Just a few moments ago, the Senate voted 60-39 to move forward with debate on health reform legislation. OFA Director Mitch Stewart explained:
For the first time ever, the Senate just voted to begin debate on a comprehensive health insurance reform bill. This was the first big hurdle we had to overcome to pass reform through the full Senate. The decision was close -- and insurance company lobbyists were working overtime to defeat us -- but your calls this week made a huge difference. There are more fights ahead, but this is a big victory and I wanted to take a minute to thank you for making it possible.
President Shimon Peres also paid tribute Friday to Obama, saying that his leadership had meant "peace became a real and original agenda."
******************The President******************* Jerusalem, 9th October, 2009 "Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a lord in heaven and believers on earth. "Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction." Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of Israel, Shimon Peres.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasite/images/iht_daily/D091009/peresobamaletter.pdf
What I like about President Obama and His Presidential team is that they stay abreast of all that is going on in America,they have their fingers on the pulse of all cultures and mentalities of the The American People they are not intimidated nor or they shy about dealing with militias, cooks, wingnuts and etc. This kind of mess, being spewed by wolf's in sheep clothing like Anderson and a few others will not be kicked under the carpet, nor ignored and it is unacceptable and unjust to think or do so... Personally to me : S. Anderson is a thug and he needs to be treated as so, and as demented and dangerous as he is, his followers are even more so...for example, the guy with the militia gun had just heard Jim Jones lite(Steve Anderson ) called for the Destruction of Our President the previous day. I really like this Administration because they don't run from problems, they run to them and handle/solve them. GoD Bless President Obama His Entire Presidential Team and may God Continue to Give Him Wisdom and Knowledge/Favor and Solutions to Riddles/Hard Problems and Enigma's that Confounds/Stumps and Stun his enemies and Amazes his Supporters. Definition of Confound:
-verb (used with object)
1.to perplex or amaze, esp. by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him. 2.to throw into confusion or disorder: The revolution confounded the people. 3.to throw into increased confusion or disorder. 4.to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake: truth confounded with error. 5.to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated. 6.to damn (used in mild imprecations): Confound it! 7.to contradict or refute: to confound their arguments. 8.to put to shame; abash. 9.Archaic. a.to defeat or overthrow. b.to bring to ruin or naught. 10.Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.
Definition of confound is Courtesy of Definition.com
From David Plouffe:
Earlier in the week, we asked if you thought we should put the experiences of real American families on the air and online to show why we need heath care reform. The overwhelming answer? Yes.Thanks to your support, we were able to spring into action and share with America the very personal reasons why we cannot afford to miss this one chance to finally reform our health care system. I want you to be the first to see this powerful ad. It features real people telling their true stories of lost coverage, watching loved ones go without care, and making the case for why we need reform. Once you watch this, you'll see what we mean about how powerful these personal stories can be -- and why we need to get them on the air right away. Will you watch the video now, and then donate $25 or more to put it on the air?As we speak, Congress is rapidly hammering out the details of the health care bill, and getting this message out now is crucial. Our representatives must understand how strongly we feel about the need for real reform -- and that we need it now. In the next few days, we must decide how many of these ads we can make, where we can air them, and how many views we can guarantee. The more resources we have, the greater the impact we'll be able to make. So watch this first video, and then please dig deep with a donation of $25 or more so we can get this ad and others like it on the air and online in key areas across the country. https://donate.barackobama.com/healthcaread Thanks for making it happen, David Plouffe P.S. -- Over 99,000 people have already donated to power our campaign for health care reform. This is the perfect time to join them, and help us hit our big goal of 100,000 donors for health care.
Earlier in the week, we asked if you thought we should put the experiences of real American families on the air and online to show why we need heath care reform. The overwhelming answer? Yes.
Thanks to your support, we were able to spring into action and share with America the very personal reasons why we cannot afford to miss this one chance to finally reform our health care system. I want you to be the first to see this powerful ad. It features real people telling their true stories of lost coverage, watching loved ones go without care, and making the case for why we need reform. Once you watch this, you'll see what we mean about how powerful these personal stories can be -- and why we need to get them on the air right away. Will you watch the video now, and then donate $25 or more to put it on the air?
