Robert Naiman
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:55:52 -0700
President Obama wants credit for keeping his promise to end the war in Iraq. Some credit is due: the President reaffirmed his commitment to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, as required by the agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. But only partial credit is due, because the war-ending task is very far from complete.
As a candidate, President Obama said that he didn't just want to end the war; he wanted to end the mindset that leads to war. While he is drawing down from Iraq, he has done little to keep the promise of ending the mindset that leads to war. A major component of the mindset that leads to war is the belief that Washington can and should determine who may participate in the governments of the broader Middle East. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials are still working to exclude from power people who are opposed to U.S. control over their governments or a long-term U.S. military presence. This policy is a recipe for permanent war. The example of Lebanon, where the U.S. acquiesces to the participation in power of people who are opposed to U.S. control, shows that it is not an immutable fact of nature that the U.S. must continue to pursue this permanent war policy. The fact that President Obama has only half-kept his promise indicates that while he deserves partial credit, he also needs continued pressure. On October 2nd, people from across America will be going to Washington as part of the peace contingent of "One Nation Working Together" to press the demands that the wars end and that the troops come home. Everyone who can go should be there; everyone else should help someone else get there. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/iraqafghanistan-a-promise_b_702172.html http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/9/1/131848/4164 http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/696 -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org nai...@justforeignpolicy.org Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list pen-l@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l