Obama, War President
In 2008, many voters viewed Barack Obama as the peace candidate, but he's turned into a war president.
On the campaign trail, he promised to get all combat troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2010. Then he extended that to the end of this year, and now his administration is trying to persuade the Iraqi government to sign an agreement extending the presence of U.S. troops there indefinitely.
In 2008, many voters viewed Barack Obama as the peace candidate, but he's turned into a war president.
On the campaign trail, he promised to get all combat troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2010. Then he extended that to the end of this year, and now his administration is trying to persuade the Iraqi government to sign an agreement extending the presence of U.S. troops there indefinitely.
And in Afghanistan, where Obama has tripled the number of U.S. troops, his administration is again backpedaling on withdrawal. Obama said he'd start bringing troops home this July, but that seems more and more likely to be just a token number.
He had vowed that all U.S. troops would be out of there by the end of 2014, but now his administration is negotiating with Kabul to have long-term military bases in Afghanistan.
And, of course, a month ago, Obama launched the war on Libya, which shows no signs of ending any time soon.
From his Nobel Prize speech to his Libya speech, Obama has become the chief advocate of war, boasting of its utility and expanding its justifications.
He's turned into a better salesman for war than his predecessor, and he's running the empire more efficiently--and with less antagonism.
More bombs, less bombast: That's the Obama doctrine for you.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
In 2008, many voters viewed Barack Obama as the peace candidate, but he's turned into a war president.
On the campaign trail, he promised to get all combat troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2010. Then he extended that to the end of this year, and now his administration is trying to persuade the Iraqi government to sign an agreement extending the presence of U.S. troops there indefinitely.
And in Afghanistan, where Obama has tripled the number of U.S. troops, his administration is again backpedaling on withdrawal. Obama said he'd start bringing troops home this July, but that seems more and more likely to be just a token number.
He had vowed that all U.S. troops would be out of there by the end of 2014, but now his administration is negotiating with Kabul to have long-term military bases in Afghanistan.
And, of course, a month ago, Obama launched the war on Libya, which shows no signs of ending any time soon.
From his Nobel Prize speech to his Libya speech, Obama has become the chief advocate of war, boasting of its utility and expanding its justifications.
He's turned into a better salesman for war than his predecessor, and he's running the empire more efficiently--and with less antagonism.
More bombs, less bombast: That's the Obama doctrine for you.
In 2008, many voters viewed Barack Obama as the peace candidate, but he's turned into a war president.
On the campaign trail, he promised to get all combat troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2010. Then he extended that to the end of this year, and now his administration is trying to persuade the Iraqi government to sign an agreement extending the presence of U.S. troops there indefinitely.
And in Afghanistan, where Obama has tripled the number of U.S. troops, his administration is again backpedaling on withdrawal. Obama said he'd start bringing troops home this July, but that seems more and more likely to be just a token number.
He had vowed that all U.S. troops would be out of there by the end of 2014, but now his administration is negotiating with Kabul to have long-term military bases in Afghanistan.
And, of course, a month ago, Obama launched the war on Libya, which shows no signs of ending any time soon.
From his Nobel Prize speech to his Libya speech, Obama has become the chief advocate of war, boasting of its utility and expanding its justifications.
He's turned into a better salesman for war than his predecessor, and he's running the empire more efficiently--and with less antagonism.
More bombs, less bombast: That's the Obama doctrine for you.