If you are in the NYC area, please come out to this event marking the anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. Jeremy is speaking along with some GREAT SPEAKERS FROM PAKISTAN and AFGHANISTAN. They hope to see you there! (if you're somewhere else, why not let your NYC contacts know?) Please read and support Jeremy Scahill's urgent work!
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Tonight: NYC Event on Afghan War Anniversary
Source: rebelreports dot com here (Jeremy's independent site)
ENDING OBAMA’S WAR: SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 7:00pm Proshansky Auditorium,
The Graduate Center, CUNY365 Fifth Ave at 34th Street
[BDFV & NQRW trains to 34th St, 6 train to 33]
Jeremy Scahill's ongoing concerns: Blackwater in Pakistan and Afghanistan by various names - and other ways the US is stirring up antagonism to the US. SEE other speakers and details below.
Also see: Return of the Warlords”: Afghan Elections Marred by Fraud, Warlord Dominance,” was just produced by my great friend Rick Rowley of BigNoise Films. He is simply the best un-embedded journalist in the field today. If we had a sane nation with a democratic media, Rick’s reporting would appear on network news in the US and not just on Al Jazeera. Rick’s story will appear in full tonight on Al Jazeera English. SOURCE: rebelreports dot com (Jeremy's independent site)
Tonight: NYC Event on Afghan War Anniversary
ENDING OBAMA’S WAR: SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 7:00pm
Proshansky Auditorium, The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave at 34th Street [BDFV & NQRW trains to 34th St, 6 train to 33]
October 7th marks the eighth anniversary of the launch of the US led “War on Terror” in Afghanistan. Defending it as a “war of necessity,” the Obama administration is on the precipice of an enormous troop surge in Afghanistan and an escalation in Pakistan, which has already begun with drone attacks. This strategic dialogue will explore a deeper historic analysis of the realities on the ground in order to inform our resistance in the U.S. and to develop a more effective solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Speakers Include:
Jeremy Scahill: Independent journalist, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He is a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine and a correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now! He is currently a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS’s The NewsHour, Bill Moyers Journal
rebelreports dot com
Zoya: a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). Like many RAWA members, Zoya has witnessed and endured more tragedy and terror than most people do in a lifetime. Zoya grew up during the wars that ravaged Afghanistan and was robbed of her mother and father when they were murdered by fundamentalists - Zoya was only fourteen. Devastated by so much death and destruction, she fled Kabul with her grandmother and started a new life in exile in Pakistan. After attending a school funded by RAWA, she joined the underground women’s organization and continues their work resisting fundamentalism and war today.
rawa dot org
Bill Fletcher: the Executive Editor of The Black Commentator and founder of the Center for Labor Renewal. A longtime labor, racial justice and international activist, he is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum.
blackcommentator dot comrawa dot org
Adaner Usmani: works with the Labor Party of Pakistan (LPP) and Action for a Progressive Pakistan (APP). With these and other groups, he has been involved in antiwar work, principally in Pakistan but also in the US, as well as assorted campaigns for peasant and worker rights. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Sociology from NYU.
progpak dot wordpress dot com
5 comments:
Today marks 8 years since the invasion of Afghanistan; but the Obama Administration has yet to explain how we will end our military entanglement in the country. How many more years must we mark this anniversary with calls to rethink our policy?
General McChrystal has made a request for more troops, but the White House seems to be seriously deliberating whether to grant it.[1] Meanwhile, on the Hill, Representative Barbara Lee has introduced a bill [2] that puts congressional pressure on the President to reject McChrystal's request by prohibiting any increase in the number of troops in Afghanistan.
Could you ask your Representative to co-sponsor Rep. Barbara Lee's bill?
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/lee
On October 1st, 21 members of Congress joined Rep. Barbara Lee to take a definitive step toward exercising Congress' most powerful lever against escalating the war. The bill - H.R. 3699 - would prohibit any increase in the number of troops serving in Afghanistan by declaring that no funds be used for that purpose.
