With help from RT’s Alona Minkovski, The Young Turks ask why the mainstream media assumes ‘War’ is normal.
Segment begins at 2:50.
Category: Iran
No War, No Sanctions, No Intervention, No Assassinations
Clear, simple, to the point. A nice, simple set of values that all kinds of people should be able to get behind.
It’s the platform, manifesto, talking points, everything of No War on Iran: National Day of Action, February 4th.
A lot of anti-war activities get bogged down in lengthy laundry lists of talking points and arguments from the “top,” before they ever reach the larger numbers of people they’re supposed to recruit or inflluence. They end up having something for everyone to disagree with.
This thing leaves everyone free to make their own arguments and not have to answer for someone else’s stupid ideas. No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations. Anything else you want, bring yourself.
“Radical anarchist KN@PPSTER” and “sane policy advocate KN@PPSTER” are both down with the four points, for different but not really incompatible reasons.
From a policy standpoint, screwing with Iran is the silliest damn idea I’ve heard in a decade characterized by silly ideas.
The US has fought and lost two full-blown wars in Asia (and smaller ones in Asia and elsewhere) over the last ten years, draining its treasury and degrading its military (in both the moral and practical senses).
Launching a third major war, against an opponent three times as populous, with much greater regional support, and much more militarily advanced than either Iraq or Afghanistan … well, if you were looking for proof that the assorted War Colleges of the US armed forces have “special needs” classes, just check out the number of different crayon colors used in drafting that contingency plan.
From an anarchist standpoint, war (and preparation for war) is one of the primary instruments which the political class of every country, and their “transnational” partners, use to savage the freedoms and empty the pocketbooks of their subjects for their own benefit. 99% of the time, that’s its only purpose. The other 1% of the time is when one particular clique of the political class is in real existential danger from another clique or cliques, and wants their subjects to bail them out.
So, get back to me if the war you’re selling is revolutionary class struggle, productive (us) vs. political (them). Otherwise, I’m not buying. And this ain’t that.
But that’s all just me. I’m sure you have your own reasons. On February 4th, let’s set those other reasons aside and stand together for no war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations.
[cross-posted from KN@PPSTER]
Regarding “rising tensions in the Gulf”
Pearl of wisdom from a Union private crossing the Rappahannock into Fredericksburg, December 1862:
Shit! They want us to get in. Getting out won’t be quite so smart and easy. You’ll see.
Apparently Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative hasn’t worked its way into US naval doctrine yet.
Iran: The Case Against the Next War
The Case Against the Next War is “a concise package on foreign policy with Iran and Israel because [young activists] desired a resource to show parents and family something with integrity,” says Nick Hankoff. The 26 year old media consultant created the presentation for his local GOP group which as he noted in a brief interview with Antiwar.com, made up of new activists under 30. Click here for a media presentation which cuts through the now daily onslaught of anti-Iranian propaganda.
Hankoff is Chair of Los Angeles County Republican Liberty Caucus, Grassroots Coordinator for Tenth Amendment Center and an on-call volunteer for Antiwar.com
Action Item: Tell Your Rep to Vote “NO” on H.R. 1905
From the Friends Committee on National Legislation:
The conflict between the U.S. and Iran is reaching a point where it could spiral out of control. In the U.S., Congress and the administration have become more confrontational toward Iran. Iran has done the same and withdrawn further from the international community.
Now, Congress is preparing to add fuel to this fire. Your representative is preparing to vote on legislation that could close off prospects for diplomatic communication between the U.S. and Iran at the very time that such channels are critical for preventing war.
This vote could come as soon as next Tuesday. Please call your representative today at 877-429-0678 and ask her or him to vote “no” on the Iran Threat Reduction Act, H.R. 1905. Enter your zip code to get talking points that reflect whether your member has publicly supported this bill.
What Does a War with Iran Mean?
I don’t want to alarm you or anything — well, actually, I do want to alarm you, albeit not unduly. I want to share something with you, a little news item that just came over the wires:
Continue reading “What Does a War with Iran Mean?”