A most discouraging if highly probable assessment of the state of "politics" with regard to the escalation of AfPak. Especially dismaying (but also not surprising) is the characterization of the Progressive Caucus which will not "oppose" the escalation. Mr. Hayden, and others who urged us to vote for Obama and then "hold his feet to the fire" of progressive policies, when will the fire be built, and by whom? The Progessive Caucus was one of the few instruments of political power with which we could work...and now it's descended to "informational meetings?" (Certainly informational meetings are not a bad idea, but they need to be in the nature of the "Vietnam teach-ins" that brought out information about the insanity of that operation.) So where's the fire? And commenters-to-follow, please don't tell me that I personally have to build that fire. My matches are a little wet.

The Friends (Quakers) Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is organizing a national call in to representatives:

Urge Congress to Vote Against More Money for Wars
Join the National Call-In Day May 12

Next week, your representative will be asked to vote on a war supplemental bill that would use tens of billions of your tax dollars to fund the war in Iraq and expand the war in Afghanistan.

http://www.fcnl.org/afghanistan/may12_afghanistan_call.htm

I'm still laughing over the irony of Rep. David Obey's name. How appropriate.

"Indications are that there will be no benchmarks or conditions set on the more than $85 billion supplemental appropriation before Congress beginning this week. The administration, which once promised no more rushed supplemental appropriation, is rolling funds for war and swine flu into one package, while not yet disclosing how much is earmarked specifically for Afghanistan."

Deficits, such as those that pile up from unnecessary wars, don't matter, at least not to the oligarchs, because they have a plan. They first toyed with the idea during Bush's failed attempt at SS privatization, and we will see it again soon. The next scheme to divide the electorate will consist of inducing inter-generational warfare. The baby boomers will be demonized (we must ignore that other baby boomers will be doing most of the demonizing) and depicted as selfish and greedy for wanting their SS checks and their Medicare ("the baby boomers caused all the deficits after all"). The young will be convinced to vote for candidates who will severely curtail SS and Medicare, and the costs of all the wars will be easily paid for with the savings. So, the oligarchs have decided they can war away without worry!

Of course Obama is tooooo busy with helping the ruling-elite Empire manage (and escalate) its foreign wars in the oil territories to even think about the economic tyranny that the very same ruling-elite 'global corporate financial' EMPIRE is doing to us at home.

As Hannah Arendt presciently warned in the era of the Nazi Empire, "Empire abroad (always) entails tyranny at home".

Don't be shocked by their 'shock doctrine' --- it's just how the same Empire divides, conquers, and oppresses in both spheres --- "abroad" and "at home".

This is what I said to Paul Krugman regarding Obama's recent 'cat got your tongue' silence about the banks' refusal to even consider 'mortgage debt reform':

“You can’t handle the truth”.

From “This Week” (5/3) —– Obama’s video clip, and Krugman’s comment:

OBAMA: “I don’t want to run auto companies,” the president says. “I don’t want to run banks. I have got two wars I gotta run already; I’ve got more than enough to do.”

KRUGMAN: “I can’t predict, but right now, let me tell you, they really don’t want to run banks. They so badly don’t want to run banks, I think it’s actually kind of hamstringing their ability to deal with them. Because they don’t want to go where they just went with Chrysler on the banks. And this is definitely not a socialist-minded administration.”

Any intelligent person, let alone a Nobel economist, reading Naomi Kline’s “Shock Doctrine” detailing the history of the modern global ruling-elite Empire’s economic mechanism for smothering and diverting the disruptions of popular democracy, could not help but understand that the economic shock induced on 9/15 (08) with the overt decision to intentionally collapse Lehman was clearly the “second shoe dropping” (or more wryly ‘second shoe bomb’) after the 9/11 shock doctrine. As many in the ruling-elite ‘corporate financial Empire’ hiding behind the façade of its two-party ‘Vichy’ sham of democracy slyly acknowledge — “Never waste a crisis”.

And so, Paul, there should be no surprise that Obama did not publicly object to the quiet back-room legal tyranny of the economic Empire any more than the personable, Scotch-drinking Mbeki did not publicly object to the deals he had made with the ruling-elite economic Empirists of South Africa which collapsed Madela and the ANC’s ‘Freedom Charter’ from a serious and indivisible political-economic declaration of social democracy into a rancid corporatist tourism “show”.

No, Paul, as Margaret Thatcher infamously said, “TINA” (there is no alternative) to the economics of empire. There will be no endearing call for ‘debt relief’, nor for ‘mortgage relief’, nor for ‘health care reform’, nor for ‘land (nor certainly asset) reform’ — despite the irrefutable truth that the GINI indexes of wealth and income inequality in our shining democracy on the hill are fast approaching those of South Africa, Chile, Russia and all the other success models of the Chicago Boys’ shock therapy for establishing flowering ‘democratic capitalist’ free market states (whatever that oxymoron means).