As we speak, Congress is rapidly hammering out the details of the health care bill, and getting this message out now is crucial. Our representatives must understand how strongly we feel about the need for real reform -- and that we need it now. In the next few days, we must decide how many of these ads we can make, where we can air them, and how many views we can guarantee. The more resources we have, the greater the impact we'll be able to make. So watch this first video, and then please dig deep with a donation of $25 or more so we can get this ad and others like it on the air and online in key areas across the country. https://donate.barackobama.com/healthcaread Thanks for making it happen, David Plouffe P.S. -- Over 99,000 people have already donated to power our campaign for health care reform. This is the perfect time to join them, and help us hit our big goal of 100,000 donors for health care.
It is time for us to renew and change our own personal way of thinking!!!!!!!!!
We Need to Find Different and Multiple Ways to increase our personal finances.
In the budget outline that he delivered to Congress last month, President Obama identified three key areas that are critical to our long-term economic health: Health Care, Energy, and Education. This morning, President Obama delivered remarks on education reform at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 19th Annual Legislative Conference at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center. He stressed the importance of education and stressed the connection between education and economic success, saying "let there be no doubt: the future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens."
The President outlined five key areas for reform:
We here in Las Vegas are watching the wildfires in L.A. and are so sad that so many of you have lost their homes. Is there anything we can do?
Can we organize a food, clothing or personal necessities drive for you? Is there a church or charity taking donations? Do you need cages and/or food for animals? We're pretty good at organizing here so just let us know how we can help and we'll coordinate a drive to help you.
If we don't all practice what the campaign taught us, we have learned nothing.
Hi! We made history. When Barack Obama was elected President today it was because of a trillion small acts from millions of Americans ovet the past 2 years that has brought us to this moment. Every little thing we do has an impact be it big or small. Every little thing can matter a great deal. A little push is all it takes to set off a chain of dominos.
Each of you has contributed to this moment in history. We've each given what we could. Please take a moment to reflect and write down some of the things you did that mattered most to you, or write down everything you did. It doesn't matter. Then, pass this on to everyone you know who contributed time, energy, and/or money to this effort so they can be included.
Please cc meltzer7@charter.net . We'd like to see how the list grows.
Jess in MA: Phonebanking, postcard writing/organizing, event hosting, and lots of other stuff. Jonathan Meltzer (Berlin MA) Standing in the rain with 700 other volunteers listening to Barack speak before heading out to door knock on the first day of canvassing in NH April 2007.... Convincing a woman in Nashua at 5:30 PM primary day who was not going to vote to go to the polls and vote for Barack.... organizing a massive student outreach in MA, VT, NH, NY and RI to get college students from NH to register and vote absentee in NH....
Emma RUddock (mass HQ) - pulling an all nighter at the Mass Headquarters with some amazing people and entering data, my amazing college dems leaders who's enthusiasm is so incredible and inspiring, realizing after the NH primaries that this was not going to be easy but that we were going to do it anyway, succeeding in convincing my parents to let me take the year off from college to work fulltime on the campaign, meeting some of the most incredible people that I have ever gotten to know, voting in my first presidential election
I've heard this election process (and volunteering in it) compared to labor and delivery before. It's an apt description. I am so tired. I can't imagine what it's like for Barack and Michelle and their families.
I've been doing the best I can as a town coordinator but I also have two young children to care for and a husband who is also devoting a ton of time to the campaign spearheading the NH Student Voter Project. I don't want to feel like there was more I should have done so I keep pressing on and doing little bits as I can throughout the day. I hope it all adds up and combined with what others are doing each day we're able to effect the change we're looking to see in our government and our role in it.
But I am tired and ready to vote. We're all trying to push through and birth this change. There is no choice but to see this through or fail and failure isn't an option. I cannot see how our middle-class family can survive four more years. I can't see how our nation can survive four more years. I cannot fathom how we could not seize this moment in time, in history and elect Barack Obama President. He is the right man for this time. We need to see this through.
