I Hate The War

To be brutally honest, those of us concerned with “national security” issues (indefinite detention without charge or trial at Guantánamo and elsewhere, trials by Military Commission, and accountability for the Bush administration’s torturers) and foreign policy (the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) could tell by May 2009 that “hope” and “change” were dead in the water.
Whereas Barack Obama had never disguised his desire to step up the military occupation of Afghanistan, while scaling down operations in Iraq, he had promised — or had seemed to promise — a thorough repudiation of the detention policies at Guantánamo and Bagram, and the coercive interrogations and torture that had stalked their cells and interrogation rooms.

That's from Andy Worthington's "The Midterm Elections: The Death of Hope and Change" (Public Record) and it was really funny, as the election was mere weeks away, to watch all the whiners (I'm not referring to Andy Worthington, I don't think he ever expected the press to cover the wars) show up and start bemoaning those politicians who just refused to discuss Iraq. Refused to? Whether I was catching a debate in Florida or elsewhere, I never saw a politician refuse to discuss Iraq this election cycle. I did see them not be asked about Iraq. The New York debate, for example, the senate debate between Senator Charles Schumer (who won re-election Tuesday) and his challenger Jay Townsenda, the press never asked about the wars. We did have time for someone to ask a question that was 'in the news,' the questioner stated, because of a new movie. Ooooh. Wow. In fact, say "Ooooh." (Joey Lauren Adams style in Sleep With Me -- **correction** 120 seconds in on this clip. Thanks to Maria for catching that and e-mailing to correct me on the time -- I wrongly stated 40 seconds in.)

But the media wanted to pretend that politicians were eluding the topic when, reality, they weren't being asked about it. Repeating, I never saw this election cycle one candidate beg off a question about Iraq.

What we did see was they refused to cover Iraq, they refused to report from it (with few exceptions), refused to put it on your TV screens and then, after months of silence, they wanted to turn around and whine that politicians didn't talk about the Iraq War.

Where was the foreign policy discussion in this cycle?

The press didn't want it.

If the press at large gave a damn about the wars in any sense at all -- even strictly as a news topic -- they would have reported what Philip J. Crowley said at the State Dept last week in his press briefing. Said in front of the press corps, answering one of their questions. Did you catch it on the network news, did you see it in the New York Times? Nope.

White House is ready to renegotiate the SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) and keep the US military in Iraq past 2011. And you didn't read about it.

Crowley said so.

But you didn't read about it.

And you didn't see it on your TV screen.

And Amy Goodman and her so-called exception to the rulers, Amy Goodman who hectored Lesley Stahl pretending that she (Goody) somehow knew more about journalism than Stahl, couldn't tell you about it. Excuse me, wouldn't.

Wouldn't tell you about it because she was *not* going to do anything that might upset the Dem chances for re-election. She's pathetic. I think people will start to see how pathetic she and her ilk are -- especially with regards to war -- when Ava and I do our piece at Third on Sunday. It's nothing new -- the big revelation -- it's just you never had it broadcast so openly as it was Tuesday night. People hinted, but no one ever said it outloud and outright. And when it got said, did you notice, no one rushed to object. Not one of them. They explained why the wars didn't matter to them, they Clarissa Explained It All and I don't think -- even now -- they grasp what it said about them.

There's a guy who was participating in that awful moment and he's forever sending things to the public e-mail account, wanting this noted and that noted. We haven't noted a damn thing from him here since Tuesday night. But I have checked to make sure, at his site, that he hasn't written of that moment. And he hasn't. So he does not grasp what that moment revealed -- that show stopper of a jaw dropping moment? Or is he just hoping nobody else saw it -- or at least not anyone who might call him on it?

I have no idea but the silence on the war from the beggar media, the so-called 'independent' media is not by accident. It's not by chance. It's very much intended. It's why they repeatedly pull their punches on Barack and soften their criticism and write garbage hailing him as "liberal democrat." At best, he's a neoliberal Democrat -- at best. And, no, that's nothing the left should be thrilled about.


It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last week, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4430. Tonight it remains [PDF format warning] 4430.



The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.


iraq
i hate the war
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