Category: politics

Major Nidal Malik Hasan went berserk and killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood. A horror, a tragedy. Terrible for the victims of the massacre and their families and terrible for the millions of Muslims who live in America and Europe, but timely fuel for the Global War on Terror which is largely predicated on anti-Muslim paranoia.

The media are rife with hate speech bordering on fascism. Cal Thomas describes the incident as a disturbingly familiar script: “…a fanatical Muslim blows up or goes on a shooting spree, killing many. This is quickly followed by condemnations from major Muslim civil rights groups.” Not only is Thomas endorsing the stereotype of the crazy, murderous Muslim but he is also mocking and belittling the genuinely horrified reaction and condemnation of acts of violence by the Muslim community – a condemnation which distances Islam and Muslims from aberrant, individual acts of aggression.

Thomas reiterates the much touted fear of the enemy within “striking at America’s underbelly” and cites verses from the Quran, Hasan’s anti war stance, and his “preference for Muslim clothing” (whatever the hell that means) as reasons for having known what was coming.

Charles Krauthammer is equally jaded. When you hear the “jihadist battle cry” of Allahu akbar (God is great) he says, what do you expect? He explains at great length how Hasan preached the Quranic take on jihad and war during his Grand Rounds at the hospital. This information is apparently coming from one of Hasan’s colleagues who stood listlessly in the hallway and kept asking himself rather innocently whether the man was a terrorist or just plain weird. Funny how in a country where having a Muslim last name can get you detained at pretty much any airport or checkpoint, talking about jihad and “punishments visited upon nonbelievers” was so casually ignored. If ever there was such a thing as a red flag, that was it. If this information is accurate, why was no action taken?

Was it just too good to be true? Eboo Patel wonders whether “…these writers would have felt a twinge of disappointment if the shooter turned out to be white (as in Columbine) or Korean (Virginia Tech). I wonder if they would have sighed and wished that the next tragedy would come along just as fast as possible, hopefully that will have some Muslim shooters or bombers – all the better for casting a negative light on a fifth of their neighbors on planet Earth. Seems like they got what they wanted at Fort Hood.”

But both Thomas and Krauthammer would have you believe that it was on account of political correctness and the present outreach to the Muslim community that such signs were ignored. Tunku Varadarajan goes a step further. He thinks that there are no signs to be wary of. Normal Muslims can, at any time, discard “the camouflage of integration” and reveal their inner terrorist. This is not “snapping” he elaborates, for there is an element of calculation involved – it’s a “meticulous, even punctilious departure.” This idea is hardly original. I heard Daniel Pipes make the same argument years ago: good Muslims can turn into bad Muslims, suddenly, without warning – it’s like spontaneous combustion.

Varadarajan’s argument is so racist and ridiculous that I won’t waste my breath on it. I don’t expect much from a man who wondered wistfully back in January of this year, why India could not “do a Gaza” on Pakistan. Now he’s talking about “going Muslim” to describe an isolated act committed by a mentally disturbed man. I guess Varadarajan has a way with words.

Let’s look at the assumption of political correctness more closely. How many Muslims are in detention today on the basis of spurious evidence which has never seen the light of day? Many of them are US citizens. They are kept in solitary confinement and subjected to cruel and unusual punishment without ever having had a trial.

What about torture? Mark Danner calls it the purest expression of evil. It’s against enlightenment, a journey back into barbarity and darkness. Who are the people being tortured? All Muslims, including Muslim citizens of Western countries. Remember the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen? He was detained in Syria, beaten, tortured, and confined to a coffin-size space for 10 months before being released without charges. What about Binyam Mohamed, a British resident, who was tortured for 5 years (chained, beaten, sliced, sleep deprived) before being freed. No charges. No apology. Now that’s political correctness for you.

Let’s talk about Muslims in other countries. How many Muslims have been killed in Iraq? In Afghanistan? In Pakistan? These are all unprovoked wars. Al Qaeda is a loosely structured, international group of disaffected people with no central command or cumbersome military hardware. They’re completely portable. How can we go to war against them? How can we justify occupying Muslim countries to sabotage Al Qaeda? It’s absurd.

One million people have been killed in Iraq. It’s an infamy, an abomination. So we call civilian deaths “collateral damage” and we move on. But what’s the difference really? Al Qaeda wanted to sabotage America’s financial capital by destroying the World Trade Center towers. The ensuing civilian deaths could be called collateral damage. Does that make it more palatable? More justifiable?

What about the use of Reaper drones to target Al Qaeda operatives? The vast majority of people killed are Muslim civilians, mostly Muslim women and children. Many call this form of warfare summary execution without trial.

