Wednesday, September 11, 2013

War Weary Public Rejects Attacking Syria

The Huffington Post, OpEdNews, 9-12-13

   
   

Twelve years after 9/11, Americans are sick of war. In poll after poll, majorities say the war in Iraq was a mistake and our troops should come home as soon as possible from Afghanistan. According to a CNN poll released yesterday, seven out of 10 said "they didn't see how a strike on Syria would serve the national interest," and three-quarters said the U.S. shouldn't be the world's police force.

Gallup polling conducted Sept. 3-4 found only 36% of Americans supported U.S. military action against Syria, far lower than the 59% who favored war with Iraq in February, 2003, or the 82% who rallied behind invading Afghanistan in October, 2001. In Gallup pollster Andrew Dugan's words, "currently...much of the nation would rather sit this one out."

President Obama's ill-conceived push for an immediate military response to Syria's use of chemical weapons (in its brazen August 21 attack on opposition-controlled areas that the U.S. determined killed as many as 1,429 civilians) ran up against this buzzsaw of public opinion. And he found few allies abroad who were willing to go along with the plan. When the British Parliament rejected Prime Minister David Cameron's proposal to join the United States in military action, Obama was forced to slow down.

Seeking political cover, but also recognizing the public's growing anti-war sentiment, the President announced he would ask for Congressional approval authorizing a "limited, proportional" use of force. He explicitly ruled out putting American "boots on the ground." The initial resolution that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved stated this "does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Syria for the purpose of combat operations." Even Sen. John McCain, a fervent supporter of bombing Syria, said Obama would be impeached if he deployed troops there.

And then, members of Congress got slammed with a tsunami of citizens saying "Hell, No" to any new war adventure in Syria. From red states to blue states, conservatives and liberals found common cause in opposition to a military strike. "Ninety-five percent of my constituents have indicated to me in emails and phone calls that they do not want to see the United States getting involved in a bloody and complicated civil war in Syria - and that certainly has some influence on me," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT). "My phone calls, emails, and faxes are running 96% no," said Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas). "I've never encountered an issue where you had 96% agreement...our phones are ringing off the wall." Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) claimed calls to his office opposing an attack on Syria outnumbered those supporting it by 753-10.

From the beginning, it was highly probable that the President would lose a vote on Syria in the Republican-controlled House. This week, it became clear he could also lose the Senate. So it was a lucky break for Obama, and all of us, that an off-the-cuff comment by Secretary of State Kerry was seized on by the Russians as a potential way to defuse the crisis. Is Russia acting in its own self-interest by trying to head off an attack on its ally, trading partner and weapons client? Without a doubt. Is Syria prepared to willingly hand over all its chemical weapons stocks to international inspectors? Probably not. But the Global War on Terror (brought to us by Bush & Co.) has consumed more than enough U.S. blood and treasure in the past twelve years for every American to welcome any delay in the march towards more war.

In recent days, some commentators like Washington Post syndicated columnist Robert J. Samuelson have pooh-poohed the concept of war weariness. He reminds us that according to the Congressional Budget Office, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost a combined $1.4 trillion from 2001-2012, but rationalizes that this sum "pales next to all federal spending," $33.3 trillion during the same period.

How many schools could we have built in the U.S. for $1.4 trillion? How many affordable housing developments? How many vacant factories could have been rehabbed and repurposed into start-up incubators for small businesses? What kinds of public transportation projects could we have invested those resources towards? Our nation's infrastructure has been crumbling for decades, and instead of fixing it we've been shoveling cash into the furnaces of the war machine.

To those who would slam Obama for bowing to public pressure on Syria, it's worth remembering that when George W. Bush was in the White House, public opinion didn't count for squat. Our entire nation was strapped into a car with a drunk driver at the wheel, convinced The Decider knew best. And if John McCain, Mitt Romney, or God forbid, President Palin were currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the chances of any of them slowing down a rush to war would be pretty slim.

America never saw the peace dividend that was supposed to come with the end of the Cold War. Instead, George H.W. Bush sent us back to war for oil, and we spent the next decade propping up desert dictatorships to keep the black gold flowing. These policies allowed the military-industrial complex to stay humming, stoked anti-American sentiments in the Middle East, and created fertile ground for extremists like Osama bin Laden to recruit a generation of jihadists to fight us. Which led to another decade of conflict. We can be thankful that twelve years after the horrific events of 9/11, the American public has grown tired of endless war, and is finally daring to imagine a different world.

