For many
years, I have opposed the war on drugs without being
anti-police. I disagree with drugs
laws that run counter to individual liberty, disproportionately hurt minorities, are
inconsistent with how we treat other drugs like tobacco,
and would be much better dealt with through a public health
approach. I'm troubled that even with the country at elevated
levels of alert, the Bush administration launches Operation
Pipedream and busts Pipesforyou.com, while Ken
Lay and other corporate scoundrels haven't been indicted.
But I can still appreciate the police who implement these laws
and I respect that they act out of a sense of duty and patriotism,
including many of my students - who
have been beaten up, stabbed, shot and left for dead in the
line of duty.
The NY Times headline
was Bush Offers Optimism to Cheering Marines, but the last
half of the story quotes a senior administration official as
noting "our task is now changing from managing irrational skepticism to managing irrational exuberance."
Also, "Both Pentagon aides and officials close to Mr. Bush cautioned today that it might take some time before forces were ready to enter Baghdad, and the battle for Baghdad could take some unexpected turns.
'There is still much work to be done, some of which will be very, very
difficult,' General Myers said.
"Mr. Rumsfeld argued that the much-questioned war plan had
'avoided a number' of potential troubles, including missile attacks on Israel and other major risks. But he said risks continued, adding that
'nothing is over until it's over'."
Universal health care. Rebuilding the nation's schools. Repair of the road and rail networks. Sounds like a Democratic domestic agenda, right? Actually, it's the Bush administration's plan for the re-construction of Iraq. Now, I'm all for rebuilding Iraq when Saddam's gone. But it's ironic that Republicans don't have plans to stop the rise of Americans without health care.
[rest
of comment and response ~ 2.1
million jobs lost during Bush administration]
Outrage Spreads in Arab World:
Civilian Deaths in Baghdad Market Called a 'Massacre'
(Washington Post) "Mr. Bush has lost us. We are gone.
Enough," said Diaa Rashwan, head of the comparative politics unit at the
Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "If America starts winning tomorrow, there will be suicide bombing that will start in America the next day. It is a whole new level now."
The anger was a clear sign that U.S.-Arab relations, despite the Bush administration's campaign to win hearts and minds, was at a low point.
"Bush is an occupier and terrorist. He thought he was playing a video game," said George
Elnaber, 36, a Arab Christian and the owner of a supermarket in Amman. "We hate Americans more than we hate Saddam
now"
Rich and poor, young and old, Saudis are seething over the war in Iraq. Many feel connections to the people across the border, sharing names with Iraqi tribes. It is virtually impossible to find a Saudi who has even a vaguely sympathetic word to say about American intentions.
"I don't understand why Israel can have nuclear weapons and Saddam Hussein cannot,"
al-Qaida
website to their "brothers in Iraq": “victory over the U.S. [in Iraq] is very possible
... easy beyond the imagination” and depends on “depleting, exhausting and terrorizing the
enemy.” It advises Iraqi Muslims to fight in small groups trained in “reconnaissance, traps and raiding operations,” and to mount rocket
launchers on pickup trucks.
In Afghanistan, al-Qaida’s secret weapon was not the ever present pickup truck, but a
Toyota Corolla — a passenger car — filled with bombs and shoulder-fired missiles. “The
enemy did not notice we were using them, and most were not directly
targeted”
Letter of resignation, written by career diplomat John Brady Kiesling to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell:
"The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security."
[Much
more...]
International humanitarian law
(IHL) in brief: International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer
participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare. International humanitarian law is also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict.
Link just goes to a short
teaser, but has other photos and it's worth checking out
their website if you haven't been there before.
They
hate us for our freedom? DOWNS AND HIS SON each had a pro-peace shirt made at a store in the mall. One shirt simply said "Let Inspections Work" on one side and "No War With Iraq" on the other. The other shirt said "Give Peace A Chance" on the front and "Peace On Earth" on the back.
The men were not disturbing any shoppers, but their presence apparently caused a Macy's employee to report them to mall security. When security approached them in the food court, Downs and his son were asked to remove their shirts. Roger Downs complied, but when Stephen Downs wouldn't, he was told to leave the mall. When he refused, he was arrested for trespassing.
[charges
dropped after protests...]
Not Fit to Fight?:
With War Looming, the Military Is Still Discharging Gays: Although his language skills will be in high demand if the United States attacks Iraq, Alastair Gamble knows he won't be going to the Gulf.
Gamble, who has had training by the Army to interrogate prisoners in Arabic, was discharged last summer for being gay.
Dr. Monica Hill, an Air Force reservist who received a military scholarship to complete her medical studies, was eager to serve in the Gulf, too. But she won't be going either: she was discharged in October after notifying her superiors of her homosexuality because she wanted to care for her partner, who was dying of cancer.
[also: Human
Rights Watch report on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and
anti-gay harassment in the military]