The atatck on Obama's character begins this week... Let's all deluge media outlets with letters and calls telling them to resist the smear attack strategies employed by the dying Republican Party... we can not take poll numbers for granted... Here's a sample of one of the letters I just sent:
To the Editors,This week, we'll be barraged by character assassinations of Barack Obama from McCain, Palin and a dying Republican Party. Please resist it. As keepers of our public's integrity, report the facts. Ayers, Renzo and Wright are sure to be names we will see and hear a lot of in the next 3 or 4 weeks... but they are unimportant. They are distractions. They are an attempt to get Americans to stop focusing on real problems such as the economy an go back to petty things like Paris Hilton, lipstick and the fear of terrorists lurking in every dark alley.What matters is having a President who is intelligent, has vision, internalizes empathy and respects the American people. What matters is that we have a serious dialogue about our economy and the plans that will get us on the right track. What matters is that we select a leader who can reverse the immense damage to America's standing and reputation around the world.You have a responsibility. Governor Palin and John McCain have tried to paint the media as tainted, biased and in the way. Please show them they are wrong. Please keep the public informed on real and relevant news, honest assessments and referee calls when campaigns like the ones being waged by the Bush Republicans go off the rails.Sincerely,Clifford Sharples
The Earth is Square, Really, Senator John McCain!!
Senator John McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin is like a choice of a person who has lost all his smart marbles! Gov. Palin's contention that man's practices do not contribute to global warming is not unlike a layperson saying the earth is not round, it is square, for documentary upon documentary, including eyewitnesses report that the accumulation of CO2 gases in the air are due to man's increasing carbon footprints. And what does Senator John McCain tell us? He wants to tax our health care plans. Gee, many crickets, this is not just a bad Disney movie, this is like living in earth that is square, but when in fact it is round. It is what Senator McCain wants us to do, to keep bearing the economic burdens from those who must carry their fair shares, to become globally responsible citizens. Senator McCain, let us exchange positions at the moment. Suppose you have an elderly family member, and you need to care for her, and all her available dollars are spent for her meals and rent, with not a single penny to spare, and now the federal government under your administration wants to impose taxes on those? Just so, the federal government can continue to give you and your friends another chunky tax cuts, hefty millions for you and your friends, just plenty enough that you can afford to buy another loft for Meghan, or another Jaguar for your wife, Cindy. Oops, actually, for Cindy to afford another $300,000 outfit for another public event, while my relative has to make a choice between buying her prescription medications or buy her shampoo. Truly Senator McCain, for a person who is aggressive in asserting his faith in God, how unconscionable is it to keep insisting on tax cuts for you and your families and your friends, while those overburdened already are still being asked to carry more? Are you nuts? Or are we nuts in even considering you as our next President? I do not think so, and come November, we will come to our senses and vote common sense into the highest position in US, and elect someone who will extend universal health care, and not tax our health care benefits, the little that we have already!
We were planning some Harcum Precinct events for the next 47 days. We'll be doing regular Sunday canvasses up here, and voter registrations on Saturdays through October 4. I noticed that an upcoming Sunday is October 19, Yorktown Day, the anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Since an important part of that battle was fought in Gloucester, going out and working for change that day seemed particularly significant. After all, this anniversary marks the end of America's first Campaign for Change! Our forefathers saw something wrong with their government and they were doing something to change it, and that's exactly what I feel we're doing now. They won their Revolution with a grass roots effort, with community militia organized to achieve something everyone told them was impossible. Our efforts now parallel their actions in some ways.
I was pleased to be able to mark that day with our Canvass for Change, and that inspired me to extend an invitation to Michelle Obama to join us in our canvass. Of course, I realize Mrs. Obama has hundreds, if not thousands of invitations for every day between now an the election The likelihood of her coming to our event is extremely small. But if you don't ask, the chance is nil. And besides, there are a lot of good reasons for Mrs. Obama to join us. Two weeks before the election, a canvass in rural Virginia might be the sort of event the campaign is looking for! We are a community of affluent retirees, Wal Mart moms, Nascar dads, farmers, watermen, people of every income range and walk of life. We are the home of Powhatan and Pocahontas. Thomas Jefferson sat upon the roof of Rosewell Plantation with John Page and discussed the issues surrounding the birth of our nation.
