Peace groups across the country, including Veterans for Peace and United for Peace & Justice, have called on citizens across the country to take the next three days, November 23rd through 25th, as call-in days to oppose the escalation of the war in Afghanistan. This call comes as President Obama faces critical decisions regarding the war effort, and against the backdrop of continued NATO casualties. 2009 has been the deadliest year for United States troops since the war began.
General Stanley McChrystal has very publicly called for an escalation in the war effort, indicating that as many as 40,000 additional troops may be necessary to 'stabilize' the insurgency. There is some speculation that McChrystal may resign if his requested troop increase is not granted. Right wing commentary is flush with dismay that Obama might not listen to the General's recommendations. In yet another example of the right's ingenuity in generating memes, Cheney's description of Obama's 'dithering' has spread far and wide, even afflicting Chris Matthews' speech patterns on Friday's Crossfire. Right wing commentators accuse Obama of 'playing politics' with the issue.
Framing the debate in this light is rather interesting. Obama is dithering by carefully considering the options available rather than blindly following the advice of his Generals. Is this country not supposed to be a democracy? Or are we a military dictatorship? Shouldn't the President follow the will of the people? We promote democracy abroad by squashing it here at home? The cognitive dissonance that these people are able to keep in their heads is impressive.
Or are the important decisions best left to our illustrious leaders while we the people amuse ourselves, numbing our thinking apparatus into oblivion with prescription drugs and Tivoed episodes of Dancing With the Stars?
What should Obama do? What is democracy if not an expression of the people's will? Because it is pretty clear that we the people do not want more war.
A recent poll from the Washington Post and ABC News has shown that support for the war in the United States is at an all time low of 44%. This is all time low despite the right's constant exhortations to live in fear of world-annihilating Muslim terrorists. Or health insurance. Or whatever the current boogeyman is that is threating our American way of life.
We the people, it seems, are finally looking past the rhetoric and viewing the situation for what it is: a civil war which the United States has no right to interfere with. True, the Taliban oppresses women. But so does Saudi Arabia. True, Afghanistan was once a haven for Al-Queda. But our war making has made terrorism worse, not better. The problem could have been more properly dealt with through a concerted international criminal investigation, not a martyr generating bloodbath.
The people of Afghanistan feel strongly about the situation, too. A majority of Afghan citizens are opposed to the war. Afghan citizens may oppose the Taliban, but that doesn't mean they want their wedding parties interrupted by 2,000 pound 'precision' munitions, either.
Afghan citizens, like most people the world over, want peace, and the ability to live their lives in the way they see fit.
And what matters most should be the wishes of the Afghan community. Afghanistan belongs to them, whatever our leaders may believe about the rights of the United States to interfere with the sovereignty of any nation on earth.
If we are to move towards a more peaceful world, it is imperitive that we strengthen the rule of international law and move towards a system where conflict is mediated through diplomacy. Democracy building abroad should be by example, not at the barrel of a gun. By listening to the will of the people, the Obama adminstration can prove to the world that the United States is still capable of living up to the principles on which it was founded.
For those who forgot, the declaration of Independence begins with 'We the people,' not with 'We the Generals.'
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