Image by Alisdare Hickson via Flickr
by Dennis Kucinich
World Beyond War, Oct. 20, 2016
October 21, 2016
The most consequential statement by Secretary Clinton in last night’s debate was her pronouncement that a no-fly zone over Syria could “save lives and hasten the end of the conflict,” that a no-fly zone would provide “safe zones on the ground” was in “the best interests of the people on the ground in Syria” and would “help us with our fight against ISIS.”
It would do none of the above. A US attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Syria would, as Secretary Clinton once cautioned a Goldman Sachs audience, “kill a lot of Syrians,” and, according to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dunford, lead to a war with Russia. If the US has not been invited into a country to establish a “no-fly zone” such an action is, in fact, an invasion, an act of war.
It is abundantly clear from our dark alliance with Saudi Arabia and our conduct in support of jihadists in Syria that our current leaders have learned nothing from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya as we prepare to plunge head-long into the abyss of a world war.
Our international relations are built upon lies to promote regime changes, the fantasy of a unipolar world ruled by America, and a blank check for the national security state.
As others prepare for war, we must prepare for peace. We must answer the mindless call to arms with a thoughtful, soulful call to resist the coming build up for war. A new, resolute peace movement must arise, become visible and challenge those who would make war inevitable.
We must not wait until the Inauguration to begin to build a new peace movement in America.
from the archives:
What Hillary Clinton Privately Told Goldman Sachs by David Swanson
Tariq Ali: Is Trump Any Worse Than Clinton? I’d Vote For Jill Stein
Chris Hedges: It’s Our Bombs, Not Trump’s Comments, that Fuel Hatred Towards the United States
Cold War, Today, Tomorrow, Every Day Till The End Of The World by William Blum
How We Could End the Permanent War State by Gareth Porter (#NoWar2016)
Chris Hedges: To Stop Terrorism, End U.S. Occupation of the Middle East
Julian Assange: Hillary Clinton’s Ties to Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, ISIS, and the DNC Leaks
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Dennis Kucinich would be an amazing president, but at this point I’d settle for Secretary of State. I supported him for president in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
It’s so good to have a thoughtful intelligent voice at the national level.
Of course, you know that Kucinich is no longer a congressperson.
Whatever the result in November, either one of them should be immediately indicted for criminal misconduct.
The word “should”, but we know it’s never going to happen.
I think there is a definite problem with introverted echo-chamber self-importance in the US. A mutually reinforced intellectual bubble arrogance that simply elides the rest of the world, as though the only people worth listening to must be American. This is a symptom of a run-away cultural narcissism that is deeply worrying.
I’ve just listened to Patrick Cockburn talking about the Middle-east on LRB. Quite refreshing really. Definitely recommended.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/2016/10/20/patrick-cockburn/video-patrick-cockburn-on-the-age-of-jihad
Thanks for the link, David.
There is a problem with continuing the meme for non peaceful Jihad. Trouble is made by promoting it as the sole solution. See Abdul Ghaffar Khan and M. Ghandi. Brits have had an ugly hand in empire building. That said I will give it a listen.
Thanks for mentioning the legacy of Abdul Ghaffar Khan; I did not know anything about him really, so I welcome that perspective. I totally agree about the ugliness of ‘old school’ imperious fanatics.
All the European powers still have a good deal to answer for. It is tragic that the USA has fallen prey to the same disease of hegemonic ambition. I’d say it’s been arguably responsible for even more egregious abuses in a far shorter time.
I cannot vouch for Cockburn’s impartiality, but he seems to be fair minded, and a realist.