Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home/customer/www/ufppc.org/public_html/libraries/fof30/Input/Input.php on line 99 United for Peace of Pierce County - UFPPC statement: Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Get some hotdogs. God bless you.
"We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy."
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYBODY. ENJOY THE FIREWORKS. GET SOME HOTDOGS. GOD BLESS YOU.
July 5, 2012
At this year's Fourth of July celebrations we didn't see as much of the jingoistic rhetoric that was so plentiful back in 2002, following 9/11, and 2003, following the American invasion of Iraq. A casual observer could almost get the impression Americans celebrating the Fourth of July think that with the war in Iraq "over" and the war in Afghanistan "winding down," the United States is in a peaceful phase of its existence. It isn't true, of course. After all, a quarter of them have a close friend or family member serving in the regular military. It's just they just don't like to talk about it all that much.
So the president, on July 4, 2012, celebrated the holiday with a concert on the South Lawn of the White House for some military personnel and their families. He did the same thing on the last Fourth of July, which shows he thinks it's a politic thing to do. His remarks, as reported on the White House website, sought to be reassuring. This sums up the gist: "How’s it going, everybody? Are you hot? It’s supposed to be hot. It’s the fourth of July. . . . Now, the last thing anybody wants to do is to ruin a nice backyard barbecue with a long speech, so I’m going to be quick. . . . Today, all across America, at schools, and beaches, and in town squares, Americans are celebrating the freedoms that all of you and your families defend. Like many of them, we’re grilling in the backyard. We’ve got some pretty good tunes for you. . . . [A]ll of our troops are now out of Iraq. . . . we’re transitioning out of Afghanistan. We will remain ready for any threat. . . . So, Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Enjoy the fireworks. Get some hotdogs. God bless you. God bless your families. And God bless these United States of America."
In other words, everything is O.K., thanks to the U.S. military.
In fact, everything's getting hairy, thanks to the U.S. military.
Armed groups are running rampant in Libya.
A democratic revolution in Egypt has been met with a reactionary coup d'état by a military junta that claims all executive and legislative power.
In northern Mali power has been seized by a radical Islamist group that is destroying ancient landmarks in Timbuktu.
In Israel, militant right-wingers are firmly in control and a poll last week suggested that 64% of the Israeli public supports Jewish settlement of "Judea and Samaria," the term expansionist Zionists use for the West Bank, though this is illegal under international law.
Israel continues to threaten to attack Iran's nuclear program, and on Thursday, an Israeli general predicted that Israel will probably soon invade Lebanon again in the wake of the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
Syria, of course, is in the midst of a bloody civil war that a number of countries, including the U.S., are turning into a proxy war aimed at overthrowing a hostile regime, but since it's friendly to Russia, China, and Iran, they're not going along.
Turkey is mobilizing along its border (where U.S., British, and French special ops are said to be active) and threatening Syria.
Iraq is experiencing a another surge in violence and its political situation is precarious.
Saudi Arabia is bent on overthrowing Bashar al-Assad of Syria and would also like to see the Iranian regime overthrown.
Meanwhile it's supporting the suppression of democracy activists in Bahrain with the tacit consent of the United States, which bases its Fifth Fleet there.
U.S. forces are engaged in Yemen in what they call a "focused counter-terrorism campaign," with nearly daily drone attacks.
The U.S., in fact, is now engaged in a drone war whose targets (in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia) are selected weekly (on "Terror Tuesdays") by President Obama with the help of the CIA; the missiles are launched from Predator, Reaper, and Sentinel drones controlled operationally from Creech AFB 35 miles NW of Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is quietly building up military forces in the Persian Gulf region (in Kuwait, especially) and increasing pressure on Iran, and Aviation Week reported on Jun. 25 that "Evidence is mounting that the U.S. defense community and the Obama administration view 2013 as the likely window for a bombing attack on Iran's nuclear and missile facilities."
In Afghanistan, supposedly allied forces are turning against U.S. personnel with increasing frequency, and doubts about how long the Karzai government in Kabul can be sustained after the NATO withdrawal (combat forces by 2013, all troops by 2014) are widespread.
In every country mentioned, the U.S. is or soon will be playing an active role. And in many cases, the U.S. is the principal cause of the situation in question. Officially, it's all about "defending American freedoms" and "keeping America strong." But ordinary Americans don't like to talk about it all that much. In the words of Andrew Bacevich: "Call it habit or conditioning or socialization: The citizens of the United States have essentially forfeited any capacity to ask first-order questions about the fundamentals of national security policy. To cast doubts on the principles of global presence, power projection, and interventionism, as Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich did during the 2008 presidential primaries, is to mark oneself as an oddball or eccentric, either badly informed or less than fully reliable; certainly not someone suitable for holding national office" (Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War [Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, 2010], p. 27).
So, Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Enjoy the fireworks. Get some hotdogs. God bless you.&nsp; God bless your families. And God bless these United States of America.
UNITED FOR PEACE OF PIERCE COUNTY
"We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy."
UFPPC statement: Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Get some hotdogs. God bless you.
UNITED FOR PEACE OF PIERCE COUNTY
"We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy."
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYBODY. ENJOY THE FIREWORKS. GET SOME HOTDOGS. GOD BLESS YOU.
July 5, 2012
At this year's Fourth of July celebrations we didn't see as much of the jingoistic rhetoric that was so plentiful back in 2002, following 9/11, and 2003, following the American invasion of Iraq. A casual observer could almost get the impression Americans celebrating the Fourth of July think that with the war in Iraq "over" and the war in Afghanistan "winding down," the United States is in a peaceful phase of its existence. It isn't true, of course. After all, a quarter of them have a close friend or family member serving in the regular military. It's just they just don't like to talk about it all that much.
So the president, on July 4, 2012, celebrated the holiday with a concert on the South Lawn of the White House for some military personnel and their families. He did the same thing on the last Fourth of July, which shows he thinks it's a politic thing to do. His remarks, as reported on the White House website, sought to be reassuring. This sums up the gist: "How’s it going, everybody? Are you hot? It’s supposed to be hot. It’s the fourth of July. . . . Now, the last thing anybody wants to do is to ruin a nice backyard barbecue with a long speech, so I’m going to be quick. . . . Today, all across America, at schools, and beaches, and in town squares, Americans are celebrating the freedoms that all of you and your families defend. Like many of them, we’re grilling in the backyard. We’ve got some pretty good tunes for you. . . . [A]ll of our troops are now out of Iraq. . . . we’re transitioning out of Afghanistan. We will remain ready for any threat. . . . So, Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Enjoy the fireworks. Get some hotdogs. God bless you. God bless your families. And God bless these United States of America."
In other words, everything is O.K., thanks to the U.S. military.
In fact, everything's getting hairy, thanks to the U.S. military.
So, Happy Fourth of July, everybody. Enjoy the fireworks. Get some hotdogs. God bless you.&nsp; God bless your families. And God bless these United States of America.
UNITED FOR PEACE OF PIERCE COUNTY
"We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy."