Op-Ed

For all the noise and carnage of war — especially this unnecessary war, which seems to possess a life of its own as it barrels forward uninterrupted on two fronts — our language of condemnation remains remarkably polite.

Thus a new CBS news poll shows that Americans are “increasingly dissatisfied” with the Iraq operation, with 77 percent telling pollsters they think it’s “going very badly” — as though the public were turning thumbs down on a reality TV show. Our formerly bellicose media now seem to be doing their best to reduce the national mood to a whisper. Shhh! We don’t want to hurt the president’s feelings, do we?

Meanwhile, the headlines scream “Incoming!”

About the same time that a thundering yet strangely irrelevant majority of Americans were telling CBS they want this war to stop, the U.S. military and NATO were churning up evil publicity in both Iraq and Afghanistan — and in the process ensuring that the war on terror will not run out of enemies — simply by waging the war they have waged from the start.

CHICAGO - The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder and President of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, issued the following statement on President Bush's action to commute the sentence of Lewis Libby:

While no surprise, President Bush’s move to commute the 2 ½ year prison sentence of White House aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby is an affront to justice and fairness.

Libby, chief aide to Vice President Cheney, was convicted on felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice – caught concealing and lying about the actions of the White House regarding the “outing” of CIA operative Valerie Plame, and its manipulation of “evidence” to justify invading Iraq.

Reverend Jesse Jackson said something recently that I'd like you to repeat after me:

Bush spied.
Cheney lied.
Far too many people have died.
It's time they were tried.
It's impeachment time.

I love coming to Maine, because the people here remember how democracy is supposed to work and what it takes to overthrow a King George.

I spoke on a national radio show yesterday about impeachment, and the host asked people to phone in and argue with me, but every single caller supported impeachment.

In October 2005, when King George's poll ratings were higher and a dozen scandals had yet to break, AfterDowningStreet.org sponsored a poll question by Ipsos Public Affairs: 50% of Americans said "If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable by impeaching him."

In January 2006, Zogby found that 52% of Americans said "If Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."

A former member of U.S. military intelligence has decided to reveal what she knows about warrantless spying on Americans and about the fixing of intelligence in the leadup to the invasion of Iraq.

RIVERDALE, Ill. -- Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, announced today he will organize a national day of protest in 25 cities on Aug. 28, 2007, to rally support for legislation to restrict gun sales.

“We have the right to live safe and secure, no matter where we live in America,” Rev. Jackson said during a prayer vigil at Chuck’s Gun Shop in this Chicago suburb.

“Our marching does not kill people; people who buy guns from gun shops kill people,” Rev. Jackson said.

Chuck's Gun Shop sells more guns than any other gun dealer in the nation, according to the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation.

Current laws are not protecting the nation’s youth, Rev. Jackson said, as is clear from the fact that in Chicago alone, more than 30 young people have died this year from gun violence.

United for Peace and Justice held a workshop at the US Social Forum in Atlanta on Thursday, at which several speakers made some pretty amazing statements.

A dozen of us stood around a dead flower and a piece of bare sidewalk. There may have been more ho-hum in my heart than grief, at least at first, but slowly something started to break.

“Oh God, have mercy.” This is what we chanted.

I paw at hope as I write about this — hope for Chicago, where I live, hope for this country and hope for peace. I say those last words with humility and skepticism, aware of how small I felt as I stood in this group, but knowing I was only there because a large turning is in motion.

“Oh God, we come before you today, crying out for the shooting initiated by Anthony Morgan, which led to his death on this corner of our neighborhood Tuesday night.”

My friend Steve Cobble gave Kucinich a great introduction, receiving applause for each point he made about Kucinich's platform and past performance, arguing that Kucinich was right four years ago that opposition to the war and support for fair trade were key to winning, and that's how Democrats won in 2006.

Kucinich opened with the need to cut off the money.  He proposed simply not offering any more bills to fund the war.  Kucinich won huge applause as he shouted about the troops coming home, the bases being closed, the oil being left to the Iraqi people...

We must challenge the very idea of war in order to reconnect with the nations of the world, Kucinich said.  "I believe that the path to peace runs right through Jerusalem," Kucinich said, promising an even-handed approach.  He got loud applause for being the first to raise the topic.

While the Take Back America conference has included two self-organized and underpromoted panels on impeachment, on Wednesday it included an official panel, well promoted and in an actual room on the topic of "Curbing the Imperial Presidency." Former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta opened the event by listing endless Bush crimes and offenses, concluding that Bush recognizes few if any limitations on his power. Congress must act, Podesta said, to oversee, review, and litigate. (Litigate?) This being a conference dedicated to the policies of Nancy Pelosi, impeachment is off the table.

The second speaker was Ambassador Joe Wilson. How do we restore the balance of power, Wilson asked. He didnt answer, though. He told the story of his writing his NY Times op-ed, and concluded that by publishing that op-ed he had held his government accountable. Of course, I applaud him for publishing that op-ed, but who exactly has been held accountable? Wilson went on to win huge applause by calling Cheney a son of a bitch. But the son of a bitch is still vice president.

So we bomb a school and then are aghast when seven children die. “If we knew that there were children inside the building, there was no way that that air strike would have occurred,” a spokesman for what the media still bother to call “the coalition” said afterward, by way of explanation if not apology.

The public has mostly tuned out of these wars. Of those who still pay attention, many do so from behind Fortress Patriotism, with its ramparts of cliche: “freedom isn’t free,” etc. Thus when children die and it’s our fault and publicity is unavoidable, the media will usually remove the stinger from each tiny death, and keep the American conscience untroubled, by putting the deaths in the larger context of U.S. strategy or mission.

We bombed the eastern Afghanistan compound, which contained a mosque and a madrassa (Islamic school), this past Sunday because we were hunting insurgents who may have been involved in the massive suicide bombing of a bus a few hours earlier in Kabul, which had killed as many as 35 people and wounded 52.

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