When it comes to the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the United States is doing the wrong thing. At least, they are according to more than 2/3rds of all Americans.
A recent New York Times/CBS News poll shows disillusionment about the decade long quagmire has reached an all time high, with more and more people demanding the withdrawal come soon than later.
This poll adds to the growingbody of dissenters who’ve had a change of heart, saying the war in Afghanistan is lost and needs to be abandoned ASAP.
One more American torture facility has been uncovered, this time in Poland. Under backlash from the US Government, prominent Poles have revealed damning details of a prison run by the CIA on Polish soil.
A similar CIA ‘interrogation’ program, unmasked in 2009, was being held at an exclusive horseback riding academy in Lithuania. Inmates, suspected of harboring violent intent against the United States, were subjected to various forms of torture including “sleep deprivation, forced standing, painful stress positions.”
Just to be clear, these clandestine prisons have zero public oversight. Most Americans have no knowledge of said places, nor would they authorize such atrocities were it up to them. (more…)
Canadian’s are facing austerity cuts across the board – wage freezes, slashed funding, and major reforms to pensions – yet the Conservatives seem hellbent on acquiring some fancy new planes for $9 billion. Or is it $10 billion now, or more?
Where are their priorities? With the pressing needs of Canadians, or with getting their kickbacks from the Defense Industry?
As CBC revealed yesterday, these jets don’t even meet the necessary requirements for jets in the Great White North. Way to drop the ball, Tories. (more…)
“Doc, save his life.” chuckled an American soldier, standing over the dead and dying bodies of (reportedly) Iraqi militants, “Got a band-aid?” Disgusting. Not a single trace of honor in their behavior, which, incidentally, is a clear violation of the Geneva convention.
First up is a whimsical cartoon depicting what many of us have come to know: that underneath the overbearing exterior of power tripping authority figures resides a scared little child desperately trying to protect itself.
Second is a piece decrying the hypocrisy in American politics. This cartoon could be equally applicable to the Canadian Conservatives, except instead of a tank there’d be Harper flying an F-35 to a mega-prison while cutting social services.
“No amount of troops, training or money will result in a stable Afghanistan. It is time to bring the troops home now,” writes Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich in a statement released today.
“Yesterday’s shooting in Afghanistan which left at least 16 civilians dead is a tipping point,” continues Kucinich, “This shooting follows days of deadly rioting after it was revealed that U.S. troops had incinerated copies of the Koran. Despite more than a decade at war and nearly $600 billion of U.S. tax-payer dollars, it is obvious that the U.S. presence in Afghanistan has created instability in that country, not stability.”
Here we go. Yet another voice confirming the war in Afghanistan has failed.
Really, it was doomed from the get-go. Democracy cannot be installed by outside forces, lasting peace will never be found through violence, and the only thing a foreign military usually liberates is the people’s natural resources.
Let us learn from our mistakes and be sure not to repeat them. We have no room for war in our world, nor do we have the need.
Tuesday the POTUS criticized anti-Iran rhetoric coming from the Republican front runners, saying “When I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I’m reminded of the costs involved.”
“Typically it’s not the folks who are popping off who pay the price,” Obama said, adding, “it’s these incredible men and women in uniform and their families who pay the price.”
The world is improving faster than ever before, speeding us all towards a brighter future. Yet, for us to go from here to there, enough of us will have to abandon certain perspectives and internalize new ones. That being said, here’s 3 key scripts that need to be flipped: (more…)
Earlier this month, a leaked military report revealed just how ineffectual the invasion in Afghanistan has been.
Now, another classified document – this time an 80 page report penned by US Lt. Colonel Daniel L. Davis – has surfaced to confirm the Afghan military excursion shows an “absence of success” on almost all levels. In other words, it is another senseless and tragic waste of lives and treasure.
So does that mean that all those brave men and women sacrificed their lives in vain? Yes, although it will offer no comfort to the loved ones left behind, that’s pretty much what is being said.
Then why even say it, one may ask. Simple: to learn from the mistake.
Major armed conflicts have no place in today’s world. For one, they don’t serve any purpose, other than destabilizing entire regions and lining the pockets of the war-profiteers. Second, there’s no one left to fight – no one that can be fought with armies and tanks and bombs, anyway.
If we want to live in a safer world, we must exercise alternatives to war, since the armed invasion route clearly does not work.
When it comes to the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the United States is doing the wrong thing. At least, they are according to more than 2/3rds of all Americans.
