OpEd: Americans ready for Obama to end Afghanistan war

please see our comment to Peace Action West`s post;

May 2, 2012

by Rebecca Griffin


What did you think about President Obama’s speech last night? Read my take,
which appears here today in the San Francisco Chronicle, and share your
thoughts in the comments below.


The White House has been telling Americans fed up with the war that the
deal signed Tuesday with the Afghan government is the light at the end of
the tunnel. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is selling the same deal to
NATO allies as a sign of the United States’ enduring commitment.

The reality is that the new strategic partnership agreement is not all
things to all people. By the end of this summer, there still will be 68,000
troops in Afghanistan. The new agreement authorizes the U.S. military to
“advise and assist” the Afghan military through at least 2024. That could
translate to another 12 years of repeating our mistakes, with tens of
thousands of soldiers still in harm’s way.

This means that a large majority of Americans have reason to be
disappointed. According to a recent CNN poll, 77 percent of Americans want
all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, with 55 percent
wanting them out sooner. Last month, a Pew poll found that 59 percent of
swing voters want them home as soon as possible. Americans want out of a
war that costs us $2 billion a week. The NATO summit coming up this month
is a chance to take real steps toward that goal.

The U.S. occupation is the primary target for the Afghan insurgency, which
makes an enormous military presence inherently destabilizing to the Afghan
nation. Recent revelations have underscored this reality, such as the
photos of soldiers posing with dead insurgents, and the accidental mass
burning of Qurans. It is no surprise that Afghans are growing more
resentful of the American military presence. The international community
could play a constructive role in helping Afghans rebuild their country and
strengthen their government. But the trust needed to build that kind of
partnership between Afghans and Americans is sorely lacking. A clear and
responsible plan to withdraw U.S. troops as soon as possible would be a
first step in building that trust.

Withdrawing should not mean abandoning Afghanistan. The United States has a
responsibility to keep its commitment to Afghans. We also have an interest.
After more than 10 years of war, our futures are linked. Afghanistan’s many
challenges – from the lack of public support for the Karzai government to
widespread corruption – are rooted in politics. These problems require
political solutions that can’t be delivered at gunpoint. Ending the
occupation could provide an opening for a diplomatic and development
mission that would be not only more effective, but much less deadly and
costly.

At the May 20-21 summit in Chicago, NATO will address its role in
Afghanistan, and could lay groundwork for making this crucial strategic
shift. This week marks one year since Osama bin Laden was killed in
Pakistan. His death, along with a diminished al Qaeda presence in
Afghanistan, removed the primary justification for this war. The next few
weeks will be an opportunity to set forth a clear commitment and timeline
to bring the troops home.

That means now is the time to act. If you want this war to end, call your
congressional representative now. The House will be taking up a defense
policy bill the week before the NATO summit. Tell your elected
representative to use this debate to take a stand for a serious, detailed
plan to end this war.

Rebecca Griffin leads Peace Action West’s campaigns for alternatives to
war. www.peaceactionwest.org

end Rebecca.

start kara;

wow!, nice job Rebecca + PAW, just when i was about to write a few
legislators, you just gave me another peace of the puzzle, so i'll send
them your letter + mine.

i've come to the conclusion of this, those that know me, bare with my yada
for we have to speak up hear;

sadly due to our present security in place for many, as in Barack Obama,
Governors, legislators, etc. + family do live in a bubble with an unreal
world of guards around them.

this is 1 thing in common with those that lack of simple survival
mechanisms in place also in a bubble mode of not having what many of us are
fortunate to have. especially those that add the war mode economy, in their
back yard.

the commercial fisherfolks had their engines on on 1 side of mine + the CG
had theirs on on the other side, sounding, feeling just like a war zone.

so i never have been in one, yet have had dreams, shot, etc + can give
great empathy for yous right in this mess.

i saw the Ocean Frontier - The dawn of a New Era in Ocean Sustaoinability,
a movie last week with the governor of Oregon`s wife, along side Rep. Arnie
Roblan speaking out  in support of this film, which did have nice pieces of
solution, but by far did they cover a reality perspective of our local +
beyond communities. rather it was like a twilight zone giving phrase.