A veteran said to me the other day that war is a nasty beast. Once it’s unleashed, it’s hard to control. Therefore the need to think carefully, very carefully, before unleashing it. The beast doesn’t just affect them, it also affects us.

In his new book, “Stripping Bare the Body: Politics Violence War” Mark Danner talks about the natural antagonism between imperialism and democracy. An imperialistic foreign policy cannot be supported by a democratic polity. Democracies are skeptical of the kind of ruthless power and aggression demanded by empire. The Global War on Terror has turned the United States into a state of soft martial law where warrantless surveillance, detention without trial and torture (the state’s mandate to penetrate a human being’s body and nervous system) have become legally certified.

Diversity or political correctness is not the enemy here. At this tipping point in our history, when we are on the verge of becoming a police state with interminable wars abroad, trying to promote more fear and hatred is hardly going to do the trick. Of course Thomas, Krauthammer and Varadarajan are not Muslims. They can feel safe. But once the beast of intolerance and hate is unleashed, who knows who’s going to be next?

1. Cal Thomas, “Country deceives itself about terrorists,” Democrat and Chronicle, November 11, 2009
2. Charles Krauthammer, Medicalizing mass murder,” The Washington Post, November 13, 2009
3. Eboo Patel, “Examining us examining Hasan,” The Washington Post, November 16, 2009
4. Tunku Varadarajan, “Going Muslim,” Forbes.com, November 9, 2009

The Jewish Fast for Gaza is an ad hoc group of rabbis, Jews, and people of conscience who have committed to undertake a monthly daytime fast in support of the following goals: (1) To call for a lifting of the blockade that prevents the entry of civilian goods and services into Gaza; (2) To provide humanitarian and developmental aid to the people of Gaza; (3) To call upon Israel, the US, and the international community to engage in negotiations without pre-conditions with all relevant Palestinian parties – including Hamas – in order to end the blockade; (4) To encourage the American government to vigorously engage both Israelis and Palestinians toward a just and peaceful settlement of the conflict. Full article.

The story of the Afghan woman is one of 700 that form a shocking pattern of abuse, trauma and death suffered by Afghans caught in three decades of war – misery that did not end with the defeat of the Taliban and entry of thousands of Canadian and international troops. Their stories are detailed in a study, The Cost of War, published Tuesday by Oxfam, the Afghan Civil Society Forum, the Afghan Peace and Democracy Act and five other humanitarian groups that spent months travelling through the country’s 14 provinces to collect the experiences of ordinary people. It shows Afghans blame poverty and corruption more than the Taliban for the continuing conflict. Full article.

Major Hasan did not “go Muslim” when he took the lives of his fellow soldiers. As in all such crimes, no matter what religious veneer is assumed, he went berserk. Full article.

Letter to a young activist during troubled times
by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Mis estimados:

Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.

I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. It is true, one has to have strong cojones and ovarios to withstand much of what passes for “good” in our culture today. Abject disregard of what the soul finds most precious and irreplaceable and the corruption of principled ideals have become, in some large societal arenas, “the new normal,” the grotesquerie of the week. It is hard to say which one of the current egregious matters has rocked people’s worlds and beliefs more. Ours is a time of almost daily jaw-dropping astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.

You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement. I cannot tell you often enough that we are definitely the leaders we have been waiting for, and that we have been raised since childhood for this time precisely.

I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able crafts in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind. I would like to take your hands for a moment and assure you that you are built well for these times. Despite your stints of doubt, your frustrations in arighting all that needs change right now, or even feeling you have lost the map entirely, you are not without resource, you are not alone. Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. In your deepest bones, you have always known this is so. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.

We have been in training for a dark time such as this, since the day we assented to come to Earth. For many decades, worldwide, souls just like us have been felled and left for dead in so many ways over and over — brought down by naiveté, by lack of love, by suddenly realizing one deadly thing or another, by not realizing something else soon enough, by being ambushed and assaulted by various cultural and personal shocks in the extreme. We have a history of being gutted, and yet remember this especially … we have also, of necessity, perfected the knack of resurrection. Over and over again we have been the living proof that that which has been exiled, lost, or foundered — can be restored to life again. This is as true and sturdy a prognosis for the destroyed worlds around us as it was for our own once mortally wounded selves.

Though we are not invulnerable, our risibility supports us to laugh in the face of cynics who say “fat chance,” and “management before mercy,” and other evidences of complete absence of soul sense. This, and our having been to Hell and back on at least one momentous occasion, makes us seasoned vessels for certain. Even if you do not feel that you are, you are. Even if your puny little ego wants to contest the enormity of your soul, that smaller self can never for long subordinate the larger Self. In matters of death and rebirth, you have surpassed the benchmarks many times. Believe the evidence of any one of your past testings and trials. Here it is: Are you still standing? The answer is, Yes! (And no adverbs like “barely” are allowed here). If you are still standing, ragged flags or no, you are able. Thus, you have passed the bar. And even raised it. You are seaworthy.

