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Discontent among former Obama supporters grows
Published: 13 December, 2009, 11:56
Edited: 06 January, 2010, 22:41
Anti-war protesters hold a rally and march "calling for withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan" in front of the White House in Washington, DC (AFP Photo / Tim Sloan)
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Barack Obama promised the American people change and an end to wars started by his predecessor, but even under a new master, the White House has once again seen more anti-war protests.
Peace activists say all they see is more fighting.
One year on from president Obama’s election, many of his former supporters gathered outside his house to oppose the escalation to the war in Afghanistan.
In recent weeks, the president’s advisors and members of his administration have been finishing up rounds on Capitol Hill trying to sell his Afghan War strategy to American politicians.
Matthis Chrioux, as someone who served in Afghanistan, says president Obama has it all wrong:
“Just because we have a black president does not mean we cannot have a racist war. The arguments that Obama is making to sustain the occupation of Afghanistan are very similar to the arguments made by white slaveholders in the 1800s trying to justify the continuation of slavery.”
The activists say 30,000 more troops will only make things worse in Afghanistan.
Just days after President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, protesters have gathered near the White House to say that it is time for the president to start advocating peace not war. And they do not believe president Obama deserves the Nobel Prize.
Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney states that “Even in this crowd, people who voted for him thought they were voting for peace, and they are disappointed that we don’t have peace. And to top it all off, he has received the Nobel Peace Prize. The right path is to leave Afghanistan for the Afghani people.”
Former presidential candidates Cynthia McKinney and Dennis Kucinich are among the many politicians who are calling for an end to the war.
“If we cannot learn from Russia’s experience in Afghanistan – Russia is a very powerful nation but it understood its limitations to the use of power – the United States will learn that lesson in Afghanistan. But it will be at the cost of the deaths of a lot of innocent people, of the deaths of our soldiers, and of great financial expense,” believes US Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
That very financial expense is what worries American taxpayers too.
“I believe that the billions of dollars that are being spent on Afghanistan should be spent on the US right now,” claims peace activist Ben Kreider. “We have very high unemployment right now. We need jobs. People like me are in thousands of dollars of debt for going to college, and I think that the spending on the military industrial complex is very wasteful,” he concludes.
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To Nuta again: To live happy with good conscience you must have some humor ! A suiss newsman has called our over-excited president: Sarkonaparte 1er, because that "nullity" (I love that word) dreams to move to the Versailles-Palace with his "Pompadour". (I have also adopted that name). Since he received that capitalist distinction, I Call Obama: N-PiPO. In french funny talk pipo mean: talking to say nothing (bla bla bla) and do nothing. Soit: N=Nobel P: Peace: prononced Pi P= Price O= Obama. It is not a lack of respect, because as human, like you do, those two men (Obama, Sarkozy) leave me completely indifferent; but as presidents, they concern everyone of us; because of what the Future Generations will inherit. Ps: I, certainly know America better than you do...Sincerely. Jean-Claude Meslin
This time I agree, with the last comment. Why spend so much in Afghanistan when this nation is experiencing the worst economic hardship in years. Money is tight with banks, there is huge unemployment. With lowered house appraisals, revenue from taxes will be less for every municipality this year. Who are the American soldiers fighting for in Afghanistan, the continuation of the opium trade? If Russia, that has a better understanding of the region left the area, why will the US do better? America needs a shot of penicillin and not a bandage that only curtailed the bleeding.