Rogues Gallery

All Posts by Category

Tags

#ChapelHillShooting #MuslimLivesMatter (1) $400 haircuts (3) 1960s (1) 1980s (1) 1984 (1) 1988 elections (1) 1989 (1) 1990 elections (3) 1992 elections (1) 1993 (3) 1994 elections (1) 1996 elections (3) 1998 elections (1) 2000 elections (3) 2004 (7) 2004 elections (2) 2008 (32) 2008 congressional races (2) 2012 elections (3) 2014 elections (13) 2016 elections (7) 527 groups (1) 9/11 (4) 9/11 first anniversary (1) Abba Eban (1) Abbe Raven (1) Abbie Hoffman (2) ABC (1) abortion (3) action alert (7) activism (2) advertising (2) advocacy (1) affair (4) Affordable Care Act (1) affordable housing fund (1) afghanistan (2) Age of Obama (1) AIDS (1) AIDS victims (2) AIPAC (1) al gore (2) Al Sharpton (1) Alec Guettal (3) alienation (2) Alison Lundergan Grimes (1) alternative energy (10) Alzheimer's (1) amanda marcotte (2) American Left (4) Americans for Limited Government (1) Americans For Prosperity (1) Amnon Rubenstein (1) andrew young (3) Angelo Robinson (1) anti-communism (1) anti-gay bigotry (1) anti-gay violence (1) anti-immigration activists (2) anti-science (1) anti-Semitism (1) anti-vaccine (1) anti-vaxxers (1) anti-war (6) appeal to southern voters (1) apprentice (1) Ariel Sharon (1) Ashley Todd (2) assassinations (2) Astroturf (1) atheism (1) attack ads (5) attack on voter rights (4) Australia (1) autism (1) average Americans (1) baby boomers (1) baby formula (1) bank of america (1) bankruptcy reform (1) barack obama (24) Barry Commoner (2) BBC (1) Benghazi (1) Benjamin L. Ginsberg (1) Bensonhurst (1) Berkeley (1) Beth Ising (2) bi-racial coalition (1) Biden-Palin Debate (1) big banks (1) big money (4) bigotry (7) bill clinton (6) bill donohue (1) Bill Hedrick (1) Bill O'Reilly (1) billionaires (1) Billy Bragg (1) Black Cultural Center (1) Black Lives Matter (4) black voters (7) Blan Holman (1) block the vote (1) bloggergate (1) bloggers (1) blogosphere (1) Bob Dole (1) Bob Iger (1) bob johnson (1) body cameras (1) books (3) Borders (2) BP (2) Brad Blog (1) Brad Friedman (1) Bruce Braley (4) budget deficit (1) bush (7) Bush Administration (2) bush administration misconduct (3) bush donor (1) bush on steroids (1) bush v. gore (1) California (1) Camilo Padreda (1) campaign feud (1) campaign finance reform (8) campaign gaffes (2) campaign scandals (4) campaigns (1) can edwards win (3) canvassing (1) capitalism (2) Catalyst (5) censorship (5) Cesar Chavez (1) Chad Taylor (1) Channel One (1) chapel hill (7) chapel hill town council (3) Charlie Black (1) Charlie Crist (1) Chatham County (1) chemical industry (2) children (1) chris hughes (1) Chris Whittle (1) Christine O'Donnell (1) CIA (3) CIA recruiting (1) CIA torture report (1) citizen participation (1) Citizens United (1) civil disobedience (2) civil rights (7) civil rights movement (1) civilian casualties (2) Civitas Institute (1) class issues (1) Clean Up Congress (1) Clear Channel (2) Clinton Administration (3) code words (1) Cold War (1) colin powell (1) Colin Small (1) college campuses (2) colonialism (1) columbia (1) community reinvestment (1) community reinvestment act (1) concentration of mass media ownership (4) Concord (1) congress (7) conservation (1) consumer fraud (2) consumers (2) Coors (1) corporate accountability (8) corporate front groups (1) corporate giveaways (2) corporate greed (1) corporate influence (4) corporate media (2) corporate misconduct (8) corporations (8) corruption (1) counter-inaugural (1) CRA (1) cra-nc (2) Craig Hicks (1) CRomnibus (2) crony capitalism (1) cross burnings (1) Crossroads GPS (1) Cuba (1) cuban exiles (1) cultural imperialism (1) Dale McKinley (1) damage control (2) Dana Rohrabacher (1) dark money (3) Darren Wilson (2) David Ball (2) David Brower (1) David Dellinger (1) David Duke (1) David Horowitz (1) Deah Barakat (1) debates (1) Debbie Cook (1) demagogues (3) democracy (6) Democratic Convention (1) democratic nomination (15) democratic party (2) Democrats (2) Denis Hayes (1) deregulation (1) detainees (1) Dick Cheney (1) dictatorships (1) dirty tricks (4) discrimination (1) Disney (1) disparate treatment (1) diversity (1) divisive politics (3) Dominican Republic (1) Donald Rumsfeld (1) donald trump (4) dumpstering (2) durham (2) e-mail (2) early voting (2) Ebola (2) economic inequality (2) economic issues (1) economy (4) ed meese (1) Ed Rollins (1) Edison Project (1) edith childs (1) education (2) edwards affair (4) election day 2008 (1) election fraud (1) electoral college (1) Eliot Spitzer (1) Elizabeth Dole (1) elizabeth edwards (2) Elizabeth Warren (3) Emily Lawson (1) employee pensions (1) end racism (4) energy independence (9) entertaining ourselves to death (5) environment (15) environmental pollution (5) environmental racism (2) Eric Garner (2) Eric Holder (1) Eric Odell (2) Ericka Kurz (21) evan bayh (1) Executive Orders (1) expenditures (1) exploitation of 9/11 (2) Exxon Valdez (1) factory farming (1) Faux News (1) FBI (1) Fear (1) fec (1) feminism (1) Ferguson (3) Fidel Castro (2) field plan (1) financial house of cards (1) fire (1) Fire From The Mountain (1) firebombing (2) fired up (1) first openly gay elected official in south (1) Florida (1) florida recount (1) foreign policy (1) Fox News (1) fraud (1) fraudulent inauguration (2) Frederick Douglass (1) Free Speech Movement (1) freedom songs (1) friend (1) fuel efficiency (1) fundraising (2) gary hart (1) gay (6) gay history (2) gay marriage (1) gay-baiting (4) Gaza (2) gen. david petraeus (1) gender equality (1) general election (23) Generation X (1) George H.W. Bush (9) George Norris (1) george w. bush (12) Geraldine Ferraro (1) Germany (2) gerrymandering (1) get-out-the-vote (3) GLBT community (1) global warming (2) GOP (27) GOP Slime Machine (10) GOTV (3) government harassment (1) government secrecy (1) great recession (1) greed (1) Greg Orman (1) grocery store (1) ground game (1) ground zero (1) GSE's (1) guerrillas (1) guest workers (1) Gulf War (5) gun violence (1) h+r block (1) hackers (2) Hamas (2) Harriet Ann Jacobs (2) Harris Wofford (1) Harry Blackmun (1) Harry Truman (1) Harvey Gantt (6) hate crimes (1) hate-mongering (3) hatred (3) health care reform (4) hedge funds (2) Helen Caldicott (2) Henry Hyde (1) Henry Kissinger (1) Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1) hero (1) Hezbollah (1) hillary clinton (14) historical amnesia (1) history (1) hit the road jack (1) HMO's (1) Ho Chi Minh (1) hoaxes (1) Holocaust (1) home foreclosures (1) homophobia (1) housing (1) Howard Rich (1) HR 1461 (1) Huks (1) Human Rights Campaign (1) hurting communities (1) i feel pretty (1) iit’s a wonderful life (1) immigration (4) immigration action (1) immigration reform (3) Inauguration Day 2009 (1) Incidents In The Life of a Slave Girl (2) income inequality (1) Indigo Girls (1) industrial agriculture (1) industrial revolution (1) integration (1) intelligence community (1) international relations (1) Invasion of Panama (1) Iowa (4) iowa caucuses (1) Ira Magaziner (1) Iran/Contra scandal (1) iraq (2) iraq war (4) iraq war costs (2) Irgun (1) ISIS (1) Islamic State (1) Islamophobia (1) Israel (5) Israeli Labor Party (1) Israeli-Palestinian conflict (6) James Bay II (1) James Carville (1) james watt (1) January 20 