Like the dutiful Marine Commander that Gen. Smedley Butler was NOT, Obama is just too consumed and dedicated to fighting the wars that Wall Street and big oil started abroad for their Empire to worry about interfering in the domestic tyranny of their economic Empire at home.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Haden lost any credibility he ever had with me by first endorsing Obama, and then protecting him under his world class apologetic. This Cat ought to get out of his incrementalisms long enough to acknoweldge that benchmarks mean nothing. Obama promised to end the occupation in Iraq too, and he now is asserting that between 50-70K US troops will remian there indefinately. What exactly does Hayden not understand about blowing smoke for the herd? The Earth is going to hell in a hand basket, and the only thing Hayden can offer is his eco la, la, please Barak give us a few benchmarks (crumbs) to appease the sheeple mired in the status quo. Hayden is the perfect example of what happens when success, money, prestige, and old age creeps in. The fire burned out a long time ago. The sad thing is that he does not even know it, the comforts of denial too powerful apparently.

More apologism from Hayden. He and other of his ilk are leading us straight back to a Republican cabal again directly running the country beginning 2012. Why buy the Republican Party Lite when the real deal is still available?

In fact, the Democratic party is always the biggest protector of Republican Party projects. No health care, no Peace, no national or social security, no change. And most of all, NO JOBS.

In 1975, the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam carried the embassy's flag out of the country in a plastic bag. The photo was very famous for a while. I expect we'll be seeing the same thing in Afghanistan. When that happens, the best and the brightest in Warshington, D.C. (Death and Corruption) will either be scratching their heads or standing around with their thumbs up their arses saying repeatedly, "Gee, wonder what happened."

Jerry D Rose writes:
"Mr. Hayden, and others who urged us to vote for Obama and then "hold his feet to the fire" of progressive policies, when will the fire be built, and by whom?"

elohim writes:
"Ha[y]den lost any credibility he ever had with me by first endorsing Obama, and then protecting him under his world class apologetic."

logansafi writes:
"More apologism from Hayden . . . "

Indeed. Even now, Hayden is bitching at the Congress, not at Der CHANGEling's bait-and-switch baloney on everything from domestic surveillance to transferring the Treasury to the corporations, to corporate collusion in hahaha "health care", and in escalating the war-on-everywhere.

Too darn bad the celebrity left didn't bring its critical faculties into play before going gaga over a mob-friendly Revlon Girl with nothing much going for him but corporate sponsors, a mostly-made-up bio, and the unassailable off-black birthday suit.

Under the circumstances, finger-pointing among the er stooges seems particularly pointless.

This is really strange to hear such a report from Tom Hayden –that the Democratic Party doesn’t want to embarrass the president, and instead opts to ramp up some type of “good spirit” marketing scheme to win populace favor. Tom routinely used a similar style of convincing when parroting Obama for election when he would talk about the inspiration Obama brought to the youth while downplaying the obvious concerns of Obama’s voting record.

When is it acceptable to ramp up the marketing of the president and when is it time to hold him accountable? The time for accountability, if it ever comes, appears dependent on political convenience. Political convenience recently exposed in Pelosi’s knowledge of torture seems to be the dominant theme for American politics regardless of Party affiliation (re Specter).

Always remember two precepts from our Nazi predecessors.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Joseph Goebbels
29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945

"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same for any country."

Herman Goering to Gustave Gilbert at Nuremberg, 18 April, 1946

These are as true now as they were then, and are probably in the playbook given to any politician in the present era. Who says we can't learn from history?

While Nancy Pelosi crushes debate and dodges her torture responsibility and the "Progressive" Caucus and David Obey mumble up their sleeves about "protecting" Obama, the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan will continue to pay the price in blood and misery. Look no further than the still photo on the right side of the CD main page, next to this article, showing a child from Swat Valley, wringing his hands and wailing in grief and terror, no doubt after seeing a family member blown to pieces right in front of him.

As long as most of us and our ruling elites can look at that picture and rationalize it or ignore it, the blood will keep flowing.

Please God, Please set all the government buildings of DC adrift in the North Alantic.

i'm sure tom hayden was NOT the author of the original port huron statement, but the watered-down second draft ;)

gawd, these kinds of articles are so dull & predictable. rationalizations for why the dems aren't living up to the delusions of who the tom hayden's of the world think they are.

Lard Jeebus, help us poor weak sinners, sinner just like us, to remember thine words of child-like wisedom:

BY THEIR FRUITS [IE, DEEDS] YOU KNOW THEM.

not by their forked tongues.

and lard jeebus, since we are comforted by thy goodly book to know that the workers of Thy Chosen United States Triumphant are dear to thy crucified heart, though in thy goodness you have fired so many of them, may you grant tom hayden a new job, spamming the afghanis for canada w/his ceaseless bullshit.

Controlled demolition of civilization

In the 1950s, the AFSC did a great job in getting out the "word" on the Vietnam war. Where are they now?

Tom Hayden was an anti-war idol with his trophy wife Hanoi Jane - why has he switched from the truth to Obama talk.

