http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=123859
SEN. KERRY HEARINGS ON THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
AUDIO: RECORDED FROM C-SPAN 4/23/09
http://www.apfn.net/CC63/L001I090423-1300A.MP3
SEN. KERRY HEARINGS ON THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Senator Kerry's Panel to Call Afghanistan Veterans
AUDIO:
http://www.apfn.net/CC63/L002I090423-850B.MP3
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Kerry panel listens to Iraq, Afghanistan vets
Boston Globe - 10 hours ago
Senator John F. Kerry, opening a hearing with Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans today, said while he resists comparisons to the Vietnam War,
the conflicts in ..
MORE:>>
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Holding a Powerful
Re-Evaluation Of Af-Pak
By Spencer Ackerman 4/23/09 11:30 AM
Sadly, I’m working on other things, but I’m listening to the
livestream of an extremely powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee
hearing featuring Afghanistan veterans criticizing the continued war in
Afghanistan. Marine Cpl. Rick Reyes denounced the “occupation” of
Afghanistan, a policy that he said “forced [me] to become a tyrant,”
since he was unable to determine who was a civilian and who was an
insurgent. “At a minimum, this occupation needs to be rethought,” Reyes
said, as does “sending more troops” to Afghanistan. Not all of his
fellow veterans go so far — some, like U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher
McGurk are critical of U.S. efforts so far, but contend that U.S.
interests compel a deepened commitment to Afghanistan.
I don’t want to say too much about something I’m not fully
covering and listening to as a background priority. When I have the
statements of Reyes and his colleagues — not all went as far as he did
— I’ll write more. But three points really stand out.
First, this is the most prominent forum yet given to forthright
critiques of the Afghanistan war, let alone critiques that inch up to
the boundary of saying the war is lost. Second, critiques like Reyes
are directly reminiscent of the critique delivered to the committee in
1971 by Vietnam veteran and now-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who held
today’s hearing as the committee’s chairman. Andrew Bacevich, the
Boston University international affairs professor, called the lacunae
between resources and strategy in Afghanistan “comparable” to the
Vietnam strategy denounced by “a young John Kerry.” (Al Qaeda is a
“religiously motivated mafia” that needs to be dealt with by a
“sustained, multilateral police effort,” he said, not by a “Long War.”)
Third, while this remains to be seen, the country is facing a test
— not just with taking these veterans’ critiques seriously, to inform
what U.S. strategy in Afghanistan/Pakistan needs to be, but not to
repeat what was done to Kerry in the 1970s. That is, smearing him as a
traitor to his fellow veterans by speaking out against an
ill-considered war. These veterans are pushing the country’s discourse
on Afghanistan into a difficult and uncomfortable area. It would be
unconscionable for anyone to attack them for doing such a brave thing
http://washingtonindependent.com/40173/senate-foreign-relations-committee-holding-a-powerful-re-evaluation-of-af-pak
Senator Kerry's Panel to Call Afghanistan Veterans |
CommonDreams.org
Apr 22, 2009 ... No counterparts to the young Kerry at war hearing
... Tomorrow Senator Kerry will listen as veterans of the war in
Afghanistan shine a ...
MORE:>>
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