Weekly Reads
"The Bush-Petraeus Exit Strategy"
The War and Middle East
1.
Kennedy and Levin Want New Report on Iraq
Released
By Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, April 4th, 2008.
A new intelligence report on the situation in Iraq is "essential" to upcoming debates
on the war, and its judgments should be publicly released, Sens. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.)
and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said yesterday in a letter to the head of the nation's
intelligence agencies. Levin and Kennedy asked Director of National Intelligence Mike
McConnell to release an unclassified summary of the latest National Intelligence Estimate
before Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker,
the ambassador to Iraq, testify April 8 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which
Levin chairs.
2. Listen to the General (No Not Petraeus!)
By Dave Lindorff, CommonDreams.org, April 6th, 2008.
In a couple days, Americans will be deluged with effusive, praise-filled quoting Gen.
David Petraeus on the glories of his and President Bush's brilliant so-called "surge"
strategy in Iraq. And President Bush will ask for another $102 billion from Congress to
continue funding his catastrophic war in Iraq. To those who warn of chaos following a US
withdrawal, he recalled the warnings of a "domino" effect if the US left Vietnam, [Lt.
General (ret.) William E. Odom] said, "the path to political stability will be bloody
regardless of whether we withdraw or not." He added, "The real moral question is whether
to risk the lives of more Americans. Unlike preventing chaos, we have the physical means
to stop sending more troops where many will be killed or wounded. That is the moral
responsibility to our country which no American leaders seems willing to
assume."
3.Everything His President Wants to Hear
By Robert Scheer, CommonDreams.org, April 9th, 2008.
No such dissension from Petraeus - his faithful testimony, at least to the president
if not the truth, on Tuesday was a particularly painful performance. Civilian deaths in
March were 50 percent higher than in February, and there were a score of recent American
deaths, and there is no evidence of political progress to support Petraeus' stab at
optimism over the "fragile" situation in Iraq. Most absurd was the suggestion that the
problem would all go away if Iran would only behave, when in fact American troops are
being sacrificed on the pro-Iranian side of an internal Shiite power dispute. The Shiites
in charge of "our" government in Iraq are exiles trained for decades in Iran.
Also see these VIDEOS:
IRAQ HEARINGS: Sen.
Levin Questions Gen. Petraeus
IRAQ HEARINGS:
Sen. Obama Questions Gen. Petraeus
IRAQ HEARINGS:
Sen. Clinton Questions Gen. Petraeus
IRAQ HEARINGS:
Sen. McCain Questions Gen. Petraeus
IRAQ HEARINGS:
Sen. Feingold Questions Gen. Petraeus
4. State Extends Blackwater's Deal a Year
The Associated Press, truthout.org, April 5th, 2008.
Amid investigations into fatal shootings of civilians and allegations of tax
violations, Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract to protect diplomats in Baghdad
has been renewed, the State Department said Friday. A final decision about whether the
private security company will keep the job is pending, the department said. Moyock,
N.C.-based Blackwater is one of the largest private military contractors, receiving
nearly $1.25 billion in federal business since 2000, according to a House committee
estimate. The State Department's top security officer, Greg Starr, told reporters Friday
that because the FBI is still investigating the shootings, there is no justification now
to pull the contract when it comes due in May.
Also see:
Blackwater
Contract Renewal Not Approved by Iraq: Maliki
GOODBYE FOURTH AMENDMENT
5. John Yoo's Tortured Explanations
By Michael Winship, CommonDreams.org, April 8th, 2008.
The latest to ooze its way to the surface, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act suit by
the ACLU, is the March 14, 2003, memo written by John Yoo, former deputy in the Justice
Department‰Ûªs Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
The footnote in the March 2003 memo reveals a second John Yoo masterpiece that blithely
undermines the Constitution; in this case, the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be
secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.
PROOF OF WAR CRIMES
6.
Cheney, Others OK'd Harsh Interrogations
By Lara Jakes Jordon and Pamela Hess, The Associated Press, truthout.org, April 11th,
2008.
Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using
harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice
Department to endorse their legality, The Associated Press has learned. The officials
also took care to insulate President Bush from a series of meetings where CIA
interrogation methods, including waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were discussed
and ultimately approved.
7. Signed By Bush, ALLOWING TORTURE, Memo Shows Bush NOT
'Insulated'
By Troutfishing dailykos.com, April 10th, 2008.
An April 11 AP News study claims Bush was "insulated" from the torture decision making
process but existing documents, such as showcased in this post, rebut that claim and
indicate Bush was in the torture loop, the top "decider." We have at least ONE signed
memo which establishes George W. Bush as the executive authority making final decisions
in the National Security Council policy formation and decision making process which
created a United States run torture regime.
INTERNATIONAL GOOD NEWS
8. Women Rise Up to Tackle the Water Crisis
By Rhyen Coombs, World Pulse/truthout.org, April 1st, 2008.
