[A-List] Fwd: [New post] The Anti-Empire Report

[Suzanne de Kuyper]

The interview at Columbia University with the President of Iran is so very
fine, unbelievably so.  The US, world obediently copied criminal
distortions of his words and thinking and policies are all illuminated in
this one.  Making clear what a third world, uneducated, brutish tragic
empire the US has made of itself.   Honesty is illuminating.  Humanity is
the 99%.  Stop TPP! Stop ACTA! They steal human rights.  We need them.
Suzanne

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bill Totten's Weblog <donotreply at wordpress.com>
Date: Sat, May 5, 2012 at 12:41 PM
Subject: [New post] The Anti-Empire Report
To: suzannedk at gmail.com


**
          New post on *Bill Totten's Weblog*
<http://billtotten.wordpress.com/author/shimogamo/>  The Anti-Empire
Report<http://billtotten.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/the-anti-empire-report-67/>
by
Bill Totten <http://billtotten.wordpress.com/author/shimogamo/>

*by William Blum*

*www.killinghope.org (May 02 2012)*

What you need to succeed is sincerity, and if you can fake sincerity you've
got it made.

-- Old Hollywood axiom

 A few months ago I told the American people that I did not trade arms for
hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that is true, but
the facts and evidence tell me it is not.

-- President Ronald Reagan, 1987 {1}

On April 23, speaking at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC,
President Barack Obama told his assembled audience that as president "I've
done my utmost ... to prevent and end atrocities".

Do the facts and evidence tell him that his words are not true?

Well, let's see ... There's the multiple atrocities carried out in Iraq by
American forces under President Obama. There's the multiple atrocities
carried out in Afghanistan by American forces under Obama. There's the
multiple atrocities carried out in Pakistan by American forces under Obama.
There's the multiple atrocities carried out in Libya by American/NATO
forces under Obama. There are also the hundreds of American drone attacks
against people and homes in Somalia and in Yemen (including against
American citizens in the latter). Might the friends and families of these
victims regard the murder of their loved ones and the loss of their homes
as atrocities?

Ronald Reagan was pre-Alzheimer's when he uttered the above. What excuse
can be made for Barack Obama?

The president then continued in the same fashion by saying: "We possess
many tools ... and using these tools over the past three years, I believe -
I know - that we have saved countless lives". Obama pointed out that this
includes Libya, where the United States, in conjunction with NATO, took
part in seven months of almost daily bombing missions. We may never learn
from the new pro-NATO Libyan government how many the bombs killed, or the
extent of the damage to homes and infrastructure. But the President of the
United States assured his Holocaust Museum audience that "today, the Libyan
people are forging their own future, and the world can take pride in the
innocent lives that we saved". (As I described in last month's report,
Libya could now qualify as a failed state.)

Language is an invention that makes it possible for a person to deny what
he is doing even as he does it.

Mr Obama closed with these stirring words; "It can be tempting to throw up
our hands and resign ourselves to man's endless capacity for cruelty. It's
tempting sometimes to believe that there is nothing we can do." But Barack
Obama is not one of those doubters. He knows there is something he can do
about man's endless capacity for cruelty. He can add to it. Greatly. And
yet, I am certain that, with exceedingly few exceptions, those in his
Holocaust audience left with no doubt that this was a man wholly deserving
of his Nobel Peace Prize.

And future American history books may well certify the president's words as
factual, his motivation sincere, for his talk indeed possessed the quality
needed for schoolbooks.

*The Israeli-American-Iranian-Holocaust-NobelPeacePrize Circus*

It's a textbook case of how the American media is at its worst when it
comes to US foreign policy and particularly when an Officially Designated
Enemy (ODE) is involved. I've discussed this case several times in this
report in recent years. The ODE is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The accusation has been that he had threatened violence against Israel,
based on his 2005 remark calling for "wiping Israel off the map". Who can
count the number of times this has been repeated in every kind of media, in
every country of the world, without questioning the accuracy of what was
reported? A Lexis-Nexis search of "All News (English)" for <Iran and Israel
and "off the map"> for the past seven years produced the message: "This
search has been interrupted because it will return more than 3000 results".

As I've pointed out, Ahmadinejad's "threat of violence" was a serious
misinterpretation, one piece of evidence being that the following year he
declared: "The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon, the same way the
Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom".  {2} Obviously, he
was not calling for any kind of violent attack upon Israel, for the
dissolution of the Soviet Union took place remarkably peacefully. But the
myth of course continued.

Now, finally, we have the following exchange from the radio-TV
simulcast, *Democracy
Now!*, of April 19:

A top Israeli official has acknowledged that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad never said that Iran seeks to "wipe Israel off the face of the
map". The falsely translated statement has been widely attributed to
Ahmadinejad and used repeatedly by US and Israeli government officials to
back military action and sanctions against Iran. But speaking to Teymoor
Nabili of the network Al Jazeera, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor
admitted Ahmadinejad had been misquoted.

