Put Down the Pom-Poms

Vice President Biden dusted off a pair of Bush administration pom-poms and trotted out its best cheer for war last week: continued military effort and occupation in Afghanistan, he told the BBC, are in the U.S. and U.K.'s best interests as they're the only way to prevent another terrorist attack like Sept. 11. "It is worth the effort we are making," Biden said, as terror groups could "wreak havoc" on Europe and the US, and both countries must endure more "sacrifice."

It's shocking, really, from an administration that promised change, this couldn't sound like more of the same misleading rhetoric that tricked Americans into the bloody, unjust war in Iraq. For seven long years, Bush & Co. argued that "Islamist terrorists" of the Middle East would run free and Americans would be in constant danger of another Sept. 11 -- end of story. By inflating the threat of attack with faulty logic, the administration scared Americans into ignoring facts and supporting a massive push of troops into a largely innocent country. (Listen to an Afghan woman's critique of the occupation in the interview below by CODEPINK activist and journalist, Liz Kimmerly.)

Eventually the truth emerged: Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein and Iraqis were disinterested in and disconnected to Al Qaeda or the Taliban, and there existed no withdrawal or rebuilding plans for Iraq. Thousands and then millions of Americans began to see through this fear-mongering propaganda, although it was too late for over a million Iraqi civilians and 4,000 American (and counting) soldiers killed, the US economy, the women sent back to the middle ages and Iraq's destroyed infrastructure.

Biden's words really shouldn't shock us. For months, the Obama administration has taken its cues from the Bush regime and given us more of the same. In February, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration had already signaled its commitment to continuing the C.I.A.'s program of transferring prisoners to other countries without legal rights, and indefinitely detaining terrorism suspects without trials even if they were arrested far from a war zone. Guantanamo prison is still open, despite his campaign promise to close it. In February, Obama reneged on another promise to withdraw troops from Iraq immediately and instead announced an Aug. 2010 deadline, with residual troops left behind until December 2011. My partner, Medea Benjamin commented that "this timeline and leaving tens of thousands of residual troops sounds more like occupation-lite than an end to occupation." In March, he announced a troop surge in Afghanistan, an increase of 4,000 combat troops and spending 60 percent more than the current levels of $2 billion per month, and pushed through Congress an additional $94.2 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a supplemental that will further destabilize the Middle East and Central Asia, threaten worldwide security and push the total cost to the U.S. taxpayer over $700 billion.

But these policies will fail, just like those of the Bush administration. They fuel the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and lead to more civilian deaths -- in 2008, amid U.S. military operations, civilian casualties climbed 40 percent, further alienating Afghans who increasingly view the U.S. as an occupying force. They create instability in Pakistan and continue to bankrupt the U.S. economy at a time of sky-high unemployment.

Americans will soon see through these policies, and the rhetoric that surrounds them, despite more cheerleading from the administration. A USA Today/Gallup Poll in March found 42 percent of Americans felt the Afghanistan war was "a mistake," an increase of 30 percent earlier this year and 34 percent in August 2008. They're assurance that the United States cannot defeat an ideology, cannot fight the "war on terror" with troops and bombs will grow. Biden must invest his energy in calling for diplomacy, development, investment in infrastructure and accountability from the corrupt leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq that the US supports. That is, if he's serious about ending these twin wars and occupations and keeping Americans safe.

Follow Jodie Evans on Twitter: www.twitter.com/codepinkalert

Comments

[Lisa Savage]

I would suggest that Vice President Biden has taken a great deal more money from corporations who make enormous profits in Afghanistan and Iraq than the author of this blog, Jodie Evans. Ditto for President Obama.

The rhetoric employed by our elected officials, who serve those who pay for their re-election campaigns, and do not actually represent the American public, should not confuse anyone.

Using fear tactics (Remember 9/11! We must fight terrorists over there or we'll have to fight them over here! etc.) is an old trope for oligarchies using mainstream media and other propaganda outlets to manipulate the masses. Here's a quote from one of the best:

Natürlich wollen die Menschen keinen Krieg. Das ist einfach. Alles, was Sie tun müssen, ist, ihnen zu sagen, daß sie angegriffen werden und die Kriegsgegner dafür zu denunzieren, daß ihnen Patriotismus fehlt und sie das Land einer Gefahr aussetzen. Es funktioniert in jedem Land gleichermaßen

TRANSLATION: "Of course the people don't want war. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." Hermann Göring, Nuremberg trials

[PrincipiaChamp]

"I would suggest that Vice President Biden has taken a great deal more money from corporations who make enormous profits in Afghanistan and Iraq than the author of this blog, Jodie Evans. Ditto for President Obama."

Your statement, obviously a somewhat clumsy attempt to show support for the author of this blog entry, is non sequitur.

[LizM]

LIsa,

What companies are you talking about? I think you are mistaken with respect to your suggestion that VP Biden "has taken a great deal more money from corporations who make enormous profits in Afghanistan and Iraq than the author of this blog..."

As for the rest of your post, I'm confused as to what is your point.

[LizM]

I would suggest that Vice President Biden knows a great deal more about what how to shape and direct US policy in Afghanista­n/Pakistan and Iraq than you and most of the rest of us here. You should keep that in mind when adding your voice to this very important debate.

And, here's another friendly word of advice...equating Obama/BIDEN with Bush/CHENEY is a fools game and anyone who plays it risks losing a great deal of their own credibility.

Finally, if you knew anything about Vice President Biden, then you would know that he believes - to his core - that America should lead not only by the example of its power but also by the power of its example. Diplomacy, in fact, forms the very basis of the Biden strategy to promote and facilitate a sustainable political settlement in Iraq that will allow for the withdrawal of US troops without leaving a dangerously fragmented and failed state in their wake. Where were you when Senator Biden needed your support on this?

Also fundamental to his world view, is his strong adherence to the fact that no foreign policy, no matter how meritorious or warranted, can be long sustained without the informed consent of the American people.