Ask your Representative to oppose escalation of the war in Afghanistan by following the link below:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/lee
Thank you for all you do for a just foreign policy,
Megan Iorio, Sarah Burns, Robert Naiman and Chelsea Mozen
Just Foreign Policy
For those of you on Facebook, there is a unique opportunity today for you to mark the 8th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan by taking part in a virtual vigil at the White House. We've made it easy for you to participate. To learn more, visit
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/vigil
Help us build for a Just Foreign Policy
Your financial contributions to Just Foreign Policy help us create opportunities for Americans to advocate for a just foreign policy.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate.html
References:
1. Robert Naiman, "Is Team Obama Really Rethinking Afghanistan?" October 6, 2009
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/360
2. You can read the full text of the bill - H.R. 3699 - here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3699:
TODAY'S DEMOCRACY NOW!:
* As Afghan War Enters 9th Year, Rep. Barbara Lee -- Lone Lawmaker to Vote Against 2001 Authorization -- Seeks to Block New Troop Surge *
On the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, we speak to Democratic Congressmember Barbara Lee, the only lawmaker in either chamber of Congress to vote against the 2001 resolution authorizing the initial use of force. Lee recently introduced legislation to prohibit funding to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/7/as_afghan_war_enters_9th_year
* Voices from Afghanistan: Afghan Women's Activist Zoya Speaks Out on Eight Years of Occupation *
Zoya is a member of the radical underground organization RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She fled Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion but later returned to her country to document life under Taliban rule. She has been an outspoken critic of the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/7/voices_from_afghanistan_afghan_womens_activist
* "Return of the Warlords": Afghan Elections Marred by Fraud, Warlord Dominance *
Eight years after US and NATO forces toppled the Taliban, Afghanistan held its second major elections since 2001. But far from being a symbol of democracy, the August 20th elections have been marred by accusations of fraud and concerns over President Hamid Karzai's reliance on the support of warlords and suspected war criminals. We get a report from independent journalist Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/7/return_of_the_warlords_afghan_elections
* Arrest of 61 Peace Activists Outside White House Kicks Off Week of Protest Against Afghan War *
As the occupation of Afghanistan enters its ninth year, the antiwar movement here in the United States has organized several actions this week calling for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dozens of rallies and protests are being held across the country today. We speak to David Swanson, who was among sixty-one people arrested Monday at a protest outside the White House.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/7/arrest_of_61_peace_activists_outside
* Headlines for October 7, 2009 *
Obama Rules Out Afghan Troop Withdrawal
Reid: Congress Will Back "Whatever Decision" Obama Makes on Afghan War
Senate OKs $626B for War, Military Spending
9 Killed, 31 Wounded in Iraq Violence
DynCorp Guards Flee Iraq After Incident with Iraqi Troops
Report: Pentagon Boosts Development of Iran-Focused Bombs
Talks to Resume in Honduras Crisis
US to Overhaul Immigration Jailings
Non-Criminal Immigrants Face Growing Arrests
Despite Curbs, Arizona Sheriff Vows to Continue Immigration Arrests
5 Arrested Protesting Insurance Giant CIGNA
Study: Banks Gain from 35% Rise in Overdraft Fees
DC to Vote on Legalizing Gay Marriage
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/7/headlines
Forgive all these comments from me the blogger herself here but I don't know what else to do with all the many good efforts to try to stop the war and wanted you the readers, perhaps from other nations, to see that many thousands of us care very much about ending the US occupations and more!
Today marks the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Peace Action mourns this day which is the first anniversary under the Obama administration. On October 5th, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "We're not leaving Afghanistan."
Earlier that day Peace Action staff and members from around the country reminded the administration that if the US isn't leaving then we aren't leaving either. Even if the Secret Service tries to drag us away from the White House.
Now we are asking you to make your voice heard as well and to do so in as many ways as possible.
1.) Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell a staffer that you want an end to the occupation of Afghanistan.
2.) Call both of your Senators and tell them that conscience demands action -- the US must leave Afghanistan. Use the Congressional Switchboard by calling 202-224-3121 or look up their direct numbers here.
3.) Call your Representative and ask they sign US Rep. Jim McGovern's bill calling for an exit strategy. Call him or her directly by looking up their number here or use the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
4.) Pick up a pen and write an Op-Ed to your local newspaper. Ask your friends to write Op-Eds too.
(Find much more at the Peace Action website)
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/world/asia/07prexy.html?_r=2&hpMr.
Obama and Mr. Biden made it clear that the option Mr. Biden had proposed was not a pure counterterrorism alternative, relying only on drones and Special Forces to track down leaders of Al Qaeda. Instead, Mr. Biden’s approach would increase the use of such "surgical strikes" while leaving the overall size of the American force in Afghanistan roughly at the 68,000 troops currently authorized.
Sounds like another War President to me and just what are these "surgical strikes"???
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