Women's Earth Alliance is a global organization that links women working in environmental
sustainability from around the world. And we provide opportunities for women to exchange
resources, share best practices, build alliances around various environmental issues, and
really amplify the voices of women around environmental sustainability. In particular, we
have a focus on water because women are so inextricably linked to issues of water. And
the role that we play is to provide spaces, whether they're virtual or face-to-face,
opportunities for women to convene and share what they're learning and what they know and
the challenges that they're coming up against around issues of water.
Also see:
Turning Trash into Cash
GLOBAL WARMING, THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD SUPPLY
9. Climate Change Politics and Science
By Justin Podur, DissidentVoice, March 31st, 2008.
A lot of people come to the climate change issue as environmentalists. Environmentalism
is diverse, but I would say that a common denominator for environmentalists is that they
are concerned with the negative impact of human activity on the ecosystems that sustain
life on the planet and want to make changes that reduce that negative impact - or have no
impact or positive impact. But having agreed on this, there are many different views
within environmentalism. Some environmentalists want to protect nature from humans, some
want to protect nature for humans. Some think technology is to blame, others think
technology could be the solution. Environmentalists sometimes talk about a "triple bottom
line." That's 'social, economic, and environmental'. The 'social' part is 'social
justice', it's a concern for people. People concerned about social justice usually
believe that equality is a value society should strive for, especially in the economy.
They are critical, skeptical, of the claims of those in power or authority.
10.
Grains Gone Wild
By Paul Krugman, New York Times, April 7th, 2008-04-08.
This left the world food balance highly vulnerable to a crisis affecting many countries
at once - in much the same way that the marketing of complex financial securities, which
was supposed to diversify away risk, left world financial markets highly vulnerable to a
systemwide shock. What should be done? The most immediate need is more aid to people in
distress: the U.N.'s World Food Program put out a desperate appeal for more funds. We
also need a pushback against biofuels, which turn out to have been a terrible mistake.
But it's not clear how much can be done. Cheap food, like cheap oil, may be a thing of
the past
11.
Al Gore Launches $300 Million Bipartisan Ad Campaign, Including Al Sharpton & Pat
Robertson
By Rachel Sklar, Huffington Post, March 30th, 2008.
Tonight on "60 Minutes," Lesley Stahl interviewed Al Gore, along with his wife, Tipper ,
and discussed the environmental crusader's new $300 million ad campaign for global
warming awareness, funded in part by proceeds from the book and movie of "An Inconvenient
Truth" plus prize money from Gore's 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Gore and his Alliance for
Climate Protection have hired crackerjack ad shop the Martin Agency - which created the
Geico Gecko and Caveman ad campaigns and includes Wal-Mart amongst its clients - to
create anti-global warming commercials that will launch in what Stahl called "a blitz as
sweeping and expensive as a big corporation's rollout of a new product."
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: BEIJING OLYMPICS
12. Not Just Tibet, China Too
By Peter Tatchell, CommonDreams.org, April 11th , 2008 by The Guardian/UK.
Protests against the Olympic torch relay in Athens, London, Paris and San Francisco have
focused almost entirely on China's occupation of Tibet. The many grave human rights
abuses that are happening in China itself have been largely ignored.
13. Turn off Your TV: Why I Won't Watch the Beijing Olympics
By Laura Kaminker, CommonDreams.org, March 19th, 2008.
No one wants to piss off China. No wants to risk losing that powerful trading partner and
access to all those cheap goods. Doing business with China means "staying competitive" -
that is, ignoring the labour, safety, consumer, and environmental standards your own
country has built. And buying "Made In China" lets us all extend our standard of living.
We buy artificially cheap products; we never count the true costs. It's easy to sell
cheap when you dump untreated contaminants into the environment, have no worker safety or
health standards, and no quality control. So the western world, with its massive
corporate and consumer power, doesn't just stay out of China's way. We reward China with
the Olympics.
TAKE ACTION
Tell China Not to Sell Weapons to Darfur!
Sign the signature ad!
For next weekend's Dalai Lama speaches in Ann Arbor, a handful of volunteers from various
groups will be passing out leaflets with quotations on peace from the Dalai Lama, MLK,
Gandhi and others on one side and suggestions for "ways to take peace and compassion with
you" on the other, with contact information for AA peace organizations, including MPW.
Planning mtg Sat afternoon & volunteers needed next weekend!
Contact Susan Wright at: spwright@umich.edu
Protesters
Press China on US Olympic Torch Run
Read this on the web at: michiganpeaceworks.org/wr-2008Apr11.html
This collection of excerpts and links to important current articles is
provided as an educational service of Michigan Peaceworks. Thank you to the new Weekly
Reads' coordinator, Diana Pesserl. Peruse this summary, read the articles that interest
you, and forward the list to friends.
