The Hawblog: December 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

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

Here are some notes in the unlikely event that anyone has time to read them! Best wishes for the holidays from the Historians Against the War Steering Committee.

1. The HAW Steering Committee has endorsed a petition initiated by the revived Students for a Democratic Society protesting FBI raids directed this fall against antiwar organizers in Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities. The petition is for signing by "professors and academics" only; it is at http://www.stopfbi.net/petition/dear-colleague/professors-and-academics, along with background on the FBI's actions.

2. The Peace History Society will hold its biennial national conference, to be held October 21-22 at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. The call for papers is at http://www.peacehistorysociety.org/phs2011.

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"The Letter from Aghan Experts to Barack Obama"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8199676/The-letter-from-Afghan-experts-to-Barack-Obama.html

By 22 writers and analysts with specific expertise on Afghanistan, The Telegraph, posted December 21

"No More Afghanistans"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-astore/no-more-afghanistans_b_799006.html

By William Astore, Huffington Post, posted December 20

The author, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonrel, teaches history at Pennsylvania College of Technology

"The Great Islamophobic Crusade"

http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175334

By Max Blumenthal, TomDispatch.com, posted December 19

"The Witch Hunt Against Assange Is Turning into an Extremely Dangerous Assault on Journalism Itself"

http://www.alternet.org/story/149252

By Robert Parry, AlterNet.org, posted December 17

"Empire Unmasked"

http://counterpunch.org/prashad12152010.html

By Vijay Prashad, CounterPunch.org, posted December 15

The author teaches South Asian history at Trinity College

"Richard Holbrooke Represented the Worst Side of the Foreign Policy Establishment"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/richard-holbrooke-represe_b_796447.html

By Stephen Zunes, Huffington Post, posted December 16

"The Nuclear Freeze and Its Impact"

http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2010_12/LookingBack

By Lawrence S. Wittner, Arms Control Today, December issue

The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany

"Why Are Wars Not Being Reported Honestly?"

http://original.antiwar.com/pilger/2010/12/10/why-are-wars-not-being-reported-honestly/

By John Pilger, Antiwar.com, posted December 10

"Afghanistan: Land of the Unvanquished"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghanistan-land-of-the-unvanquished-2153883.html

By Patrick Cockburn, The Independent, posted December 8

This article compares the Soviet and US experiences in Afghanistan.

Suggestions for these lists can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com

Monday, December 20, 2010

[haw-info] Appeal to support Bradley Manning

The following statement was written by Carl Mirra, a member of the HAW Steering Committee and author of Soldiers and Citizens: An Oral History of Operation Iraqi Freedom from the Battlefield to the Pentagon (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).

Appeal to Support Bradley Manning:

Bradley Manning, a 22 year old U.S. Army Private, allegedly released a video of a U.S. helicopter assault in Iraq that killed some seven Iraqi civilians and two Reuters reporters. Manning is also accused of leaking the "Afghan War Diaries." These military reports reveal widespread civilian deaths, corruption, Special Forces engaged in targeted killings and a generally dismal picture of the US/ISAF occupation of Afghanistan.

Too many wars in US history were propelled by lies and misinformation, from the USS Maine explosion in the Spanish-American War in 1898 to the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 to the more recent deceptions about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The Afghan War dairies reveal similar misinformation and misconduct, and the US government wishes to deflect our attention from the content of these documents.

It is precisely this type of information that can turn public opinion against the war and revitalize the antiwar movement.

While Manning has not been convicted of a crime, he is being held in solitary confinement under conditions that have been described as cruel and unusual. (See Glenn Greenwald, "The Inhumane Conditions of Bradley Manning," Salon.com. December 15, 2010,
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/14/manning/index.html)

Some actions you may take to support Bradley Manning and transparency in government:

1. Sign a petition in support of Bradley at www.standwithbradley.org

2. The Bradley Manning Support Fund and Courage to Resist are raising funds for Bradley's defense. Information on donations is available at:

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/858/1/

3. Letters and postcards to Bradley Manning can be sent to:

Bradley Manning
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610
USA

Friday, December 10, 2010

[haw-info] HAW Wikileaks Statement

Over the last few weeks Wikileaks has released numerous classified U.S.
government cables that have revealed what U.S. diplomats are saying to
each other on a range of topics, from the war in Iraq to heads of state.
The documents unveil disturbing facts about these wars, including secret
CIA paramilitaries, unaccountable military task forces, and the
widespread killing of civilians. The release represents a contribution
to the right of the public to know, both in the United States and around
the world, what the U.S. government really thinks and does, as opposed
to the fictions that often pass for official statements.

In response, members of the U.S. government and public, from both
parties, have unleashed a firestorm of verbal abuse, physical threats,
legal maneuvers, and economic pressure to try and silence Julian
Assange, the head of Wikileaks, and to prevent the publication of any
more U.S. government documents.*

We call on all HAW members to oppose these attacks and to stand up for
freedom of the press and the free distribution of information. Several
petitions are circulating on the web -- for example, at
https://sites.google.com/site/wilibeaks (Voters for Peace) and
http://www.credoaction.com/campaign/wikileaks/index2.html?rc=homepage
(Credo). We ask you to sign them and to ask your friends and colleagues
to do so as well.

* For recent background articles on these attacks, see, e.g.:

Glenn Greenwald, "Joe Lieberman Emulates Chinese Dictators"
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/01/lieberman

Tom Hayden, "The Lynch Mob Moment"
http://tomhayden.com/home/the-lynch-mob-moment.html

Robert Scheer, "From Jefferson to Assange"
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/from_jefferson_to_assange_20101207

Editors of The Nation, "First They Came for Wikileaks Then . . .
http://www.thenation.com/article/157017/first-they-came-wikileaks-then

Historians Against the War (HAW) Steering Committee (SC)

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Thursday, December 09, 2010

[haw-info] HAW Notes: WikiLeaks; New START Treaty; links to recent articles of interest

Here are some notes, plus our latest set of links to recent on-line articles of interest.

1. At least two on-line petitions are being circulated protesting the government crackdown on WikiLeaks. One was inititated by Voters for Peace and has been signed by over 4,000 people as of Thursday. It is at https://sites.google.com/site/wilibeaks/. The other is sponsored by Credo Action, which is turn is sponsored by Working Assets. It is at http://www.credoaction.com/campaign/wikileaks/index2.html?rc=homepage.

2. Jeffrey Kimball, a foreign policy historian and HAW member, has written to suggest that HAW members and friends call their senators (especially if the senators are Republicans but even if not), urging them to support the New START treaty. He writes, "Getting this treaty ratified will be a step forward toward the creation of a new global nuclear arms control regime and toward the prevention of war; failure to ratify would constitute a disastrous step backward – and a victory for the Right." He says that a vote may come up next week and that "We have a good chance of winning if we act." The Friends Committee on National Legislation has information at http://www.fcnl.org/nuclear/index.htm.