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THE INSIDE HISTORY OF THE
ISRAEL LOBBY
Former top
CIA analysts Kathleen and Bill Christison give CounterPunchers
the real scoop on the Israel lobby and precisely how powerful
it is. Read
how US presidents from Wilson, through FDR to Truman were manipulated
by the Zionist lobby; how Israel bent LBJ, Reagan and Clinton
to its purpose; how Bush's White House has been the West Wing
of the Israeli government; how Washington's revolving doors send
full-time Israel lobbyists from think-tanks to the National Security
Council and the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans. For all who want a
true measure of the Lobby's power, the Christisons' 8-page dossier,
exclusive to CounterPunch newsletter subscribers, is a MUST read. CounterPunch
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No
More Pro-War Politicians, No More Wars of Choice
A
Gold Star Mother's Memorial Day Plea
By TIA STEELE
This Memorial Day let us remember all
fallen troops by insisting that the United States no longer engage
in wars of aggression. In this election year, the voters must
make it abundantly clear to anyone running for office in the
United States that candidates will not have their votes, funding
or volunteer time if the politicians do not insist on a rapid
withdrawal from Iraq and opposition to future wars of aggression.
Of the troops currently fighting
in Iraq, a majority (72%) say that the U.S. should get out of
Iraq within a year. A majority of the U.S. public agrees. Yet
our elected officials - who are supposed to represent
the people's views - continue to vote for funding the war in
Iraq and fail to speak out against aggression against Iran.
On this critical issue of war or no war there is a huge disconnect
between the voters and the people elected to represent them and
their views.
My stepson, Lance Corporal
David Michael Branning, was killed on November 12, 2004 in the
assault on Fallujah. He was KIA when he and his buddy were ordered
to kick in the door of a private home in that city. I imagine
that in the last minutes of their lives, these two young men
must have known that there might be people in that dwelling -
people who were defending their home. These defenders fired on
David and his fellow Marine. David was shot in the throat and
the bullet exited his head; he died virtually instantly. His
friend bled to death within minutes. David was 21 years old and
the other young man was 20. I don't want other families to suffer
the loss and pain that my family, and others, are suffering.
I don't want other young men and women to suffer the fate of
David and other Marines and soldiers too many lives have
already been lost.
My mission since David's death
is to do all that I can to stop the madness that is sending more
innocents to their unnecessary deaths. After David was killed
I quit my job to work fulltime in the peace movement. I have
been privileged to work on the "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit,
which includes a pair of combat boots representing each troop
who has been killed, and civilian shoes representing the Iraqi
casualties in this war. I do everything I can to honor David's
life as well as his death, and contribute what I can to make
sure that the U.S. does not continue to perpetuate an aggressive
military strategy that puts more young people, and civilians
in the countries we attack, at risk. The greatest monument to
David and the nearly 2,500 U. S. troops who have been killed
will be an anti-war movement that is well organized enough and
powerful enough to end this war and prevent future unnecessary
wars.
We have unacceptable reasons
for staying the course in Iraq. We must withdraw immediately.
We owe it to our military people, to the people of Iraq and the
United States, and to our severely damaged reputation in the
world. We must retrieve and heal the soul of our country and
elect only those individuals who stand for peace.
I urge all those who oppose
the military occupation of Iraq and do not want to see future
wars of choice to sign the "Voters Pledge" at www.VotersForPeace.US.
Thirty thousand people have already signed the pledge.
Voters For Peace is a project
made up of many of the major organizations in the anti-war movement:
United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, Gold Star Families
for Peace, Code Pink, Democracy Rising as well as groups with
broader agendas like the National Organization for Women, Progressive
Democrats of America, AfterDowningStreet.com, and the American
Conservative. The goal of this coalition is to build a base
of anti-war voters that cannot be ignored by anyone running for
office in the United States. We want millions of voters to sign
the pledge and say no to pro-war candidates.
You can help right now by visiting
www.VotersForPeace.US
and immediately signing the Voters Pledge which states:
"I will not vote for or
support any candidate for Congress or President who does not
make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future
war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign."
And after you sign it, send
it to everyone you know and urge them to do the same. Together
we can change the path of the United States move us in
a new direction, away from unnecessary wars and toward a peaceful
co-existence that recognizes the precious value of every human
life.
Tia Steele is member of Gold Star Families Speak
Out (GSFSO), an organization of family members of United States
military killed in this war. GSFSO is a chapter within Military
Families Speak Out (MFSO), a 3,000-member organization of military
families opposed to the occupation of Iraq. Ms. Steele works
with the American Friends Service Committee in Baltimore, MD.
For more information visit http://www.mfso.org/article.php?id=524.
Now
Available
from CounterPunch Books!
The Case
Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
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