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Date Posted: 04:30:13 01/21/10 Thu
Author: MaryAnne
Subject: Peace vs War

I am not a Tom Hayden fan,but he makes sense in this one.

Dear Mary,

As another year of war rolls in, I want to thank PDA for its continuing pressure on the pillars of power which prevents these wars from escalating further and poses an important political obstacle to the Pentagon and Administration.

It’s not simple. Study is required, to be sure.

But the Long War of fifty years against Muslim countries where radical Islamists operate, and where the oil flows through tankers and pipelines, is not hard to grasp. That’s a continuous war through 13 future American presidential elections.

If Bilmes and Stiglitz project a three trillion dollar cost for Iraq and Afghanistan, you have to wonder where the money is coming from. It’s from education and health care, for starters. If 6,274 Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan thus far, it’s not hard to imagine 10,000 dead by Obama’s second term.

That is, if the president wins a second term. The hope of the Obama presidency depends on ending these wars. The hope of our domestic agenda depends on ending these wars as well.

Obama has offered us a centrist proposal, to which we should pay close attention. On the one hand, he is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, which we should urge Congress to oppose by supporting Barbara Lee’s HR 3699 (to cut funding) and Jim McGovern’s HR 2404 (exit strategy). On the other hand, he proposes to begin withdrawing troops in 18 months, which we should support and hold him to. No one in the anti-war movement supports the President’s escalation, but we should be very aware that his withdrawal plan, however weak, is his concession to the peace movement and is absolutely loathed by the Long War advocates.

Don’t forget Iraq, where the president is on track to withdraw all American troops, and where political ambushes lie ahead. Nor Pakistan and Yemen, where secret wars, secret deaths and secret costs are being hidden by the master of secret operations, Gen. McChrystal (whose five years in Iraq are classified).

The Cheneys and Liebermans and Fox News want to chase al-Qaeda from Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Yemen in a weird revival of the old domino theory. It’s almost as if our hawks are agents of al-Qaeda, so thoroughly do they pursue the al-Qaeda strategy of exhausting the American economy and stretching our armed forces to the breaking point.

Here are two ways you can help the peace effort go forward: first, sign and circulate this petition and join The Peace Exchange (for now, go to my website, www.tomhayden.com). In addition to pressuring Congress and the administration, these are ways to link up with a global peace alliance pressuring the NATO war alliance, city by city, country by country.

Thank you for persevering for peace. The Long War will require a longer peace and justice movement.

For peace and justice,

Tom Hayden
PDA Advisory Board member

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