"War, n: A time-tested political tactic guaranteed to raise a president's popularity rating by at least 30 points. It is especially useful during election years and economic downturns."
--Chaz Bufe
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Editor's Note: An unwavering call for peace is not always popular, especially when a popular leader is waging wars. In the early days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we faced massive opposition to our stance against Bush's acts of mass murder - people regularly attacked us for speaking out against a president with high approval rating in a "time of war." Now that Obama and his team are "ending" the Iraq war by keeping 50,000 troops there for years to come, "surging" to kill more people in Afghanistan, launching missile strikes in Pakistan, and upping the rhetoric against Iran - we must remain firm in our call to end all these acts now. Not in a few years, not next year. Today, not tomorrow. Now.
We make no apologies for the views expressed in Tom Santoni's article below. While some may be angered by his unwavering support of peace and justice, we applaud him for his courageous stance - which finds him at odds with a newly elected, and quite popular, president. Whether practical or possible, the principle remains. As long as presidents continue to kill, we must continue to take a stand. We hope you'll join us.
Please take a few moments to read the below article, and stop by the blog to tell us what you think.
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New Names. Same Old War Crimes.
by Tom Santoni, Veterans for Peace
How many Obama-ordered civilian deaths in foreign lands will you tolerate before speaking out and taking action? Three Pakistani children are three too many for me.
In a blatant and unmistakable act of war against a sovereign nation, Barack Obama, four days into his administration on Friday, January 23, 2009, as commander in chief of US armed forces, ordered the US military to launch Hellfire missile strikes on homes in northwest Pakistan, killing dozens of civilians including at least three children. The military was aiming to bomb al Qaeda and Taliban "suspects," but there was some unfortunate "collateral damage". Oops?
It is this material aggression and the sense of American exceptionalism for which Obama must now be held accountable. Hey - he wanted the job! Our job is to fire him if he commits crimes in the process of perpetuating the wanton greed of American empire and its supremacist, bigoted, unsustainable way of life. He has already committed the ultimate crime. Just ask the parents of those Pakistani children.
We must reach across the aisle, condemn the continuing US murder of civilians on their own soil, confront our racist attitude that our lives are worth more than theirs, and do what is right.
(read more here) (comment on the blog)
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