Just sending an invitation to Michelle Obama is exciting. It's got everyone on our team energized. Not because we really expect her to come, but because it has made us realize we are doing something important enough that she might.
Stop the War Drive; Hands Off Iran!Reno Actions in Support of Nationwide Demonstrations to Prevent War on Iran: Join us at the corner of McCarran and S. Virginia at 12 noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday September 27th.Bring signs and banners opposing the drive toward still another war, this time with Iran.The current regime in the White House can only maintain its legitimacy through perpetual war.The people of the U.S. and the people of Iran have more in common with each other than either has in common with their 'own' rulers. The people of the world have no interest in more slaughter.We need unity in resistance to the mad schemes of power-hungry tyrants in Washington or in Tehran.
I'm not sure if you guys have heard this story, but it is certainly worth repeating. And all of it is true.
A couple weeks ago, I received a mysterious Omail that went something like this:
Sender: MaryanneAZ
Subject: URGENT message re. Trip to Convention
I have just been contacted by the DCCC that I have won an all-expense paid trip to the Denver Convention. I am unable to attend due to health issues and I immediately thought to ask if I could transfer my win to another supporter. The DCCC only does this in cases such as mine where I cannot go because of health reasons. The reason I am contacting you is that I am hoping to transfer my trip to you, or if you are already scheduled to attend, to another die-hard supporter. You don't know me beyond my posts on the blog, but I have noted your valuable contributions and I think it would be appropriate to pass on my good fortune to another die-hard supporter who has made a difference. Anyhow, I need to contact the DCCC immediately so please contact me.....
Maryanne
Can you believe that?
I almost had a heart attack. I almost fell down. I grew weak at the knees, I started to sweat and my hear rate increased.
Had I read that right? My name wasn't even in the message - surely this was some accident or mistake. I re-read the message a dozen times. Without consulting my wife or the Joe Ruwe Fundraising Team, I immediately replied that YES! I WOULD DEFINITELY GO!
So, when I finally spoke to sweet Maryanne in Arizona, later that day, it was all true. It was me she was talking about and yes - the DCCC would let her transfer her trip to me. It was all a dream. A whirling, unbelievable fantasy....
And so I went.
And it truly was extraordinary. And as soon as I can find the time, I will start posting the epic story of my week in Denver. Epic is the only word for it.
So I say thank you Maryanne, for this most extraordinary gift you have given me. When I saw Barack's speech from my incredible seat at Mile-High Stadium, I thought of you and what you had done for me. When I saw Bill and Hillary Clinton unite the party in historic and dramatic fashion, I thought of you. When I shook the hand of my hero in the Senate, Patrick Leahy, I thought of you and I told him about how I happened to be there. When I shook hands with the legendary Congressman John Conyers, I thought of you and how incredibly lucky I was and how unbelievably generous and inspiring you are in my book.
Being in Denver was truly historic. Beyond historic. And as I begin to tell my epic 5-day tale, you will understand why.
Thank you Maryanne. Thanks for thinking of me. I know many people who have done more for this campaign than I have, but I could never question why and how you chose me. I just went with it and made the most of it, like I told you I would.
I agree with you about many things, and our politics sound almost exactly alike! I also agree with you that nothing happens by accident, and I thought about that every day that I was there.
Your story, and mine, was quite legendary in Denver and within the DCCC, and now within the Obama/Biden community. You have inspired a lot of people, the least of which is obviously me, my wife and the JRFT.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I will never, ever forget last week or you - the person who made it all possible.
Now, I know in my heart, more than ever.......
Y E S W E C A N ! ! ! ! ! !
