. We are lost as a country if our main information sources continue to be corporate-sponsored media.
I am Canadian, and I was infinitely perplexed why kucinich didn't win the presidential nomination for the Dem's....a true tragedy!
American elections are popularity contests between those supported by the powerful and wealthy within the major parties and outside. Kucinich wasn't supported by the center-right/DLC wing that basically runs the Democratic Party nor the major industries and companies. Early on he is marginalized in the media, ridiculed or ignored and this also happens on Democratic blogs. The same happened to Mike Gravel.
GE's MSNBC, at the direction of Big MIC GE, prohibited Dennis Kucinich from participating in Dem. Party-only presidential candidate debates in 2008. This happened six times and I know GE-MSNBC was guilty a few times, but am not sure if it was all six times; if not, then one or more other corporations also did like GE-MSNBC, with, "of course" and always, the support provided by the Dem. Party "leadership", and complicit voter silence.
I agree. There comes a time when the American people must acknowledge that the road they travel is their choice. It was the same for Vietnam. What was that really all about. Love of humankind is the answer not war.
I'm an American living in Canada. To answer your question, risingdawn, look at Kucinich and then look at what Americans elect. See the problem?
These are both well worth watching. Thanks, commondreams!
I had just finished watching this on Democracy Now! and immediately thought, what a terrific program. I also imagined that if Kucinich, Nir Rosen and Andrew Bacevich had been interviewed live that the audience would have in all likelihood applauded what they had to say. I also contrasted that imagined scene to when Obama spoke at West Point and the robots [i.e. the cadets] applauded Obama's every word. Perhaps if the views of Kucinich, Rosen and Bacevich were able to reach mainstream America, then the propaganda and militarism handed out to the American people might have less of an effect than it is now having.
"They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world, you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people."-Eugene Victor Debs [1855-1926], American labor and political leader
"Rosen: “We Managed to Make the Taliban Look Good”".
YEP, and while I am opposed to the oppressive ways of the Taliban, there's a part of me that has to be on their side in this war against the west's imperialists, etc. Besides, the latter are far worse than the Taliban could ever be; if they tried to be worse than they are, which I don't think they really have in mind of doing or trying to do.
It'd be awfully difficult, basically impossible, to be as bad as the west's imperialists, etcetera; let alone being worse than them. Expressing hatred of the Taliban basically is hypocritical of westerners to do. Afghans can rightfully despise the Taliban for their unacceptable oppression, but we can't, not without being hypocrites; unless also stating that our governments, "law" forces, ruling "elites", and the many citizen supporters are worse.
"Rep. Kucinich ...: "We're Acting Like a Latter Day Version of the Roman Empire"".
Tardy, but not too late. Plenty of people, including myself, have been comparing the U.S. to the Roman Empire for several years, already. That wasn't only about the RE's downfall; several years ago, it was about the warring, crusading ways. But many enough writers have also made the downfall comparison.