[haw-info] HAW Notes (including links to recent on-line articles of interest)

 

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

 

Here are a couple of notes, followed by the sixth in our series of links to recent articles by historians on HAW-relevant topics – or articles by other writers that that provide historical background on these topics. 

 

1. Middle East historian Irene Gendzier, of Boston University, invites anyone interested "in following up the possibility of having a meeting on the subject of the Goldstone Report, or introducing it in the context of other conferences, to contact her at gendzier@bu.edu.

 

2.  The libertarian conservative web site antiwar.com, which has consistently opposed the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and focuses on war- and civil-liberties-related news, has put out a distress signal for donations.  Its home page is http://www.antiwar.com.

 

 

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

 

"History Promises Disaster in Afghanistan for Blind America"

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/CT_rick18_11-18-09_5DGFNCP_v9.3f8b504.html

By John R. MacArthur, Providence Journal, posted November 18

(by the publisher of Harper's Magazine)

 

"Washington's Welcome Indecision"

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23162

By Mahir Ali, Znet, posted November 18

 

"Who's Afraid of World Government?"

http://hnn.us/articles/119987.html

By Lawrence Wittner, History News Network, posted November 16

(The author teaches history at SUNY Albany,)

 

"Haunted by Gorbachev's Ghost"

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20091115_haunted_by_gorbachevs_ghost/

By James Fergusson, truthdig.org, posted November 15 (from The Independent)

(on parallels with the Soviet experience in Afghanistan)

 

"Obama, Learn the Lessons of Vietnam – from JFK, not LBJ"

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/11/13/2009-11-13_obama_learn_the_lessons_of_vietnam__from_jfk_not_lbj.html#ixzz0WlXtE7Dd

By Larry Berman and Edward Miller, New York Daily News, posted November 13

(Miller teaches history at Dartmouth College)

 

"Why the Afghan Surge Will Fail"

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6571

By Conn Hallinan, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted November 12

 

"The Fifty-Year War"

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091130/schell

By Jonathan Schell, The Nation (November 30 issue), posted November 11

(on domestic politics as the link between US decision-making in Vietnam and Afghanistan)

 

"Cold War Without End: America Never Had a Post-Communist Revolution"

http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/aug/01/00022/

By David Brown, Antiwar.com, posted November 10

 

"Drone Race to a Known Future: Why Military Dreams Fail – and Why It Doesn't Matter"

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175137/droning_on

By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted November 10

 

"Sen. George McGovern on the Presidency from Lincoln to Obama"

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20091106_sen_george_mcgovern_on_the_presidency_from_lincoln_to_obama

Interviewed by Robert Scheer, Truthdig.com, posted November 6

 

Suggestions for inclusion in these lists are welcome: they can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.  Members of the working group for this project are Matt Bokovoy, Carolyn (Rusti) Eisenberg, Jim O'Brien, Maia Ramnath, Sarah Shields

[haw-info] Historians Against War: National Call-in Day: No More Troops to Afghanistan !

From: the Steering Committee, Historians Against War

 

 

National Call-In Days November 23-25 : No More Troops to Afghanistan!

 

President Obama is still deciding whether to escalate the US military presence in Afghanistan. He is under intense pressure from the military to step up the war. We need to send a loud and clear message from the American public that this would be a disastrous decision !

 

For three days people from every corner of the country will be flooding the White House with calls, letting the President know that we oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan and want him to end this war. Historians Against War is joining with the Institute for Policy Studies, American Friends Service Committee, Peace Action, CodePink, United for Peace and Justice, Just Foreign Policy and many other national organizations to spread the word.

 

What you can do:

 

*On Monday-Wednesday November 23-25  call the White House 202-456-1111 or email though website www.whitehouse.gov/contact and let them know that you oppose further escalation and want a troop withdrawal to begin now.

 

* Mobilize people on your campus, schools or other places of work to participate in these call-in days. Consider organizing a phone-a-thon at a central location, where people can make these calls or use your personal list-serves to forward this message and ask friends colleagues to do the same.

 

* Call your member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor Congresswoman Barbara Lee's bill HR 3699 -which would deny funding for more troops in Afghanistan. Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121, 202-225-3121

 

*And please let us know if you are participating in effort.

 

 

[haw-info] links to recent articles of interest

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

 

This is the fourth biweekly mailing of links to recent articles by historians on HAW-relevant topics – or articles by other writers that that provide historical background on these.  Suggestions for inclusion are welcome: they can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.  Members of the working group for this project are listed below.

 

Sincerely,

Matt Bokovoy, Carolyn (Rusti) Eisenberg, Jim O'Brien, Maia Ramnath, Sarah Shields

 

 

"Honduras: Solution or Stall?"

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23026

By Greg Grandin, Z-Net, posted November 2

 

"Afghanistan as a Bailout State"

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175133/afghanistan_as_a_bailout_state

By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted November 1

(applies Vietnam lessons in critiquing all the mainstream policy options under discussion in Washington)

 

"Afghanistan Déjà vu? Lessons from the Soviet Eperience"

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB292/index.htm

Edited by Svetlana Savranskaya, National Security Archive, posted October 30

(contains links to several Soviet primary sources and several newspaper articles based on them, including the Sebestyen op-ed piece listed below)

 

"Transcripts of Defeat"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/opinion/29sebestyen.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

By Victor Sebestyen, New York Times, October 29

(on the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan and its parallels to the present)

 

"Is Obama's Iran Policy Doomed to Fail?"

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175132/dilip_hiro_is_obama_s_iran_policy_doomed_to_fail_

By Dilip Hiro, TomDispatch.com, posted October 29

 

"What Savvy Leaders Could Do to Move Toward a Nuclear-Free World (Obama--Are You Listening?)"

http://hnn.us/articles/118941.html

By Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network, posted October 26

 

"Review of Alfred W. McCoy, Policing America's Empire: The United States, the Philippines and the Rise of the Surveillance State"

http://www.hnn.us/roundup/entries/118909.html

By Jeremy Kuzmarov, History News Network, posted October 24