Your grateful friend in Santa Cruz,
joe ruwe
Georgia's savage attack on Ossetia hardly got a mention in the corporate news. There was only the "inexplicable" Russian "aggression" against Georgia "on slight provocation." THE NATION's Katherine Vanden Heuvel gives some background on events in the Caucasus below. No one is wearing white hats in this shoot'em up.
"The past week's events in South Ossetia are bound to shock and pain anyone.... Nothing can justify this loss of life and destruction. It is a warning to all." --Mikhail Gorbachev, Washington Post, August 12
I am heartsick at the violence and brutalities on all sides. Georgian, South Ossetian and Russian friends have all suffered. Yet commentary in the US media, almost without exception, has turned a longstanding, complex separatist conflict into a casus belli for a new cold war with Russia, ignoring not only the historical and political reasons for South Ossetia's drive for independence from Georgia but also the responsibility of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for the current crisis. So eager have commentators been to indict Vladimir Putin's Russia that they have overlooked Washington's contribution to the rising tensions.
Certainly Russia should be condemned for escalating the fighting beyond what was necessary to defend South Ossetians and Russian peacekeepers. But the US media have failed to provide the full backdrop. For one, the role of Saakashvili--who has sought to provoke Moscow over a range of issues in recent years--has been whitewashed. Georgia's president has often seemed more intent on currying favor with the Bush Administration, which has strongly supported Georgia's bid for NATO membership, than on looking after the interests of his people. The United States has also sent hundreds of military advisers to Georgia and welcomed Georgian troops in its "coalition of the willing" in Iraq. The irony is that the Bush Administration, which violated Iraq's sovereignty, now feigns outrage over Russia's actions. And for all the flowery talk of promoting Georgia's democracy, the Bush Administration has in the past year downplayed Saakashvili's violent crackdown on Georgian protesters, as well as his rigged election, declaration of martial law, attacks on opposition media and jailing of opponents.
In intervening militarily to protect South Ossetians and Russian peacekeepers, Moscow suggested it was following the precedent of Washington's 1999 war against Serbia. And just as Washington widened that war beyond the Kosovo theater to attack Serbia's infrastructure, Russia expanded its war, hitting targets in Georgia proper, thereby challenging the UN Charter. By doing so, Moscow is warning that NATO expansion on Russia's borders will not be tolerated.
There are also unasked questions about the conflict's eruption. Was Saakashvili's military strike designed to force NATO's hand after its hesitant endorsement of future membership for Georgia? Did the Bush Administration's public support of Saakashvili's belligerent stance toward Russia convince the Georgian president that he would have US backing if he attacked?
Such questions have been virtually ignored amid the relentlessly one-sided commentary, with critics like William Kristol and Robert Kagan drawing hysterical parallels with Munich in 1938, and Clinton Administration diplomat Richard Holbrooke issuing a truculent demand in the Washington Post that Russia pay a price. Yet calls for sanctions or boycotts are hollow. Even if the United States were not already stretched to the breaking point in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush Administration policies have left us with no credibility in Moscow and, therefore, little diplomatic leverage. That is why it was left to the European Union, despite its internal divisions, to arrange a cease-fire and advance a framework for resolving the conflict.
Yet crises like these also present opportunities--and new dangers. As I write, there is ambiguity to the current French-brokered ceasefire agreement---with the Russians interpreting it as permitting them to establish new security measures beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia until international monitoring mechanisms can be worked out. Thus, Russia has positioned forces outside of Gori and have taken control of the port area of Poti. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's response of sending humanitarian aid--delivered by the US military--poses dangers because it could cause an inadvertent hot war if US military forces engage Russian forces. Bush Administration and Pentagon officials have made it clear that US forces would not be "protecting the Georgian airport or seaport, but we we'll certainly protect our assets if we need to." Instead of hollow threats at this stage, we should seek restraint on all sides, and make every effort to move these issues into an international forum were cooler heads could prevail.