Teymoor Nabili:

As we know, Ahmadinejad didn't say that he plans to exterminate Israel, nor
did he say that Iran policy is to exterminate Israel. Ahmadinejad's
position and Iran's position always has been, and they've made this -
they've said this as many times as Ahmadinejad has criticized Israel, he
has said as many times that he has no plans to attack Israel ..."

Dan Meridor:

Well, I have to disagree, with all due respect. You speak of Ahmadinejad. I
speak of Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, Rafsanjani, Shamkhani. I give the names of
all these people. They all come, basically ideologically, religiously, with
the statement that Israel is an unnatural creature, it will not survive.
They didn't say, 'We'll wipe it out', you're right. But 'It will not
survive, it is a cancerous tumor that should be removed', was said just two
weeks ago again.

Teymoor Nabili:

Well, I'm glad you've acknowledged that they didn't say they will wipe it
out.

So that's that. Right? Of course not. Fox News, NPR, CNN, NBC, *et al* will
likely continue to claim that Ahmadinejad threatened violence against
Israel, threatened to "wipe it off the map".

And that's only Ahmadinejad the Israeli Killer. There's still Ahmadinejad
the Holocaust Denier. So until a high Israeli official finally admits that
that too is a lie, keep in mind that Ahmadinejad has never said simply,
clearly, unambiguously, and unequivocally that he thinks that what we
historically know as the Holocaust never happened. He has instead commented
about the peculiarity and injustice of a Holocaust which took place in
Europe resulting in a state for the Jews in the Middle East instead of in
Europe. Why are the Palestinians paying a price for a German crime? he
asks. And he has questioned the figure of six million Jews killed by Nazi
Germany, as have many other people of various political stripes. In a
speech at Columbia University on September 24 2007, in reply to a question
about the Holocaust, the Iranian president declared: "I'm not saying that
it didn't happen at all. This is not the judgment that I'm passing here."
{3}

Let us now listen to Elie Wiesel, the simplistic, reactionary man who's
built a career around being a Holocaust survivor, introducing President
Obama at the Holocaust Museum for the talk referred to above, some five
days after the statement made by the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister:

How is it that the Holocaust's Number One denier, Ahmadinejad, is still a
president? He who threatens to use nuclear weapons - to use nuclear weapons
- to destroy the Jewish state. Have we not learned? We must. We must know
that when evil has power, it is almost too late.

"Nuclear weapons" is of course adding a new myth on the back of the old
myth.

Wiesel, like Obama, is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. As is Henry
Kissinger and Menachim Begin. And several other such war-loving beauties.
When will that monumental farce of a prize be put to sleep?

For the record, let it be noted that on March 4, speaking before the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Obama said:

Let's begin with a basic truth that you all understand: No Israeli
government can tolerate a nuclear weapon in the hands of a regime that
denies the Holocaust, threatens to wipe Israel off the map, and sponsors
terrorist groups committed to Israel's destruction. {4}

*Postscript:* Each time I strongly criticize Barack Obama a few of my
readers ask to unsubscribe. I'm really sorry to lose them but it's
important that those on the left rid themselves of their attachment to the
Democratic Party. I'm not certain how best to institute revolutionary
change in the United States, but I do know that it will not happen through
the Democratic Party, and the sooner those on the left cut their umbilical
cord to the Democrats, the sooner we can start to get more serious about
this thing called revolution.

*Written on Earth Day (April 22 2012}*

Two simple suggestions as part of a plan to save the planet.

*1. Population control: limit families to two children*

All else being equal, a markedly reduced population count would have a
markedly beneficial effect upon global warming, air pollution, and food and
water availability; as well as finding a parking spot, getting a seat on
the subway, getting on the flight you prefer, and much, much more. Some
favor limiting families to one child. Still others, who spend a major part
of each day digesting the awful news of the world, are calling for a limit
of zero. (The Chinese government announced in 2008 that the country would
have about 400 million more people if it wasn't for its limit of one or two
children per couple. {5}

But, within the environmental movement, there is still significant
opposition to this. Part of the reason is fear of ethnic criticism inasmuch
as population programs have traditionally been aimed at - or seen to be
aimed at - primarily the poor, the weak, and various "outsiders". There is
also the fear of the religious right and its medieval views on birth
control.

*2. Eliminate the greatest consumer of energy in the world: The United
States military*

Here's Michael Klare, professor of Peace and World Security Studies at
Hampshire College, Massachusetts in 2007:

Sixteen gallons of oil. That's how much the average American soldier in
Iraq and Afghanistan consumes on a daily basis - either directly, through
the use of Humvees, tanks, trucks, and helicopters, or indirectly, by
calling in air strikes. Multiply this figure by 162,000 soldiers in Iraq,
24,000 in Afghanistan, and 30,000 in the surrounding region (including
sailors aboard US warships in the Persian Gulf) and you arrive at
approximately 3.5 million gallons of oil: the daily petroleum tab for US
combat operations in the Middle East war zone. Multiply that daily tab by
365 and you get 1.3 billion gallons: the estimated annual oil expenditure
for US combat operations in Southwest Asia. That's greater than the total
annual oil usage of Bangladesh, population 150 million - and yet it's a
gross underestimate of the Pentagon's wartime consumption. {6}