rather ist lady made a few jokes, few wiggles + that was ok, their where
children in the audience, but they did have a mutual simple respect for
life + for each other, as Arnie spoke high of her kindness.

my issue is our colledge students can + need to reflect with a little bit
more reality + yes retain simple common respect for coming together with 1
good universal science that we can all efficinetly bring home to self-
sustain as we adjust to each ecosystem/subject.

where each take part + build working sustainable communities that build
themself not just for their own back yard, rather with fuel left over to
share what works, so others locally + afar can do the same.

so Barack - advise + assist can truly interfefre in their ability to
self-sustain, gain fuel + also be in an exchange offering us what works for
them, as we then let it trigger us to bring home, the goodness of many
natives/indigenous on this planet`s offerings. but they can't have this
equal exchange if you are over powering.

so i'm awaiting a telephone call from the greenfire producer of the movei
above, asking,  why the natives + indigenous  where not added more than
just as in some quotes, why are they not acknowledged for having ways that
we can translate + equate good science with, as they describe the Iowa
farmers, that are now seeing their negative effects afar in the gulf with
dead zones the nitrogen fertilizer, that was marketed as needing much, was
discovered they didn't + don't. but i need to be clear if they still are
doing monocultures which pollutes the soil to begin with, for large farms
are very destructive, when our natural world requires small farms in
harmony with wild biospheres with balanced genetic bio-diversity which we
don't have locally in many US communities.

but to offset this Nitrogen excess damage they are replanting the native
grasses + restoring watershed areas they originally destroyed when put in
the monocultures, which natives never would do, prior to their lands being
taken, which now their is abig movement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
in the US where over 564, as of 2010, more now tribes, are restoring the
wild lands the way they once lived them for their children to experience
the wild in balance as they did.

Arnie says we need a baseline understanding before we do anything, + wants
to support a marine reserve in the local areas, when yet the commercial
fisherfolks are over regulated in a process, + they would interfere, plus
the process has shown they want to dictate vs sit down + negotiate, + the
film showed in port orford there process of the same but have worked thru
it. where here they did not have good data + have not made good science
working together with the locals, so they have no baseline from history of
the many good sustainable fisherfolks that say we do not need them on the
Oregon coast.

others say it could be real easy, that maybe if 50 people from both sides
sat down + looked each other in the eye + talked + listened, could resolve
real issues, remove wasted layers of misinformation + over regulation,
giving our locals that give us our food a lot more friendly smile when they
come to work vs stress + make life easier with simple common sense.

why do i bring this up, well Calum Stevenson a natural shores resource
specialist at Ocean Shores, working for Oregon state Parks, tells me i
cannot pick sea palms most likely after june of this year, due to no
resources to show the studies needed thinking old rules could irradicate +
better than old rules, they will say no picking for personal use of this
species. no funds availble.

well i than said i can't accept that whom is making this rule, + are they
open for public comment, so i'm awaitng that call to confirm again that i
understand right. + no commercial harvest of any seaweed will be done on
the oregon coast due to an expensive baseline study that would be required.

ok than i said if can't locally sustain a very good nutritous foraged
process that i have done for the few years here + done it sustainably, than
this is bad, because i'm penalized for another persons incorrect use. that
is wrong, now we have an enforcement issue of those that harvest wrong, not
in place, as well no awareness education, nor no good science that has
simply respected the natives that have done this forever, not to mention us
new combers + welcomed us all into the study.

ya know like the simple good old kindness that Arnie + 1st lady showed. not
what Calum stated, that it wpould be so expensive to cover all the
different ecosystems along this coast in the different studies that would
take place. well i ask where is the simple common sense of life when we see
it, where is it enacted in our curriculum, where in  our project osic we
are building, we will focus this as students are welcomed to come out of
the schoolroom + with the community develope/restore this simple respect.

where 1st people with out daily support will get hands on support, not to
mention once all that done + the students gain awareness in this great
exchange as they feel the enegy redirected once people stop struggling,
unable to see beyound into their community, due to struggling within them
self. now energy starts flowing + this cannot be done in a classroom only.
now all are working to change curriculum for their local community
restoration. where we will focus a land/freshwater flow to sea use review
before any development is done. for large developments are not doing their
ecological assessmenst due to not haveing studies in many cases +
interfereing in our natural workd that we as a living organism is dependent
on for all life to be healthy.

ok so Barack is your ideal of advise + assist this? how about yours
Congressman Peter DeFazio or yours Senator Merkely? + on as each
self-reflect??

