Other Road: April 2011

“American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger…” George W. Bush March 19, 2003 [1] “Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world...” Barack Obama March 19, 2011 [2] April Fools’ is a special day for practical jokes on the gullible. In America, where American politicians prey on the gullible every day, April Fools’ Day is just like every other day. Are there still Americans who believe their vote for Obama-Biden in 2008 made a difference in US foreign policy?

Unconstitutional Wars and “Humanitarian Raids”

When Barack Obama ran for President, he pledged to restore morality to American foreign policy. He promised to end the war in Iraq, end torture, and close down Guantanamo. Both Obama and Biden were harsh critics of the unconstitutional invasion of Iraq during the Bush administration.

On Dec 20, 2007, in response to a Boston Globe survey question about when the president would have constitutional authority to bomb another country without congressional approval, then-candidate for President and constitutional scholar Obama stated:

“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”[3]

On “Hardball with Chris Matthews” in 2007, then-candidate for Vice President Joe Biden had this to say about the Bush administration invasion of Iraq (video):

“The President has no Constitutional authority to take this nation to war… unless we’re attacked or unless there is proof we’re about to be attacked.”

On March 18th, 2011, now-President Obama must have changed his mind. He unilaterally authorized US airstrikes in Libya. Was there any “actual or imminent threat to the nation”? Obviously not, as Obama euphemistically described US attacks as part of a noble-sounding mission to provide “humanitarian assistance” for the people of Libya:

“Now, here is why this matters to us. Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Qaddafi would commit atrocities against his people. Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners. ” (4:48 in video)

Past examples of US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan caused the very things President Obama says he wants to prevent from occurring in Libya:

Many thousands have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A humanitarian crisis ensued after the US invasion.
The entire region is destabilized so that the US has moved the fight to Yemen and Pakistan—and now to Libya.

Starting another unconstitutional war by attacking Libya guarantees the same results for Libya.

President Obama says US military support was necessary to prevent protesting Libyans from being murdered by their government, but:

On February 18th, government shooters slaughtered peaceful protestors in Bahrain. By March 14th, over 1000 Saudi troops and 500 UAE police entered Bahrain to stifle protests.[4][5] The US did nothing—the Saudis are US allies.
The day before Obama announced US plans to attack Libya to prevent "unspeakable atrocities," security police of Yemen's President Saleh, slaughtered dozens of protesters in Yemen.[6] The US did not intervene—the Yemen dictatorship helps the US in its “war on terror.”
Three days after Obama’s announcement, on March 22nd, the Syrian government killed six protesters, dozens more by the end of the week, and at least a dozen more on April 1st by sniper fire.[7] [8] Syria is not a US ally—John McCain and Joe Lieberman issued a joint statement calling on the Obama administration to threaten Syria.

Restoring US “Moral Stature”

“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do. I will get out troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.” Then-Senator Barack Obama speaking about Iraq war in October 27, 2007 (video)

“I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.” President-elect Obama November 2008 on 60 minutes (11:10 in video)

After his election, President Obama said he wanted to “regain America’s moral stature in the world.” Since Obama has been in office, the US government has:

Maintained US troops in Iraq.
Kept Guantanamo open.
Not ended the extraordinary rendition of prisoners.
Increased troop levels in Afghanistan. Twelve US soldiers are undergoing court martial for murdering Afghan civilians in 2010 for fun. Concerned about the effect on “America’s moral stature in the world,” the US spent 100 days in talks with Afghan government officials and Vice President Biden apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[9]
Targeted US citizens for assassination.
Continues drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen killing thousands—mostly civilians.
Attacked Libya with cruise missiles to support a rebellion against dictator Qaddafi—another war without congressional approval. But don’t worry, the UN said it was ok. Western attacks on Tripoli killed at least 40 civilians.[10] Among the rebels supported by US attacks are members of al-Qaeda.[11]
Let NATO lead the strikes in Libya after criticism of airstrikes killing children by the Vatican.[12][13]
Kept CIA operatives in Libya for weeks despite Obama’s March 18th statement: “The United States is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya.”[14]

Thus far, the Obama administration has continued the Bush record of killing and murdering civilians, violating the rights of Americans and foreigners, and destabilizing a half dozen countries. That probably won’t improve the “moral stature” of the US around the world.

Who Is the Fool?

Would voting for McCain for President in 2008 have made any difference? Not likely: “conservative” Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain have no problem with unconstitutional wars. They both criticized the Obama administration for waiting so long to intervene in Libya (McCain video). According to Kyl:

"I agree with Senator McCain that we lost the opportunity two weeks ago to in effect freeze the situation on the ground after the rebels in Libya had taken over all of the country except just the internal part of Tripoli."[15]

When the US lessened its operations in Libya, McCain, who has never seen an unconstitutional war he didn’t like, criticized Defense Secretary Gates, saying:

"Your timing is exquisite, withdrawing our unique offensive capabilities at this time sends the exact wrong signal both to our coalition partners as well as to the Kadhafi regime, especially to those Libyan officials whom we are trying to compel to break with Kadhafi."

If you’re still gullible enough to believe a vote for an Obama or a McCain makes a difference, the joke is on you all year round, not just on April Fools’ Day.

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[1] “PRESIDENT BUSH'S STATEMENT,” Mar 19, 2003, PBS, (Accessed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/bush_3-19.html on April 1, 2011).

[2] “Remarks by the President on Libya," Mar 20, 2011, The White House Blog, (Accessed at http://m.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/20/remarks-president-libya-today-we-are-part-broad-coalition-we-are-answering-calls-thron April 1, 2011).

[3] “Barack Obama's Q&A,” By Charlie Savage, Globe, December 20, 2007, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/ObamaQA/ on Mar 23, 2011).

[4] “Feb. 18: Updates on Middle East Protests,” By ROBERT MACKEY, Feb 18, 2011, NY Times Blog, (Accessed at http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/latest-updates-on-middle-east-protests-5/?partner=rss&emc=rss on April 1, 2011).

[5] “Ahmadi-Nejad condemns foreign troops in Bahrain,” By Robin Wigglesworth in Manama and Simeon Kerr in Dubai, Financial Times, Mar 14, 2011 (Accessed at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5754805a-4e44-11e0-a9fa-00144feab49a.html#axzz1IPEUE5Gg on April 1, 2011).

[6] “Dozens of Protesters Are Killed in Yemen,” By LAURA KASINOF and ROBERT F. WORTH, NY Times, Mar 18, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19yemen.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=yemen%20and%20protesters%20and%20killed&st=cse on April 1, 2011).

[7] “Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters,” Al Jazeera, 26 Mar 2011, (Accessed at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011325145817688433.html on April 1, 2011).

[8] “At least 12 killed in anti-government rallies in Syria,” April 1, 2011, Deutsche-Presse Agentur, (Accessed at http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1630193.php/At-least-12-killed-in-anti-government-rallies-in-Syria on April 1, 2011).

[9] “ US Army Apologizes for Horrific Photos from Afghanistan,” By Matthias Gebauer and Hasnain Kazim, Speigel, Mar 21, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,752310,00.html on April 1, 2011).

[10] “At least 40 civilians dead in Tripoli strikes: Vatican official,” Mar 31, 2011, Reuters, (Accessed at http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/9113812/at-least-40-civilians-dead-in-tripoli-strikes-vatican-official/ on April 1, 2011).

[11] “Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links,” By Praveen Swami, Nick Squires and Duncan Gardham, 25 Mar 2011, Telegraph, (Accessed at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html on April 1, 2011).