SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize -- Now Please Earn it!
Oct 09, 2009
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Dear President Obama,
How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace.
Your swift, early pronouncements -- you will close Guantanamo, you will
bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world,
you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their
democratically-elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to
the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The
War on Terror," you've put an end to torture -- these have all made us
and the rest of the world feel a bit more safe considering the disaster
of the past eight years. In eight months you have done an about face
and taken this country in a much more sane direction.
But...
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of
the ninth year of our War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are
truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand
the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can
declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's
what a true man of peace would do.
There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do
-- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000
people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are
pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to
get rid of a mouse.
The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of
Afghanistan to resolve -- just as we did in 1776, the French did in
1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the
people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all
revolutions by people who wish to be free -- they ultimately have to
bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but
freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's
Humvee.
You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing
such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get
the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd
be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers
would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to
deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've
offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the
irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me
and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why
you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you
-- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Dear President Obama,
How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace.
Your swift, early pronouncements -- you will close Guantanamo, you will
bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world,
you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their
democratically-elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to
the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The
War on Terror," you've put an end to torture -- these have all made us
and the rest of the world feel a bit more safe considering the disaster
of the past eight years. In eight months you have done an about face
and taken this country in a much more sane direction.
But...
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of
the ninth year of our War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are
truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand
the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can
declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's
what a true man of peace would do.
There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do
-- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000
people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are
pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to
get rid of a mouse.
The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of
Afghanistan to resolve -- just as we did in 1776, the French did in
1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the
people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all
revolutions by people who wish to be free -- they ultimately have to
bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but
freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's
Humvee.
You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing
such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get
the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd
be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers
would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to
deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've
offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the
irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me
and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why
you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you
-- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Dear President Obama,
How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace.
Your swift, early pronouncements -- you will close Guantanamo, you will
bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world,
you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their
democratically-elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to
the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The
War on Terror," you've put an end to torture -- these have all made us
and the rest of the world feel a bit more safe considering the disaster
of the past eight years. In eight months you have done an about face
and taken this country in a much more sane direction.
But...
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of
the ninth year of our War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are
truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand
the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can
declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's
what a true man of peace would do.
There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do
-- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000
people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are
pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to
get rid of a mouse.
The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of
Afghanistan to resolve -- just as we did in 1776, the French did in
1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the
people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all
revolutions by people who wish to be free -- they ultimately have to
bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but
freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's
Humvee.
You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing
such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get
the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd
be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers
would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to
deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've
offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the
irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me
and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why
you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you
-- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.