In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. Do not make yourself ill with overwhelm. There is a tendency too to fall into being weakened by perseverating on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails. We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater? You have all the resource you need to ride any wave, to surface from any trough.

In the language of aviators and sailors, ours is to sail forward now, all balls out. Understand the paradox: If you study the physics of a waterspout, you will see that the outer vortex whirls far more quickly than the inner one. To calm the storm means to quiet the outer layer, to cause it, by whatever countervailing means, to swirl much less, to more evenly match the velocity of the inner, far less volatile core — till whatever has been lifted into such a vicious funnel falls back to Earth, lays down, is peaceable again. One of the most important steps you can take to help calm the storm is to not allow yourself to be taken in a flurry of overwrought emotion or despair — thereby accidentally contributing to the swale and the swirl. Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts — adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take “everyone on Earth” to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both — are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

There will always be times in the midst of “success right around the corner, but as yet still unseen” when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it; I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours: They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.

This comes with much love and prayer that you remember who you came from, and why you came to this beautiful, needful Earth,

Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D.

http://www.mavenproductions.com/esteswindow4.html

While Washington decides what do, Af-Pak is burning. Carrying out the imperial diktat has put the Pakistan army under enormous strain. Its recent well-publicised offensive in South Waziristan yielded little. Its intended target disappeared to fight another day. To show good faith the military raided the Shamshatoo refugee camp in Peshawar. On 4 November I received an email from Peshawar:

Thought I’d let you know that I just got a call from a former Gitmo prisoner who lives in Shamshatoo camp and he told me that this morning at around 10 a.m. some cops and military men came and raided several homes and shops and arrested many people. They also killed three innocent schoolchildren. Their jinaza [funeral] is tonight. Several people took footage of the raid from their cell-phones which I can try to get a hold of. The funeral of the three children is happening as I’m typing.

How could this end well? Full article.

when u try to go to “war” against a handful of terrorists, this is what happens: civilans get killed, uprooted, terrorized. to wage war on ur own civilians is perverted. it will backfire.

from ed kinane who was there at yesterday’s protest:

“Like many other high-tech weapons, drones are indiscriminate: they can kill offensively or defensively, invaders or resisters. They kill combatants and non-combatants, adults and children. Because most victims are civilian, drones are terrorist weapons. Terror isn’t just something “they” do. Perpetrators of terrorism can have dark skin or light, be “Islamic” or “Christian.” Terrorists can be state or non-state actors. Terrorist budgets can be scanty or vast. Terrorist weapons can be low-tech or high-tech. They can be launched from land, sea or air.” Full article.

on november 15th, 2009 all of upstate ny mobilized to oppose the operation of drones out of the 174th air national guard base in syracuse. a series of events was organized by the syracuse peace council: “for reasons of both security and morality, the syracuse peace council opposes invasion and occupation. we also oppose rogue assassination – i.e. execution with no judicial due process. further, we oppose the piloting of the reaper from a base in our backyard.”

about 250 people attended from all over ny, including albany, binghamton, buffalo, rochester, canaan, chatham, cortland, ithaca, saratoga, syracuse, and vernon.

some of the groups represented at this protest included broome county peace action, syracuse peace council, earth first, ithaca catholic worker, international socialist organization, rochester SDS, wny peace center, bethlehem neighbors for peace, veterans for peace, the green party, rochester against war, school of the americas watch, military families speak out, voices for creative nonviolence, saratoga peace alliance, gandhi institute for peace and nonviolence, chatham peace initiative, and st. joseph’s house.

after assembling at artrage gallery in syracuse (where there is a terrific exhibit of milton rogovin’s black and white photography from all over the world), protesters were offered warm soup and fresh bread. people turned up with drums, guitars, banners, signs and much positive energy. the potato leek soup was by far the most popular. people ate and mingled for a while.

everyone was asked to sign a letter to colonel bradley, 174th flight wing commander, ny air national guard base, hancock international airport, syracuse: “thanks to the reaper assassination campaign hundreds of civilians have been killed. how is such killing to be distinguished from the terrorism the u.s. claims to be fighting? after all, doesn’t our own state department define “terrorism” as the killing of civilians for political purposes? we believe that problems between nations and other political entities must be solved peaceably. respectfully enlisting the support of other powers interested in regional stability, our peace-seeking must be marked by due process, negotiation diplomacy and cooperation. violence only spawns more violence.”