Above all, as Mikhail Gorbachev said Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live, this crisis--and the opportunity it provides--should create the space for a different US-Russian relationship. A new approach must begin with recognition of Georgia's sovereignty but also recognize that Russia has legitimate interests along its borders and in areas that have been its traditional zones of security, from Central Asia to the Caucasus to Ukraine. And having established a precedent in supporting Kosovo's independence, Washington should work with Russia to set up a process, monitored by the UN, that could likewise lead to South Ossetia's and Abkhazia's eventual independence. This could establish the basis for a more cooperative US-Russia relationship that would also be in the interests of the Georgian people. As Mark Ames points out in a companion article at thenation.com, this conflict exposes a clash between two fundamental principles of international relations: the right of nations to control territory within their borders versus the right of peoples to self-determination. The West cannot simply claim the precedence of one principle (self-determination in Kosovo, for example) and then assert that of the other (national sovereignty in Georgia) without exposing its own hypocrisy and motivations based on power politics.
A key element in a new security paradigm must include a US commitment to end eastward expansion of NATO, especially to Georgia and Ukraine. In return, Washington and Moscow should jointly guarantee the sovereignty of those two countries. NATO expansion has furthered no one's security--in fact, it has increased regional tensions, aroused Russian insecurity and hostility, and discouraged countries from pursuing independent relations with Moscow, leading them instead to adopt provocative policies and act, at times, like virtual US colonies.
Worryingly, neither US presidential candidate has given a hint of being willing to rethink policy toward the region. While Obama argues for UN mediation and the importance of finding a settlement, both he and McCain support NATO membership for Georgia. (McCain is, of course, far more bellicose, tied as he is to ultra-neocons who demand that Georgia's--and Ukraine's--NATO membership be expedited and that Russia be excluded from the G-8.) Does either candidate even bother to consider that if Georgia had been a member of NATO when it launched its incursion into South Ossetia, the United States would now be at war with Russia? Isn't it finally time to dissolve a cold war military alliance and build a new geopolitical security structure for this century? "
Tuesday, June 24th 2008
Nikolas Kozloff, NACLA
For a candidate who talks the talk on human rights, Barack Obama has little to say about the infamous School of the Americas (SOA). Originally established in the Panama Canal Zone in 1946, the school later moved to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1984. Since its inception, the institution has instructed more than 60,000 Latin American soldiers in military and law-enforcement tactics.The Pentagon itself has acknowledged that in the past the School of the Americas utilized training manuals advocating coercive interrogation techniques and extrajudicial executions. After receiving their training at the institution, officers went on to commit countless human rights atrocities in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Colombia.Activists long lobbied Congress to shut down the school, and in the waning days of the Clinton presidency they nearly achieved their goal. In July 1999, the House passed an amendment that cut funding for the military institution, but the Senate decided to pass its own version of the bill that included funding. Compromise legislation between the House and Senate deleted the funding cut, effectively restoring public support for the school. Shortly afterwards Congress renamed the school Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) and revised the institution’s structure and curriculum.Now fast forward to the 2006 mid-term Congressional election: hoping to make use of their newfound majority on Capitol Hill, some Democrats sought to eliminate WHINSEC’s funding once and for all. Shortly after their victory in November they nearly succeeded with 203 legislators voting against ongoing public support of the school and 214 in favor. The closeness of the vote suggested that if the Democrats were able to increase their legislative majority in 2008, then the WHINSEC might indeed be history.Outside the halls of Congress a number of prominent organizations joined calls to shut WHINSEC including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the United Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the NAACP, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, and over 100 U.S. Catholic Bishops.Still, the Democratic presidential candidates refused to take a stand against WHINSEC. In fact, the only two Democrats who expressed opposition to the institution were long shots Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich (on the Republican side, Ron Paul said he too would shutter WHINSEC).In the early stages of the presidential race, Kucinich pledged to close the school if he were elected. A longtime foe of WHINSEC who had voted repeatedly to close the institution while serving in Congress, Kucinich even attended a political protest held at the gates of the school in late 2007.But now that Kucinich and the other Democratic contenders have