Winning Hearts & Minds

Great is the Guilt of an Unnecessary War – Vietnam Edition

"The Vietnam War ended forty years ago, but its toxic legacy lives on in children born decades after the conflict came to a close. One of them is 12-year-old Thi Ly, whose head is unnaturally large and visibly misshapen and her eyes are separated by an unusual distance and out of alignment. From the time she was an infant, Ly has been repeatedly hospitalized for numerous ailments. Her 43-year-old mother, Le Thi Thu, has similar deformities. Both of them are second- and third-generation victims of exposure to dioxin as a result of the U.S. military’s use of a defoliant called Agent Orange that was used extensively over parts of southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreat is the Guilt of an Unnecessary War – Vietnam Edition

War Hawk McCain Plays Game on His iPhone During Syria Testimony

"Senator John McCain plays poker on his IPhone during a U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing where Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey testify concerning the use of force in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, Tuesday, September 3, 2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWar Hawk McCain Plays Game on His iPhone During Syria Testimony

Pelosi: Willing to “Protect” Syrian Children To Death

"No recorded examples exist of Pelosi expressing anguish over the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children who perished in anguish from starvation and disease as a result of the US-inflicted embargo that lasted from 1991 to 2003. Pelosi’s silence about that atrocity tacitly ratifies the assessment of her fellow humanitarian warmonger, Madeleine Albright, who blithely told 60 Minutes that the extermination of a half-million or more Iraqi children was a suitable price to pay in order to 'punish' Saddam Hussein. Pelosi has likewise been silent about the ongoing horrors experienced by the children of Fallujah, an Iraqi city that was pulverized by the US military in 2004." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPelosi: Willing to “Protect” Syrian Children To Death

Americans don’t want U.S. military strike against Syria, poll finds

"Two new polls out Tuesday have found strong opposition to US military intervention in Syria among a war-weary American public despite increasing support in Washington for punitive strikes. A survey carried out by the Pew Research Center over the weekend found that 48 percent of Americans oppose 'conducting military airstrikes' against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons compared to 29 percent who support such action. A Washington Post-ABC news poll found a similar margin, with nearly six in 10 Americans opposed to missile strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The polls found opposition across the political spectrum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans don’t want U.S. military strike against Syria, poll finds

Kerry After Syria Hearing Protest: ‘I Once Had Very Similar Feelings’

"'The first time I testified before this committee when I was 27 years old, I had feelings very similar to that protester,' Kerry said after order was restored. 'I would just say that is exactly why it is so important that we are all here having this debate, talking about these things before the country and that the Congress itself will act representing the American people. And I think we can all respect those who have a different point of view. And we do.' Kerry said a Syria strike would 'unequivocally' make the U.S. more secure, and Hagel said there are U.S. allies in the region ready to support any U.S. action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry After Syria Hearing Protest: ‘I Once Had Very Similar Feelings’

Protester crashes Syria hearing: ‘The American people do not want this’

"CODEPINK co-founder and anti-war activist Medea Benjamin interrupted a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the possibility of a U.S. military strike in Syria on Tuesday. Video posted by Talking Points Memo shows Benjamin 'We don’t want another war,' before being grabbed by security and led out of the hearing. In 2012, Benjamin protested a speech by another Obama administration official, counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan, saying the White House’s use of unmanned attack drones was 'making us less safe by killing so many innocent people around the world.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProtester crashes Syria hearing: ‘The American people do not want this’

Angry anti-war protesters besiege John Kerry’s home, banging on doors, windows

"On Sunday, anti-war protestors protested the anti-war protestor, and with that, as Shakespeare once said, 'the wheel is come full circle.' In the aftermath of Secretary of State John Kerry making a forceful case on Friday for U.S. military intervention in Syria, protesters assembled outside his townhouse on Beacon Hill. Yes, the Vietnam veteran who became a leading anti-war activist after serving is now advocating for war. According to Twitter users, as Twitchy reported, protesters pounded on Kerry’s front door and windows, but he wasn’t home. Of course, past precedent tells us if there is a crisis at hand, Kerry’s likely to be found aboard his 76-foot yacht, the 'Isabel.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAngry anti-war protesters besiege John Kerry’s home, banging on doors, windows

‘Surgical Strikes’ an Orwellian Dream

"Imagine for a moment that you live in the nation’s capitol, by the Pentagon or minutes away in Quantico, the Marine Corps headquarters, or one exit down the parkway from the National Security Agency (NSA) in nearby Maryland. Imagine farther out, places where our Navy fleets are stationed – Norfolk, San Diego – or the main Air Force satellite control center in Colorado Springs. Any military installation across the country. Now imagine what it would be like to hear over radio waves and on your television set that one of those places might be bombed as punishment for something your president did." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Surgical Strikes’ an Orwellian Dream

Signs of a Shift Among Egyptian Protesters to Antigovernment, From Pro-Morsi

"As tens of thousands gathered in the streets of Cairo for the ninth Friday of protests against the takeover, few carried the posters of Mr. Morsi’s face that were once the banner of the Brotherhood’s 'anti-coup' coalition. Instead, almost everyone held a sign with a logo memorializing the mass killing by security forces of hundreds of Morsi supporters on Aug. 14. In at least one march by thousands of demonstrators in the neighborhood of Mohandiseen, many carried signs opposing both the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement behind Mr. Morsi, and the new government installed by General Sisi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSigns of a Shift Among Egyptian Protesters to Antigovernment, From Pro-Morsi

As Egyptians Ignore Curfew, Talk of a U.S.-Brotherhood Conspiracy

"When the conversation turns to politics, the predominant topic is a surprise to American ears: the conspiracy between the United States and the Muslim Brotherhood to destroy Egypt. The 'people’s committees,' which sprung up in Egyptian neighborhoods as a counterweight to the Muslim Brotherhood, in theory were disbanded last week. But that did not stop self-appointed guardians in the Zaki Street market of the Maadi neighborhood from repeatedly demanding identity documents, letters of permission and, especially, proof of not being affiliated with Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news network, which is reviled because it is owned by Qatar, a strong supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Egyptians Ignore Curfew, Talk of a U.S.-Brotherhood Conspiracy