Obama, Drones, and the Crisis of Democracy.

[Friedrich]

Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 3:00 P.M. Jerry White, Socialist Party
President, will speak on the drone weapons issue: University
Settlement, Houston Street & 273 Bowery St., New York, N.Y. 10002. See
the text at http://www.socialequality.com

" ... 'The New York Times' published several articles detailing the
role of President Obama in personally approving extrajudicial
assassinations by CIA and US military drone aircraft in Pakistan,
Yemen, Somalia and other countries."

Among those other countries is Bahrain and, soon perhaps, Saudi
Arabia. Al Qaeda has decided to settle in Saudi Arabia, allegedly.
They like the weather and the food is nice.

Saudi Arabia is the nation with all of the oil that we cherish and
whose welfare so concerned Mr. Bush, whose family is traditionally
allied with members of the royal clan.

Current American policies do not promote peace and stability in Saudi
Arabia. The administration has declared that the President of the
United States has the power to order the KILLING of anyone, including
US citizens, without charges or any judicial review. This power is
being tested in the Saudi's neighborhood, much to their dismay, since
it is pushing certain elements (Al Qaeda) within Saudi borders.

"The Obama administration's arguments, which are not challenged by any
section of the political establishment, have the most far-reaching
implications for Democratic rights in the United States. The right to
due process, the basic constraint on executive power, has no meaning."

Mr. Romney will make these matters worse and claims the same power
over life and death as Mr. Obama, also without due process
limitations. ("Obama Says Torture is a Secret.")

"Where does this attack on Democratic rights come from? [CIA?] How can
it be opposed? [Or by whom?] Jerry White, the Socialist Equality
Party's candidate for US president, will speak on the relation between
the decay of democracy and the structure of American society, and
present the socialist perspective in the 2012 election."

R. Fanning, "The Waste and Fraud of the 'War on Terror,'" in
"International Socialist Review," March-April, 2012, at p. 69.

Tom Englehardt, "The United States of Fear" (London: Haymarket Books,
2012), 230 pages, $16.95.

No expert on mass psychology would counsel the governor or would-be
dictator of a state to maintain a constant state of terror among the
population. There must be periodic respite and, occasionally, even
alleged reports of "successes" in the field of battle to encourage
continued struggle This is no less true in our nebulous "War on
Terror" than it was in Orwell's "1984."

In pursuit of this "War on Terror" we have gone to the dark side. We
have turned over power to shadowy government agencies who pat us on
the head and inform us that they will do the thinking for us in order
to maintain "control" so as to keep us safe. We are asked to trade our
civil liberties for security. But who will keep us safe from these
government officials? Who will watch the guardians of our security?

I believe that our liberties and rights, along with the rule of law,
happen to be our security. Hence, I regard Americans' post-9/11
willingness to accept the loss of many freedoms as dangerous and
frightening because (among other things) it makes us LESS safe.

I say this as I face reductions of my ability to write and brutal
censorship, including denial of the ability even to edit my texts. One
powerless dissident is feared merely for stating obvious truths. I
wonder what would happen to the leaders of a genuine revolutionary
movement in America today? Imprisonment? Murder? ("Freedom for Mumia
Abu-Jamal" and "Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal.")

"On average, domestic terrorism ranks just above shark attacks in the
number of lives it claims each year. Yet the US taxpayer is stuck with
a $1.2 TRILLION annual budget-- which equals the military budgets of
the next nine countries combined."

Whenever you hear politicians speak of "terrorism," hang on to your
wallet. A nation with a $4 TRILLION debt cannot continue to spend
itself into bankruptcy to fight a never-ending war against an
undefined abstract noun. I know about 9/11. I feel what others feel
about this event. I simply fail to see how a nation can remain
militarily strong and, increasingly, economically weaker.

The tiny number of people making a pretty penny doing the "cloak-and-
dagger" stuff, or so-called intelligence gathering -- possibly
including shaping public opinion through propaganda disseminated in
the mainstream media (Manohla Dargis?) -- those people are not going
to declare victory, so as to see their funds decreased, any time
soon.

The "War on Terror" must never be won or lost; the war will go on
forever making many "consultants" and "experts" extremely wealthy. Is
my experience of torture in New Jersey and beyond all that different?
("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of
Torture.")

If the "War on Terror" is ever won, the "jig" -- as they say at
Langly, Virginia -- "will be up."

"Keep that money coming!" Mr. Panetta says with a chuckle.