Peace and War

Requesting the prosecution of a known criminal ought not to be an action that requires any particular consideration or debate. If we are a society based on the rule of law, then this is simply what must be done. John Yoo, Professor of Law at Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley, California, (but a lawyer with the Pennsylvania bar from which he should be debarred and would be if enough people demanded it) counseled the White House on how to get read more

Those were among the topics on December 3rd when I (David Swanson) joined a panel of guests on PressTV’s “American Dream”. Also on the panel was Edward Peck, a former ambassador who has opposed militarism and who inspired a now well-known sermon by Jeremiah Wright. I interviewed Peck in October on The read more

Take a look at this article:

Obama’s Thoughts Evolve on US Troops in Iraq
By Thom Shanker, International Herald Tribune

Washington – On the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama offered a pledge that electrified and motivated his liberal base, vowing to “end the war” in Iraq.

True, and important, but he also made the details clear to anyone trying to find out. These details:

But as he moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making it clearer than read more

By David Swanson

The largest peace coalition in the United States, United for Peace and Justice, will meet in Chicago on December 12 through 14th to set its agenda for the coming year. A draft Strategic Framework is already available. It includes four area for the peace movement to work on:

1) We remain committed to the urgent goal that has always been the centerpiece of our work: immediately ending the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and bringing all the troops home! We call for an end to the read more

By David Swanson

I know, I know, Bush liberated the Iraqis. But when will we liberate them from Bush’s liberation? Well, ideally, the American people will rise up tomorrow and force Congress to cease funding the occupation and to vote an immediate and complete withdrawal with a veto-overriding supermajority, not to mention impeaching Bush and Cheney. I raise that possibility not so much because I’ve been drinking as because long-term movements for systemic reform require awareness read more

Statement from the Steering Committee for the Prosecution for War Crimes of President Bush and His Subordinates

Never before has a president pardoned himself or his subordinates for crimes he authorized. The closest thing to this in U.S. history thus far has been Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s sentence. Bush is widely expected to follow that commutation with a pardon. Not only did Libby work for the White House, but he was convicted of obstruction of justice in an investigation read more

By David Swanson

The Iraqi Parliament has approved a treaty with the United States or rather its government or rather its lameduck president, although its lameduck president has already made clear his intention to “interpret” it to mean whatever the heck he wants, meaning that the new president will be free to do that or not as he and his progressive supporters or he and his neocon advisors see fit.

AFP reports:

The vote came after a flurry of last-minute negotiations in which the main read more

Nadler Introduces Resolution Opposing Possible Bush Pardons of His Own Subordinates for Crimes He Authorized
By David Swanson

Here’s a resolution, hot off the presses from Jerrold Nadler, Chair of the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee: H.RES.1531, “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President of the United States should not issue pardons to senior members of his administration during the final 90 days of his term of office,” read more

By David Swanson

This was the second time that a group of veterans opposed to illegal wars and in favor of the rule of law had taken over the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. The first time, several weeks ago, a group of them had climbed onto a ledge on the front of the building with flags and banners. This time, they aimed higher.

Mike Ferner gave me a report over the phone at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. He said that at 7:45 a.m. he and others had arrived at the Constitution Avenue read more

Here’s What It Has to Do With Mine
By David Swanson
http://charlottesvillepeace.org/node/1788

At the Charlottesville City Council’s October 6th meeting, a group of citizens organized by the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, urged the Council to take up at its November meeting a resolution opposing a U.S. attack on the nation of Iran. While Mayor Dave Norris has expressed support for the idea, it is not clear where the four other City Councilors stand.

Wars of aggression are read more

By David Swanson

November 11th is Veterans’ Day in the United States and Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, or Poppy Day in various other countries. It was on a November 11th that World War I ended. But November 11th is also a Catholic holiday that long predates World War I: the Feast of Saint Martin, celebrated in honor of a man who supposedly died on November 11, in the year 397.

The two holidays seem to have merged into one militaristic glorification of warfare. Saint Martin is considered read more

By David Swanson

Subpoenas? What are those? Miers? Rove? Who are they? Are they from Chicago? Do they believe in change?

We interrupt this honeymoon to remember that there’s something we should be remembering.

Here is a list of some of the subpoenas issued by the 110th Congress and laughed at by the Bush-Cheney Justice Department: http://democrats.com/subpoenas

Come January there will be a brand new Justice Department. And here’s the interesting thing: justice departments don’t do read more

Here’s David Ignatius in the Washington Post:

What if Iraq begins to slip back toward civil war? President Bush kept Iraq intact long enough that success or failure will belong to the next president.

INTACT? INTACT? No electricity. No clean water. No jobs. No food. No safety. Four million refugees afraid to return. INTACT? And “civil war”? That’s what you’re calling it? And you’re awarding the “failure” of this hideous crime to Obama? Already? read more

Ask her about it yourself tonight online.

Charlotte Dennett is running for Attorney General of the state of Vermont.

David Swanson will be interviewing Charlotte Dennett with your help this Wednesday evening, October 29, 2008, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Go to http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/listen-live to listen live. You’ll find instructions there to enter a paltalk chat room where you can post questions.

You can also phone in and ask your questions on the air. Call in tollfree read more

By David Swanson

When a Congress member steps forward and courageously articulates a forbidden truth that is absolutely necessary for our survival and well-being (and by “our” I mean our species, not just our nation), he must be praised, rewarded, and defended at all costs, without question or hesitation. This is the situation we are in with Congressman Barney Frank having just blurted out the obvious but taboo fact that the U.S. military budget must be cut. “If we are going read more

By David Swanson

I know this play is powerful from reading the script, so I can only imagine and look forward to how moving it will be to see it performed live. “The Warrior” by Jack Gilhooley is a play performed by two women, one on-stage and one off. The woman off-stage is a documentary film maker asking questions. The woman on-stage is a veteran of both the 1991 Persian Gulf War and two tours during the current occupation of Iraq. The script brilliantly portrays a story focused on read more

By David Swanson

The Huffington Post has dug up, and the Daily Kos and everybody else are commenting on evidence that McCain held a private secret meeting with Chilean dictator and torturer General Augusto Pinochet. But this is not just a story about John McCain’s hypocrisy (what a shock that would be!). It’s a teachable moment, and in two senses.

First, it’s an opening to talk about McCain’s more recent support for torture, read more

By David Swanson

Congressman Brad Sherman said on the floor of the House that a few Congress members had been told there would be martial law in America if they did not pass Paulson’s Plunder. Here’s video.

Sherman has not retracted that statement. He has not suggested that the Congress members who had told him that didn’t really tell him that, or weren’t honest, or didn’t take it seriously, or that it didn’t influence their votes. But he has put out a statement read more