The United States military, for decades, with its legion of bases and its
numerous wars has also produced and left behind a deadly toxic legacy. From
the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam in the 1960s to the open-air burn pits
on US bases in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 21st century, countless local
people have been sickened and killed; and in between those two periods we
could read things such as this from a lengthy article on the subject in the
*Los Angeles Times* in 1990:

US military installations have polluted the drinking water of the Pacific
island of Guam, poured tons of toxic chemicals into Subic Bay in the
Philippines, leaked carcinogens into the water source of a German spa,
spewed tons of sulfurous coal smoke into the skies of Central Europe and
pumped millions of gallons of raw sewage into the oceans. {7}

The military has caused similar harm to the environment in the United
States at a number of its installations. (Do a Google search for <"US
military bases" toxic>)

When I suggest eliminating the military I am usually rebuked for leaving "a
defenseless America open to foreign military invasion". And I usually reply:

Tell me who would invade us? Which country?

What do you mean which country? It could be any country.

So then it should be easy to name one.

Okay, any of the 200 members of the United Nations!

No, I'd like you to name a specific country that you think would invade the
United States. Name just one.

Okay, Paraguay. You happy now?

No, you have to tell me why Paraguay would invade the United States.

How would I know?

*Et cetera*, *et cetera*, and if this charming dialogue continues, I ask
the person to tell me how many troops the invading country would have to
have to occupy a country of more than 300 million people.

*Yankee karma*

The questions concerning immigration into the United States from south of
the border go on year after year, with the same issues argued back and
forth: What's the best way to block the flow into the country? How shall we
punish those caught here illegally? Should we separate families, which
happens when parents are deported but their American-born children remain?
Should the police and various other institutions have the right to ask for
proof of legal residence from anyone they suspect of being here illegally?
Should we punish employers who hire illegal immigrants? Should we grant
amnesty to at least some of the immigrants already here for years? ... on
and on, round and round it goes, for decades. Every once in a while someone
opposed to immigration will make it a point to declare that the United
States does not have any moral obligation to take in these Latino
immigrants.

But the counter-argument to the last is almost never mentioned: Yes, the
United States does have a moral obligation because so many of the
immigrants are escaping situations in their homelands made hopeless by
American interventions and policy. In Guatemala and Nicaragua Washington
overthrew progressive governments which were sincerely committed to
fighting poverty. In El Salvador the US played a major role in suppressing
a movement striving to install such a government, and to a lesser extent
played such a role in Honduras. And in Mexico, although Washington has not
intervened militarily in Mexico since 1919, over the years the US has been
providing training, arms, and surveillance technology to Mexico's police
and armed forces to better their ability to suppress their own people's
aspirations, as in Chiapas, and this has added to the influx of the
impoverished to the United States. Moreover, Washington's North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has brought a flood of cheap, subsidized US
agricultural products into Mexico and driven many Mexican farmers off the
land.

The end result of all these policies has been an army of migrants heading
north in search of a better life. It's not that these people prefer to live
in the United States. They'd much rather remain with their families and
friends, be able to speak their native language at all times, and avoid the
hardships imposed on them by American police and right-wingers.

*CounterPunch*

Several readers have asked me why *CounterPunch*, one of the most important
progressive websites, no longer runs this report. It's been going on for
about six months. Awhile ago I wrote to the two gentlemen who run the site,
asking what happened. Neither one answered. It's a big mystery,
particularly since I seemed to be on very friendly terms with them. Any
reader who shares my concern can feel free to contact the editors; perhaps
you'll have more luck than I did. counterpunch at counterpunch.org

*Notes:*

{1}  *Washington Post*, March 05 1987

{2} *Associated Press*, December 12 2006

{3} President Ahmadinejad Delivers Remarks at Columbia University,
Transcript, *Washington Post*, September 24 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401042.html

{4} Remarks by the President at AIPAC Policy Conference, White House Office
of the Press Secretary, March 04 2012
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/04/remarks-president-aipac-policy-conference-0

{5} *Washington Post*, March 03 2008

{6} The Pentagon v Peak Oil, *TomDispatch.com*, June 14
2007
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174810/

{7} *Los Angeles Times*, June 18 1990

*William Blum is the author of:-*

*Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War
Two*(Common Courage Press, 1995)

*Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower* (Zed Books, 2002)

*West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir* (Soft Skull Press, 2002)

*Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire* (Common Courage
Press, 2004)

Portions of the books can be read, and copies purchased, at
http://www.killinghope.org and previous Anti-Empire Reports can be read at
this website.

To add yourself to this mailing list simply send an email to
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but that's optional. I ask for your city only in case I'll be speaking in
your area.

Or put "remove" in the subject line to do the opposite.

Any part of this report may be disseminated without permission. I'd
appreciate it if the website were mentioned.

http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer105.html
  *Bill Totten <http://billtotten.wordpress.com/author/shimogamo/>* |
2012/05/05 at 19:40 | Categories:
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