2001 (2) January 20 2009 (1) jeb bush (3) Jenn Karson (1) Jenny McCarthy (1) Jeremiah Wright (1) Jerry Falwell (1) Jerry Rubin (1) Jesse Helms (13) jesse jackson (3) Jessecrats (1) Jesus de Galindez (1) JFK Assassination (1) Jill Biden (1) Jim DeMint (1) Jim Hunt (3) Jimmy Langman (3) job losses (3) joe biden (3) joe herzenberg (3) Joe Sestak (1) joe trippi (1) John Boehner (3) john edwards (12) john kerry (4) John Lennon (1) John Locke (1) John McCain (16) John Moody (1) john poindexter (1) John Raese (1) John Reich (1) John Sinclair (1) Joni Ernst (5) June 24 1973 (1) justice (2) justice for all (1) Justice for Mike Brown (1) Kansas (2) Karl Marx (1) Karl Rove (5) Kay Hagan (4) Kayla Mueller (1) Ken Calvert (1) Kentucky (1) Kirti Shastri (1) KKK (1) Koch brothers (4) Korean War (1) Ku Klux Klan (2) labor unions (2) Lakota Woman (1) Lamar Alexander (1) Larry Kissell (1) Latin America (2) Latinos (2) Lawton Chiles (1) lazy journalism (1) Lebanon (1) lee c. wilson (1) legal system (1) Lehman Brothers (1) lesbian (1) liberation theology (1) Libya (1) Likud (3) Linda Brent (2) Lisa Abbott (3) lobbying (1) Louisiana (1) love child scandal (2) lynching (1) macaca moment (1) MAJIC (1) Mandy Carter (1) Marco Rubio (1) Mark Chilton (2) Mark Kleinschmidt (1) Mark Penn (1) marketing (2) Martin Frost (1) Martin Luther King Jr. (1) Mary Brave Bird (1) Mary Crow Dog (1) maternity leave (1) Matt Czajkowski (1) max cleland (1) mayor of franklin street (1) mbna (1) McCain missteps (2) McCain VP (7) McCarthyism (1) McDesperate (4) measles (1) media (2) media bias (3) media failed to inform (2) media hysteria (1) media monopolies (3) medical insurance industry (3) Medicare (1) melissa mcewan (1) memorial (1) Menachem Begin (2) mentor (1) merger (1) Michael Bell (1) Michael Brown (3) Michael Stipe (1) Michele Bachmann (1) Michelle Bachmann (1) michelle malkin (1) Michigan (1) middle east (1) Miguel Recarey (1) Mike Castle (1) Mike Easley (2) Mike Hummell (1) military-industrial complex (3) Millennials (1) Milton Wolf (1) minimum wage (1) mission not accomplished (1) Mitch McConnell (3) Mitt Romney (6) Mobil (2) molly ivins (1) money (1) Moral Majority (3) MOVE (4) multiculturalism (1) multinational corporations (2) Muslim Americans (1) mybo (1) NAACP (1) Nat Turner (1) Nathan Sproul (1) Native Americans (2) nc (4) NC Legislature (1) NC MOBE 96 (1) NC PDP (1) neo-nazis (1) Nestle (1) netroots (3) New Left (1) New Orleans (1) New World Order (1) New York City (3) Nicaragua (2) no justice no peace (1) No More Bushes (1) nobama democrats (1) non-profits (2) North Carolina (23) North Korea (1) nuclear industry (3) Obama Inauguration (1) Obamacare (1) Obsession DVD (1) OCAW (1) occupied territories (2) October 28 2007 (1) offshore drilling (1) Ohio (1) oil (10) oil industry (6) oliver north (1) Omar Cabezas (1) online organizing (1) oppression (2) oprah (1) organizing (12) Orlando Bosch (1) Osama Bin Laden (1) ots (2) outrage (1) overconsumption (1) Palestine (1) pandagon (1) pat buchanan (1) Pat Roberts (2) Pat Toomey (1) patriarchy (2) Paul Wellstone (1) payday lending (1) peace (4) peace is patriotic (1) Peggy Young (1) Pennsylvania (2) Penny Rich (1) Peter King (1) petition (2) pharmaceutical industry (1) Phillipines (1) phonebanking (1) phony billionaire (1) picketing (1) PIRGs (1) PLO (2) police accountability (4) police brutality (5) police oversight (4) political committees (1) political consultants (1) political heroes (1) polls (1) pottersville (1) President Obama (4) presidential campaign (30) privatization of education (2) pro-war propaganda (1) profits (1) progressive Democrats (3) progressives (1) property (1) protest (2) protests (6) Public Citizen (1) public health (2) public opinion (2) publishing industry (2) pulp (1) pulping (2) PUMA (1) race card (1) race relations (5) race riots (2) racism (22) racist terrorism (1) radicals (2) Rafael Trujillo (1) rally (1) ralph nader (3) RALs (1) Rand Paul (2) ray charles (1) reading list (3) reagan's racism (1) recall elections (1) recession of 1991-92 (2) recession of 2008 (1) redbaiting (1) redistricting (1) refugee camps (1) refund anticipation loans (1) reproductive rights (1) Republican National Convention (2) republican party (2) Republican Study Committee (1) returns (2) revolution (1) rich donors (2) Richard Fink (1) Rick Santorum (1) Rick Scott (1) rielle hunter (2) Right Wing (11) right wing Republicans (11) RIP (3) rip-off (1) Robert McCulloch (1) Robert Mercer (1) Robert Redford (2) Robin Hayes (1) ronald reagan (2) Ruby Sinreich (1) rudy giuliani (1) ruling class (1) rush limbaugh (3) Sabra and Shatilla Massacres (1) Sam Brownback (2) same-sex marriage (1) Sandinistas (1) Sarah Palin (14) SAU (1) savings and loans (1) Scamdal (1) schools (1) Scientology (1) Scott Brown (1) SDS (2) SEAC (20) selected not elected (1) Senate races (10) sept. 11 (4) sept. 11 2002 (2) sexism (2) Sharron Angle (1) Sheldon Adelson (1) Shimon Peres (1) single payer health system (2) Six-Day War (1) slaveholders (1) slavery (2) Smithfield Foods (1) social movements (1) social networking (1) solar panels (1) soul music (1) south carolina primary (4) Soviet Union (1) spat (1) Sprint (1) Stand With Peggy (1) state governments (1) Steve Scalise (1) Steve Schmidt (3) stolen election (5) stop bush (1) StopBrownback (1) strange incidents (2) street theatre (1) Student Action Union (1) student activism (19) student voting (3) students (11) subprime lending (1) super PACs (2) superdelegate petition (2) superdelegates (2) supreme court (5) susan baylies (1) swine flu panic (1) Syria (1) take action (16) tax code fairness (2) Tea Party (8) Ted Cruz (3) terrorism (2) Terry Sanford (1) The Revolt (1) The Zionist Dream Revisited (1) these guys (1) third world (3) Thom Tillis (3) Thomas Frank (1) Threshold (8) tim kaine (1) Time Warner (1) tobacco industry (1) Tom DeLay (1) Tongass National Forest (1) Tony Coelho (1) Tony Mazzocchi (1) torture (1) Troopergate (1) trump was born wealthy (1) U.S. power structure (2) UNC-Chapel Hill (5) undocumented immigrants (2) unemployment (1) United Kingdom (2) universal healthcare coverage (6) unprovoked war (1) UpStairs Lounge (1) uranium mining (1) US foreign policy (2) US support for Israel (2) vaccines work (1) Vandana Ramaswamy (1) VANISH (1) veepstakes (4) vice president (6) Vietnam War (7) VOE (1) volunteers (6) vote packing (1) voter education (2) voter ID (1) voter intimidation (2) voter mobilization (1) voter registration (12) voter suppression (9) voter turnout (8) voter-owned elections (1) voters (7) voters for obama (2) voting (1) voting problems (1) voting rights (1) vp (1) Waldenbooks (2) Wall Street (2) walter mondale (1) war (6) war in iraq (5) war on terror (4) war on women (1) war profits (1) War Resisters League (1) war toys (1) war weary (1) waste (2) waterboarding (1) wealth (2) white supremacy (3) Whittle Communications (1) Winona LaDuke (3) Wisconsin (2) women (1) Woodrow Wilson (1) Woodstock (1) workers (1) workplace discrimination (1) World War One (1) xenophobia (2) Yippie! (1) Yitzhak Rabin (1) you're fired (1) young voters (1) youth (1) youth empowerment (2) youtube (1) Yusef Hawkins (1) Zionism (2)

Even More Outrage via Leftweets.org

Twitter Outrage News Feed