Barack + Michelle has showed me that they want to make changes + understand
where government + market is wrong to make it right. what i ask of Barack
is to show me the fine tune assessment requirement for this EX; MOU
agreement locally + afar, so that we can create a sound way locally to
resolve our unclarity that many have lost in fragmented science, due to
their restrictions, etc.

in US it is not easy to talk to any legislator more than a typical 3 min
session or beyound a generalized response, this is wrong, + when we can"t
do it yet locally in US, no way do i trust you to speak for me afar. when
yet we havve good solutions with the international community coming
together now.

+ add our ability to reach out to these patches of plenty sound sustaining
folks locally + globally + link with the pockets still in the war mode
economy, still in the layers of dysfunction, for we welcome all into a
tapering transition, for some of these people + issues are in such a mness
that we need thee people to help sort it out, + we can support those
leaving negative effects as community locally welcomes folks with solutions
of sharp sensors with perceptions that did  their homework to then aid
options giviening people the reality of going with in them self + make it
right, make wrongs right as they become whole + again a responsible local +
afar community participant.

+ get away from this shooting mode of killing those that have done wrong,
meanwhile their is so much baggage intertwined amongst many simply knowing
nothing else than to carry forward behaviors of trying to survive.not to
mention the military involvements of US  than to be on the otherside, as
weapons are still traded to both sides, how bad is that.

wwell i'm not settling for a false policy to override natures real
sustaining way, i will follow nature + continue to attemtp to correct the
wrong policys that are interfereing + leaving negative effects to become a
positive way that works with a good science terminology that can back it +
co_evolve with it.

when now we have the resources as Barack you say let each live their
destiny, where i say we can support each to rid this past baggage taken as
normal, build sound networks locally for all to gain rehab so they all come
to table/cloth with support + now we gather with good networking + students
fill in these over due worn torn threads + build new connections along with
our neuro networks that many are still deficient with.

i'm sorry Arnie + 1st lady, yes you where kind, yes a lot of good people
telling real story in the Ocean Frontier movie, but wait until you see the
tallies from students with the reality of whos is doing what + why + what
can be done, what will be done, even in modes if have to , instead of
ecologically whoring from short sighted, people in all areas, that sadly
have degrees in many cases, yet are dysfunctional in responsible roles.

so i ask us all to take a inner review + rid your position if just another
layer or rid yourself from interfereing for we all have done it, + yet did
not realize but we can stop it now. + rethink, + come back into your local
community, which sadly due to so many in government in high security you
have totally lost perspective of what local natural community building is.

so i ask you what right due you have to tell an ancient civilization as in
the Middle East + parts in the world, Russia, that is hundreds of years
older than US as 1 example, + their are many good folks that we are
forunate to have that have retained good cultural common sense as they
still live close to `boon with the natural world below their feet.

we are so fortunate to have the cultural indigenous to share our ability to
survive + go beyond as our students will  bring us together, with good
gauges as in agroecology science amongst othes created from working with
the indigenous, as we combine old + new where not just degreed gets to fill
a position, rather all should be required to take a test, as in a farmer, a
politician, even an old legislator, etc. for life awareness now in this
time.

we suggest no more than 2 terms due to needing many of you to help figure
this out. but you older folks that have been here for a long time, please
step down + help these young bright minds, + many have their head in their
you know what, what their ability to build new neuro networks daily along
with rid their baggage as they see clearly from many of your acts, so
easily with your goodness + with their hands on aiding yous to once again
heal, + become self- reilant boon with your local naturall community +
welocme us all to restore our communities + be fueled to come together in a
very good tool that our virtual world now offers as we share what works,
each step of this process.

as in the WASH grant we worked so hard for + did not get, but we learned
alot + still working it, for we refused to do as USAID/DIV asked along with
Bill Gates supporting the grant, as they wanted us to target the poorest in
the world without water, food, sanitation, rather our ideal is project
osic, for us all to show each, how locally we produce it unknowingly. + we
will show the threads so we stop.

