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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY
OR UNCLE SAM?
The answer
at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's
power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow
annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would
sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags
the tail.Fifty
years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs
out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the
heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg
in the East Village.Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii
died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher
Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered
them up.CounterPunch
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Caution: writing and soon even saying
"West Point," "United States Military Academy,"
"USMA," or "U.S. Army" in a context a military
lawyer doesn't like could land you in trouble for infringing
trademark protection.
Yes, trademark--that funny
little circle with a "T" in it that corporations sometimes
put behind their name, logo, descriptive picture, animation,
or words that are uniquely and readily associated with their
business or one of their products. And because of this uniqueness,
companies use trademarks to prevent others from stealing or imitating
these familiar symbols to deceive the public and damage the image
and reputation of the business.
(Think in terms of your own
name and how important it is to safeguard your reputation among
friends, neighbors, business associates, creditors, lenders,
and vendors--everyone with whom you come in contact.)
That the Department of Army
(DA) had registered these words and acronyms under trademark
only came to light when a small group of academy graduates who
opposed the war in Iraq decided to create a web site explaining
why they objected and to invite other military academy graduates,
spouses of graduates, or children of graduates to join them in
a strictly virtual (that is, on-line) association. The association
is really a loose network of individuals; it has no dues, collects
and spends no money, has no meetings. Its title, website, and
email address accurately reflect who they are and what it is
they have in common: military academy graduates or immediate
family members of graduates against the war.
A fair question is why they
oppose the war?
Over the last six weeks, eight
retired generals have publicly criticized the planning for the
Iraq debacle. The foundation of these objections always come
back to professional practicalities--violating the principles
of war, lack of imagination and foresight as to the more likely
scenarios that could develop, under-resourcing the occupation
force.
The founders of the group using
the name of the location of the military academy along with their
status (by replacing the nine "X's" with the letters
of the location and adding status gives "Xxxx Xxxxx Grads
Against the War") have a more basic critique than the generals.
They believe the administration's shifting justifications to
the American public for going to war to be purposefully deceitful
and completely at odds which the moral code represented by the
academy's motto--"Duty, Honor, Country."
The letter from the academy's
Staff Judge Advocate's office implies that DA obtained the trademark
to "protect the valuable trademarks that enhance the image
and standing" of the institution both domestically and internationally.
Undoubtedly, given that it licenses the manufacture and marketing
of objects sporting images and logos associated with the academy
and the army, DA is entitled to try to distinguish authentic
quality items from cheap imitations carrying the army's "trademarks."
But the rationale evaporates
when the arena shifts to ideas and the expression of ideas, which
in our system is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The image and standing of the academy rise and fall on its inherent
ability (or lack thereof) to produce professional officers imbued
with high moral standards (especially complete honesty) and the
courage to apply those standards objectively but with considered
compassion. This is exactly what the Xxxx Xxxxx Grads Against
the War are calling for--and it is demonstrably opposite the
administration's record of misleading statements in the run-up
to March 2003.
Moreover, unlike civilian educational
institutions, the military academy is a taxpayer funded public
institution that is part of the Executive branch. The academy
has a responsibility to safeguard the facilities paid for by
taxes and initiate reasonable measures to protect service members,
cadets, and visitors while simultaneously being accessible to
the general public. In short, it exists to serve the people,
not the other way around.
The most damaging and damning
criticism of democratic government in general and the United
States in particular stems from transparent attempts to distort,
stretch, and hide the workings of government behind bureaucratic
barriers and obvious obfuscation. Being unable to suppress the
message, the academy is attempting to discredit the messenger.
And in so acting, those responsible for the ill-conceived letter
from the Staff Judge Advocate's office have managed to make the
DA and the academy appear petty--hardly a portrayal that bolsters
"the image and stature" of West Point.
Daniel Smith, a retired colonel and Vietnam veteran,
is a West Point graduate and a grad against the war. He can be
reached at: dan@fcnl.org
Now
Available
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Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
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