[PAA-Discuss] Fwd: Why New Evidence Demands End to Wars

[ChasMauch at aol.com]

This is a very interesting article!
Charlie
 
In a message dated 12/1/2010 10:16:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
david at davidswanson.org writes:

Why New  Evidence Demands End to Wars
With Wikileaks Revelations, Peace Community  Redoubles Demand for End to 
Wars and Voices Support for Whistleblowers

While only a tiny fraction of the U.S. diplomatic cables  scheduled for 
publication by Wikileaks have thus far been made available, some  conclusions 
can already be drawn.  These cables and the Iraq and Afghan  War Diaries 
provide an opportunity for Americans to see our government for  what it is.
Our government is seen here as controlling a global  military and espionage 
empire that impacts every region of the globe and  deceives its own 
population. Secrecy, spying, and hostility have infected our  entire government, 
turning the diplomatic corps into an arm of the CIA and the  military, just as 
the civilian efforts in Afghanistan are described by Richard  Holbrooke, 
who heads them up, as "support for the military."   Secret war planning, 
secret wars, and lies about wars have become  routine.  The United States is 
secretly and illegally  engaged in a war in Yemen and has persuaded that 
nation's government to lie  about it.  The United States has supported a coup in 
Honduras and lied  about it.
We have long known that the war on terrorism was  increasing, rather than 
diminishing, terrorism.  These leaks  show Saudi Arabia to be the greatest 
sponsor of terrorism, and show that  nation's dictator, King Abdullah, to be 
very close to our own government in  its treatment of prisoners.  He has 
urged the United States  to implant microchips in prisoners released from 
Guantanamo.   And he has urged the United States to illegally and aggressively 
attack  Iran.  Congress should immediately block what would be the  largest 
weapons sale in U.S. history, selling this country $60 billion in  weapons.  
And Congress should drop any idea of "updating" the 2001  Authorization to Use 
Military Force to permit presidents to unconstitutionally  launch more 
wars.  We see what sort of wars our allies urge  on our presidents.  
We learn that while dictators urge war, other branches of  the same 
governments, the people, and the evidence weigh against it.  We learn from a cable 
from last February that Russia has  refuted U.S. claims that Iran has 
missiles that could target Europe.  We  learn from September 2009 that the United 
States and Britain planned to  pressure Yukiya Amano, the then incoming head 
of the International Atomic  Energy Agency, to produce reports suggesting 
Iranian nuclear developments,  whether or not merited by the facts, and that 
National Security Adviser Gen.  Jim Jones proposed the propaganda strategy 
of baselessly tying Iran's nuclear  program to North Korea's.Much of the 
pressure for war appears to come from  within the United States, whose 
representatives treat the entire world as a  hostile enemy to be spied on, lied to, 
and exploited.  The  secrecy that permits this behavior must be broken if the 
United States'  approach to the world is to change.  Those who have helped  
to fulfill President Obama's campaign promise of transparency must be  
protected from his vengeance, while those who have abused positions of  
diplomatic trust to advance agendas of espionage and war planning must be held  
accountable.  
While other countries may offer residency and protection to  Wikileaks' 
Julian Assange, it is the United States that has most benefitted  from his 
work.  We encourage U.S. cities to offer him  sanctuary. 
Our Department of Justice has granted immunity for  aggressive war, 
kidnapping, torture, assassination, and warrantless spying,  while pursuing the 
criminal prosecution of Bradley Manning for allegedly  leaking materials to 
Wikileaks.  Were our government to  indict Assange or support the extradition 
or rendition of Assange from  anywhere in the world to Sweden, while 
maintaining that his work and not the  Pentagon's has endangered us, our nation's 
moral standing would reach a new  low.   
Our government should cease any actions it is taking to  prosecute Julian 
Assange for absurd criminal charges, to pressure Sweden to do  so, or to 
sabotage Wikileaks' servers. Coverups of leaks have a  history in Washington of 
backfiring in the form of larger leaks and  scandals.  Our State Department 
should focus on diplomacy and mutually  beneficial partnerships with the 
world community. 
The undersigned express our gratitude to those doing the  job a 
representative government and an independent media are each supposed to  do.  We demand 
an end to all overt and covert wars, a ban on  the use of State Department 
employees and contractors in spying or warfare,  and a full investigation of 
the facts revealed in the Wikileaks  cables.   
We support the protest of our current wars planned for  December 16th, 10 
a.m., at the White House.
Signed,
Medea  Benjamin
Leslie Cagan
Tim Carpenter
Gael Murphy
Cindy  Sheehan
David Swanson
Debra Sweet
Kevin Zeese

Ann  Wright


-- 
David Swanson is the author of "War Is A Lie"  
_http://warisalie.org_ (http://warisalie.org/)  
_http://davidswanson.org_ (http://davidswanson.org/)  
_http://warisacrime.org_ (http://warisacrime.org/)  
_http://facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319_ 
(http://facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319)  
_http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson_ (http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson)  
_http://youtube.com/afterdowningstreet_ 
(http://youtube.com/afterdowningstreet) 




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Subject: [Activists] Why New Evidence Demands End to Wars
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