The Vietnam war was not about the Domino Theory and controlling the spread of communism in South East Asia. It was a naked act of resource imperialism that ultimately backfired.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden and control of the Taliban.

This may be one of the largest resource scrambles in world history and we are being fed a constant line of crap.

If Tom Hayden and the AFSC want to redeem themselves, they must get out of Washington and begin speaking the truth.

The Vietnam War ended when the American people were told the truth. It's time to get the truth to the people again.

"the dominant message behind closed doors is a political one, not to embarrass the president"

So....Afghan children are being burned with white phosphorus, Iraqi and Afghan people, whose country has done NOTHING to us, are being drone bombed to smithereens, and the worst thing these Congressional monsters can imagine is embarrassing the president? Really??? That's worse than countless families seeing their loved ones blown to bits in service of a fraudulent war??? I have to stop now because I am speechless...

If O'Bamba can't pull it off, perhaps next one of Tom Hayden's students can climb the great ladder to the control center in godzilla's skull to make the beautiful monster slightly more benevolent.

If Obama is not blushing over Afghanistan and Pakistan yet, I doubt Congress can do anything to embarrass him.

When Hayden and Gerson write "embarrass the president," might they not mean "defraud the electorate into underwriting continued and extended murder to further centralize power"?

And may Americans not confuse "centralize power" with "centralize prosperity in the US."

The irony of empire is that all of the money spent on weaponry and the chaos that war creates will be the reason for our president to ask for more money to feed the chaos and destruction and put aside the welfare and human rights of our commonwealth and the world.

The Reagan administration supported the muhajadeen, who became the Taliban. The government killed and arrested many members of al qaida.

My question is how much punishment is enough punishment for the country of afghanistan. And why can't our representatives stop intervention if it always (if you study history) goes awry and leads to the killing of innocent people.

What a conundrum. What is the president worried about? a military take-over if he decides not to feed the beast? or Impeachment? What happened to his anti-war stance. Who and what does he represent. This president does not want any political battles at a time when his party holds the political high road. What a shame. I'm very disappointed.

My European friends just shake their heads and wonder how a country with so many smart people, the world's leader in higher education and technology, could be so stupid. We just don't learn, and when we find ourselves in a deep hole we just start digging faster. We replace the old chief digger and get fancier shovels and keep excavating. And when the earth collapses around us, we vow never to make that mistake again, until the next time.

I really don't understand why people keep talking about Obama's brilliance. Yes, he probably has a high IQ and was a good student, but he was a mediocre law professor and has never authored any innovative legislation. The only real skill he has displayed is self-promotion. And to those who think he's a progressive, pointing to a handful of small islands of progressivism in a sea of right wing policies, I'd suggest that their personality cult contributes to the problem by refusing to put pressure on him.

Re: a large percentage of these posts: misplaced invective.

Why is it that those who speak the truth to power are accused of invective?

This essay contains flat and lifeless commentary, with zero analysis.

However, readers may have missed a key point that's somewhat obscured by the use of the word, "shy," as a verb. For instance, the authors write:

"The desire to protect the president may shy Democrats away from demands that were routinely made of the Bush administration."

So, Congressional Democrats are being "shied" away? Hmmm. It doesn't seem to ring true, especially when most of them voted to fund the wars year after year under the Bush administration. And what demands did Congressional Democrats ever make regarding the wars?

Most commentators here have already alluded to Hayden's rather uncritical support for Obama pre-election, even though Obama took a hawkish stance during the campaign, with plans for escalating the wars in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It makes one wonder why we are now getting this rather mushy essay, which promises us more of the status quo.

For those who are part of the team, no matter what that team might do, this essay provides a comforting reason to sit back and watch the impending bloodbath with a certain degree of detachment. After all, Congressional Democrats merely want to "protect" the President. How can that be a bad thing? And they are just "shy." Gee.

So, at least you don't have to think of Congressional Democrats as military Keynesianists - pumping our tax dollars into pointless wars to keep the wheels of American industry turning, regardless of the body count.

For some reason, Hayden acquired a coauthor for this thin essay. I'm not sure what the AFSC gets out of this. I'd say it just hurts their peace advocacy.

-TIA

Torture has captured the headlines and the public imagination. People have forgotten that Bush's wars are far worse. Waging aggressive is the most serious war crime of all. More than a million people have died needlessly and two nations have been destroyed.
It is uncomprehensible that this president and this congress are even contemplating prolonging the violence for even a day. It's distressing to see them completely ignore domestic and international statutes governing the behavior of nations.
The madness continues unabated.

Americans are so inured in the win/lose mentality that they cannot see how much they've already lost. You hope Obama will end these wars? Ha! He left Gates, Bush's top man at the helm. Obama aims to shift the escalation of the war to Pakistan. If he does, that will be a grave error, which will likely cause a collapse of their already shaky government, and place nuclear weapons in the hands of those who wouldn't think twice about using them. The war against 'terrorism' employing military terror cannot defeat terrorism, but only increase the sum total of it, meaning add to the whole of the ferocity and number of terrorist acts.