Jan 11, 2011
Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
Here's what he said on a recent CNN appearance:
"I was on Ed Schultz' show to discuss Afghanistan...And the guy writes on a piece of paper, 'Get out now,' and holds it up on the screen. That's so stupid and it's so unworthy. And it really -- it's one of the reasons why people hold us in lower regard than they do lawyers."
Klein may not have realized it, but in calling Schultz "stupid" for wanting to get out of Afghanistan, he's insulted most Americans.
More than 60 percent of Americans oppose the Afghanistan War. In a recent poll, bringing troops home from Afghanistan ranked above concerns on the deficit. In fact, it was the #2 issue most important to Americans, just behind fixing the economy. Bringing troops home would save us $1 million per troop, per year, helping to fix our economy and cut the deficit.
But Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to do that.
Let's talk about stupid for a minute.
The U.S. has increased troop levels in Afghanistan every year since the initial invasion, and every year we've seen an increased level of violence in Afghanistan. President Obama and General Petraeus promised--twice!--that huge troop increases would help "protect the population" of Afghanistan and break Taliban momentum. Yet over the course of their major escalations, the heightened troop levels failed to protect Afghan civilians, who suffered more war-related deaths than the year before. And, according to NATO and the Pentagon's own statistics and reporting, the estimated number of insurgents is exactly the same as last year, and they continue to grow in geographic and operational reach. After all this failure of troop increases to stem the violence, Secretary Gates just announced another troop increase.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
American workers are drowning in an economic crisis. Huge numbers of us remain unemployed, and hundreds of thousands are giving up on finding work at all. States all over the country are slashing their social safety nets to shreds, cutting things like health care for kids in poverty, while at the same time the federal government is charging their state an amount larger than their states' deficits to continue the Afghanistan War. While 68 percent of Americans worry that the war's costs affect our ability to fix problems here at home, we're wasting $2 billion a week on a war that's not making us safer.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
Klein's wrong about why people hold "journalists" like him in low regard. The reason people hold some talking heads in low regard is that we're tired of being shoveled the same, tired "Very Serious People" drivel that's kept us in a brutal, futile war for almost a decade. The Afghanistan War isn't making us safer and it's not worth the cost. The writing has been on the wall for years. Waiting even one more day to start bringing troops home is...well, you know.
Watch Brave New Foundation's latest Rethink Afghanistan video to learn more about why keeping U.S. troops there is a stupid idea, and then leave a comment at Facebook.com/RethinkAfghanistan with your thoughts on Joe Klein's "stupid" remark. We'll make sure both he and Ed Schultz see your messages.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald is a producer, director, political activist, and Brave New Films founder and president. His is currently focused on the ReThink Afghanistan (2009, RethinkAfghanistan.com) documentary and campaign which addresses the misguided U.S. policy in Afghanistan. He has also produced and distributed short viral videos and campaigns like Sick For Profit (SickForProfit.com), Fox Attacks videos (FoxAttacks.com) and The Real McCain (TheRealMcCain.com), which were seen by almost a million people in a matter of days.
Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
Here's what he said on a recent CNN appearance:
"I was on Ed Schultz' show to discuss Afghanistan...And the guy writes on a piece of paper, 'Get out now,' and holds it up on the screen. That's so stupid and it's so unworthy. And it really -- it's one of the reasons why people hold us in lower regard than they do lawyers."
Klein may not have realized it, but in calling Schultz "stupid" for wanting to get out of Afghanistan, he's insulted most Americans.
More than 60 percent of Americans oppose the Afghanistan War. In a recent poll, bringing troops home from Afghanistan ranked above concerns on the deficit. In fact, it was the #2 issue most important to Americans, just behind fixing the economy. Bringing troops home would save us $1 million per troop, per year, helping to fix our economy and cut the deficit.
But Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to do that.
Let's talk about stupid for a minute.