bowed out of the race the question is: where does Obama stand? On International Human Rights Day last year the Senator remarked, “We in the United States enjoy tremendous freedoms, but we also carry a special responsibility—the responsibility of being the country so many people in the world look to… for human rights leadership.”Obama then added that Bush had undermined human rights: “We were told that waterboarding was effective. We were assured that shipping men off to countries that tortured was good for national security. We were led to believe that our military and civilian courts were inadequate, and so we established a network of unaccountable prisons.” He continued, “We have not only vacated the perch of moral leader; we have also compounded the threat we face, spurring more people to take up arms against us.”Obama lamented that the Bush administration had destroyed the moral credibility of the United States worldwide. In Darfur, Burma, Zimbabwe, Russia, and Pakistan, human rights violations were on the rise. Unfortunately, Washington no longer enjoyed any international respect and could not speak with authority on human rights.Poignantly, Obama closed by stating, “The very depth of the anti-Americanism felt around the world today is a testament not to hatred but to disappointment, acute disappointment. The global public expects more from America. They expect our government to embody what they have seen in our people: industriousness, humanity, generosity, and a commitment to equality. We can become that country again.”Obama likes to employ soaring rhetoric when discussing human rights. But late last year, he failed to take a strong position opposing WHINSEC. When pressed, the candidate praised Congress’ revision of the school’s curriculum but said that he wanted to continue to evaluate the institution.What more information could Obama possibly need to reach a final decision on the matter? An Obama spokesman said the senator "has not committed to closing down the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, but he will take a hard look at the program and the progress it has made once he is elected." The spokesman reiterated Obama was pleased with the institution's inclusion of human rights courses.To put this in all in perspective then, on this issue Obama has staked out a position to the right of Ron Paul, many members of Congress, and mainstream labor and Church organizations.Given widespread public disgust towards torture and the like, Obama’s meekness on WHINSEC is perplexing. In the wake of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and revelations about so-called waterboarding, many U.S. citizens have soured on the War on Terror. Meanwhile, the prisoner detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has become an international eyesore. Even President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have publicly said they’d prefer to close the facility.Obama also supports closing Guantánamo, which makes his statements on WHINSEC all the more befuddling. In the present political climate, what does the Senator have to lose by coming out against the former School of the Americas? Perhaps he fears the GOP might accuse him of being weak on defense. But Republican nominee John McCain is not likely to use torture as ammunition during the campaign—it hardly seems a winning electoral issue for the Arizona Senator. What’s more, many voters are oblivious to WHINSEC and have little knowledge of, or interest in, U.S. policy towards Latin America.No, it’s not fear of GOP retaliation on the campaign trail that keeps Obama quiet on WHINSEC. What the Senator is really concerned about is offending the movers and shakers within the military-industrial complex. Closing WHINSEC would demonstrate that the United States has no interest in dominating the peoples of Latin America by military means. Obama however is reluctant to make a clean break from the United States’ imperialist past.On the other hand, try as he might to skirt the issue, Obama will soon be obliged to take a clearer stand on WHINSEC. That’s because the House recently approved the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2009. The amendment obliges WHINSEC to publicly release the names, rank, country of origin, courses, and dates of attendance of the school's graduates and instructors.Legislators pressed for the measure because in recent years WHINSEC has withheld vital information that would have helped to identify the perpetrators of massacres, targeted assassinations, and human rights abuses committed in Latin America. In a resounding defeat for the Pentagon, the measure was approved by a vote of 220 to 189. The amendment now heads to the Senate where all eyes will be on Obama.The vote, however, will not resolve the larger question of whether WHINSEC should be shuttered once and for all. If it chose to, the media could prod the candidates to address U.S. military policy towards Latin America during the fall campaign. So far however reporters and pundits have ignored the topic, preferring instead to ask Obama about his flag pin.McCain has suggested the two candidates participate in town-hall style debates, potentially allowing more direct engagement with voters. The U.S. public would surely welcome this departure from the relentless and insipid questioning featured in previous debates. It would certainly be refreshing to see Obama questioned on issues of real substance such as the historic U.S. role in Latin America, military policy, and human rights.