but until we do this, we have no right showing anyone our way, thinking we
all in US are fine, no way rather we have many left behind + much
disorgainization with simple survival tools ourself, as in our health care,
our education where here children don't have the resources even to come to
school without being hungry at Sunset Middle school says the teacher, + it
is hard to teach them. as well other schools only going 4 days a week due
to funding, ect.

oh + i can tell you many stories of people going in + out of ER vs good
home support due to their doctors in western medicine not paying attention,
which we will invite all to come along + do this local community walkabout
with students, perhaps own child as children + parent develop the
undeveloped within as we share + gain tools to build local community that
responsibly lives aiding all to be local, global + beyond participants.

i can't accept giving aid making people dependent thinking we are doing
good, as i told today the CLINTON FOUNDATION, this is wrong to negotiate
with greedy pharmaceutical companies along with energy bio-techs, as Al
Gore was, + maybe still is, that are in this false green moivement, then
give to the locals, meanwhile they don't sustain it themself or become over
consumed with more debt, all this is wrong, + with all the good resources
all give in our tapering transition each local community can do, then these
good gestures gone wrong will be more efficiently addressed so all
communities are economically stable yet their commons for soverighnty is
protected where all hold each accountable, so no more can business whores
gain from manipulating markets. rather they also will see how they can
invest in modes of good investment to restore ecological soundness as
genetic bio-diversity gains balance + now we link our global communities to
do earth balancing acts from the human interference, as people stop
polluting + networkd ways that work, with good virtual tools if choose, but
not make everyone have to have them, for nothing is better than going eye
to eye with our neighbors..

well we have learned this goes beyond funding, rather it is simple respect
for life + we have had it from the natives, which sadly where abused + now
people are coming together to make that right. but we don't need to do it
in fragments, rather we can acknowledge as in the ex of the film. markets
had bad science + over sold fertilizers that destroyed other life. large
monocultures ruined the watershed natural areas + requires toxic
fertilizers due to no crop rotation, destroying life in soil. the large
monocultures are trading with over seas corporations that over fish, fish
wrong with farmed fish that are toxic + pollution, as well being wastefull
processing food that has traveled back + forth actross the planet from
those that land + water grab + packaged food destroys more habitats. so
this list goes on + many are struggling, being indjured as in Honduras as
land/water is grabbed + government has sold out + people suffering, as well
other places which La Via Campesina can show you this detail as they
support local people globally, along with NYLENI, + many more.

not to mention PAW with your real stories.

so again thankyou all for coming together for we have solutions, but not if
we stay stuck in our own back yard, we are on this planet together +
deserve to have support so as for all to go figure how we can best obtain
harmony locally + beyond, which what i state here is an over abundance of
good positions to be filled. for we have a lot mnore work ahead of us + we
can do it as music fills the air, art is lived + good science is integrated
as we live it daily + co_evolve it as we keep life flowing in harmony +
accept nothing less.

any of you have bulk international school email addresses + also US
representitives + global reps that don't have local schools, then please
come aboard + send us your emails for our 1 time ebook mail out so we are
alll on the same page as we build this project osic together, you can go to
our forum + post it on subcatagorie bulk school emails;

http://i-come-to-talk-story-net.3220728.n2.nabble.com/

I'm sorry we did not get the grant, they said i had all that was needed,
for the resources could of done this a lot faster, so as to not let people
over working make fragmented decisons that leave negative impact, when we
can if we do this together cover everybody so as to fill int the missing
detail.

for many are just to pissed to even take part, leaving others over worked,
so please rethink for many folks are living in harmony + have no guilt for
they daily do their homework + make it work as they address what sustains
them + makes sure no one interferes, yet are able + fueled to do an
exchange so as to fill in the missing gaps giving folks another perspective
to make local life work, even if it is temporary, it will get us to the
next step fulfilling our desires as we gain strength to walk our path as we
build it, from clear sharp sensors maintained as we share this awareness,
that all can gain, bringing self to the moment, making good choices
controlling only self + aiding those unable to do the same with support in
place as needed until needed.

thank you, peace is our option now if we share what works, kara j lincoln