kathy kelly who coordinates voices for creative nonviolence, a campaign to end u.s. military and economic warfare, and who co-founded voices in the wilderness, a group which openly defied economic sanctions against iraq from 1996-2003 by bringing medical supplies to children and families there, spoke briefly: “our capacity to be better people will never be predicated on the maintenance of the insidious and cowardly drone aircraft system.” (watch part of her speech: http://www.mediasanctuary.org/movie/1082)

the group then disbanded to meet up again at the hancock base. there was a rally in front of the base with chants and slogans and lots of signs: central ny says no to drones, peace yes drones no, execution without trial, we are less safe today, fund schools not war, as we fly drones we become a terrorist base, troops home now, yes we can get out of afghanistan, we do not condone the drone, no more blood for oil, get our priorities straight – fund human needs not war, drones = terrorist tools, drones are crematoria in the sky.

legendary american poet and peace activist daniel berrigan, who made a name for himself in the movement against the vietnam war, was present along with his brother jerry. they approached the base to deliver our letter to the base commander. carmen trotta who was managing jerry’s wheelchair, was randomly asked to leave by the police. he refused and was arrested. the letter was handed over to a security officer. the base commander did not appear as promised.

my friend judy bello brought a large number of homemade “bloody shrouds” with her. many protesters wrapped them around their shoulders as they rallied. they also participated in a live performance by lying down on the grass in front of the base – a group of bodies covered by bloody shrouds. it had a chilling effect. an image to remember as we bomb civilians indiscriminately, halfway around the world. all we need now is a joy stick and a video game monitor to wreak havoc on hundreds of people we don’t know anything about. a disturbing idea.

the day ended with a group meeting at artrage gallery. many of the peace groups were present. an action plan was developed along with a communication strategy. this is just the beginning. as warfare becomes more and more automated, grassroots resistance will have to keep pace.

as ed kinane wrote in his article “drones and dishonor in central new york”: “because drones seem – in the short term and within narrow contexts – to reduce u.s. casualties, some cheer them on. however – and this is essential – drones make war easier to initiate and perpetuate. the folks back home wouldn’t even need to hear about the drones’ brave deeds. no thought-provoking body bags – at least not here at home. like many other high-tech weapons, drones are indiscriminate: they can kill offensively or defensively, invaders or resisters. they kill combatants and non-combatants, adults and children. because most victims are civilian, drones are terrorist weapons. terror isn’t just something “they” do. perpetrators of terrorism can have dark skin or light, be “islamic” or “christian.” terrorists can be state or non-state actors. terrorist budgets can be scanty or vast. terrorist weapons can be low-tech or high-tech.” (read ed’s full article at truthout.org: http://www.truthout.org/093009B)

on the same day, november 15th, 150 people rallied against torture and drones at fort huachuca (arizona) home of the u.s. army intelligence center where interrogators are trained. they also delivered a message to the base: they decried the cruel treatment and abuse of detainees from the wars in iraq and afghanistan and they condemned the use of drones. (read more about the protest at fort huachuca: http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/16-5)

it’s heartening that americans are coming together all over the country to oppose wars that do not represent them – their principles, their priorities, their interests. it would be even more heartening to see the emergence of a similar movement in pakistan – a movement based on non-violence and human rights. devastating (and in the long run ineffective) military operations on pakistan’s civilians should not be condoned – whether they involve american drones or pakistan’s own army. massacring and displacing civilians is terrorism and violence can only engender more violence. it’s not a fix.

JEREMY SCAHILL TALKS ABOUT THE WAR.

Every American knows that we are supposedly fighting elsewhere to defend democracy here at home. Yet the crusade for democracy abroad, largely unsuccessful in its own right, has proven remarkably effective in building a technological template that could be just a few tweaks away from creating a domestic surveillance state — with omnipresent cameras, deep data-mining, nano-second biometric identification, and drone aircraft patrolling “the homeland.” Full article.

U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas. Full article.

Security companies reach arrangements with the local Taliban, the local warlords and various insiders to pay them off for protection. It’s very much like an extortion racket and very much like a protection racket, and it amounts to huge amounts of money. Some say ten percent, some say far more than ten percent, of the convoys. Some say that most of the security budgets are going towards these payments to the Taliban and to the tribal leaders and the warlords. watch interview on DN!

beautifully written by matthis chiroux, an american hero.

“It’s time to take care of your troops, America. We are mired in violence and gun lust, post traumatic stress and substance; outward anxiety and inward extremism. Maj. Nidal Hassan is one of us. Eight years we’ve been at war now. The youngest victim of Hassan’s murderous rampage was but 11 when the towers fell. For years, Maj. Hassan listened to the horrors of the occupations which resulted, and it made him crazy, as it made me crazy. Then they told him it was his turn to go, as they told me it was my turn.” Full article.