The U.S. has increased troop levels in Afghanistan every year since the initial invasion, and every year we've seen an increased level of violence in Afghanistan. President Obama and General Petraeus promised--twice!--that huge troop increases would help "protect the population" of Afghanistan and break Taliban momentum. Yet over the course of their major escalations, the heightened troop levels failed to protect Afghan civilians, who suffered more war-related deaths than the year before. And, according to NATO and the Pentagon's own statistics and reporting, the estimated number of insurgents is exactly the same as last year, and they continue to grow in geographic and operational reach. After all this failure of troop increases to stem the violence, Secretary Gates just announced another troop increase.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
American workers are drowning in an economic crisis. Huge numbers of us remain unemployed, and hundreds of thousands are giving up on finding work at all. States all over the country are slashing their social safety nets to shreds, cutting things like health care for kids in poverty, while at the same time the federal government is charging their state an amount larger than their states' deficits to continue the Afghanistan War. While 68 percent of Americans worry that the war's costs affect our ability to fix problems here at home, we're wasting $2 billion a week on a war that's not making us safer.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
Klein's wrong about why people hold "journalists" like him in low regard. The reason people hold some talking heads in low regard is that we're tired of being shoveled the same, tired "Very Serious People" drivel that's kept us in a brutal, futile war for almost a decade. The Afghanistan War isn't making us safer and it's not worth the cost. The writing has been on the wall for years. Waiting even one more day to start bringing troops home is...well, you know.
Watch Brave New Foundation's latest Rethink Afghanistan video to learn more about why keeping U.S. troops there is a stupid idea, and then leave a comment at Facebook.com/RethinkAfghanistan with your thoughts on Joe Klein's "stupid" remark. We'll make sure both he and Ed Schultz see your messages.
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald is a producer, director, political activist, and Brave New Films founder and president. His is currently focused on the ReThink Afghanistan (2009, RethinkAfghanistan.com) documentary and campaign which addresses the misguided U.S. policy in Afghanistan. He has also produced and distributed short viral videos and campaigns like Sick For Profit (SickForProfit.com), Fox Attacks videos (FoxAttacks.com) and The Real McCain (TheRealMcCain.com), which were seen by almost a million people in a matter of days.
Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
Here's what he said on a recent CNN appearance:
"I was on Ed Schultz' show to discuss Afghanistan...And the guy writes on a piece of paper, 'Get out now,' and holds it up on the screen. That's so stupid and it's so unworthy. And it really -- it's one of the reasons why people hold us in lower regard than they do lawyers."
Klein may not have realized it, but in calling Schultz "stupid" for wanting to get out of Afghanistan, he's insulted most Americans.
More than 60 percent of Americans oppose the Afghanistan War. In a recent poll, bringing troops home from Afghanistan ranked above concerns on the deficit. In fact, it was the #2 issue most important to Americans, just behind fixing the economy. Bringing troops home would save us $1 million per troop, per year, helping to fix our economy and cut the deficit.
But Joe Klein thinks you're stupid for wanting to do that.
Let's talk about stupid for a minute.
The U.S. has increased troop levels in Afghanistan every year since the initial invasion, and every year we've seen an increased level of violence in Afghanistan. President Obama and General Petraeus promised--twice!--that huge troop increases would help "protect the population" of Afghanistan and break Taliban momentum. Yet over the course of their major escalations, the heightened troop levels failed to protect Afghan civilians, who suffered more war-related deaths than the year before. And, according to NATO and the Pentagon's own statistics and reporting, the estimated number of insurgents is exactly the same as last year, and they continue to grow in geographic and operational reach. After all this failure of troop increases to stem the violence, Secretary Gates just announced another troop increase.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
American workers are drowning in an economic crisis. Huge numbers of us remain unemployed, and hundreds of thousands are giving up on finding work at all. States all over the country are slashing their social safety nets to shreds, cutting things like health care for kids in poverty, while at the same time the federal government is charging their state an amount larger than their states' deficits to continue the Afghanistan War. While 68 percent of Americans worry that the war's costs affect our ability to fix problems here at home, we're wasting $2 billion a week on a war that's not making us safer.
That sounds pretty stupid to me.
Klein's wrong about why people hold "journalists" like him in low regard. The reason people hold some talking heads in low regard is that we're tired of being shoveled the same, tired "Very Serious People" drivel that's kept us in a brutal, futile war for almost a decade. The Afghanistan War isn't making us safer and it's not worth the cost. The writing has been on the wall for years. Waiting even one more day to start bringing troops home is...well, you know.
Watch Brave New Foundation's latest Rethink Afghanistan video to learn more about why keeping U.S. troops there is a stupid idea, and then leave a comment at Facebook.com/RethinkAfghanistan with your thoughts on Joe Klein's "stupid" remark. We'll make sure both he and Ed Schultz see your messages.
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.