[haw-info] HAW Notes 5/3/12: Donors; links to White House documents; links to recent articles of interest; letter protesting New York Times ad

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

 

 

1.  We received a very gratifying response, in the form of donations ranging from $15 to $100, in response to our recent fundraising appeal (at http://blog.historiansagainstwar.org/2012/04/haw-info-appeal-for-funds.html).  Heartfelt thanks to the following who gave as of today:  Bonnie Anderson, Joe T. Berry, Allison Blakely, Ronald Cohen, Danny Czitrom, Geoff Eley, Bob Entenmann, Rosemary Feurer, Irene Gendzier, Robert Gold, Joan Hoff, Temma Kaplan, Michael Leja, John Marciano, Jerry Markowitz, Jeff Ostler, Jerry Paine, Roger Peace, Elizabeth Sanders, Ellen Schrecker, Robert Shaffer, Susan Strasser, Howard Swerdloff, Barbara Weinstein, Larry Wittner, and Robert Wolff.  (Current members of the Steering Committee who made donations are not included in this list.) 

 

2.  For those interested, Rusti Eisenberg has provided links to the following White House documents concerning the "Strategic Partnership Agreement" announced by President Obama this week

"Remarks by the President to Troops -- BagramAir Base, Afghanistan";

"Remarks of President Barack Obama On the War inAfghanistan";

"Fact Sheet: The U.S.-Afghanistan StrategicPartnership Agreement";

"Enduring Strategic Partnership AgreementBetween the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,signed by the President"; and

"Background Briefing by Senior AdministrationOfficials on the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan" 

 

3.  At the end of this message, after the links to recent articles of interest, we are including a letter signed by several distinguished historians and sent to the New York Times "public editor" and to the New York Review of Books, protesting the David Horowitz ad in the Times using inflammatory language to denounce by name fourteen academics for having supported sanctions against Israel.

 

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"Collapsing Afghanistan & Pakistan Refuse to Cooperate with Obama Photo-Op"
http://www.juancole.com/2012/05/collapsing-afghanistan-pakistan-refuse-to-cooperate-with-obama-photo-op.html
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted May 2
The author teaches history at the University of Michigan

"Israeli Dissent May Create More Space for Iran Nuclear Deal"
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107628
By Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, posted May 1

"Civilian Casualties: Tactical Regrets and Strategic Hypocrisy"
http://hnn.us/articles/civilian-casualties-tactical-regrets-and-strategic-hypocrisy
By Stephen I. Levine and Michael H. Hunt, History News Network, posted April 30
The authors are, respectively, a research faculty associate in history at the University of Montana and a professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina

"The Obama Contradiction: Weakling at Home, Imperial President Abroad"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175535
By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted April 29

"Wars of Attrition: Green Zones of the Mind, Guerrillas, and a Technical Knockout in Afghanistan"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175533
By Nick Turse, TomDispatch.com, posted April 24
Features parallels between the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars

"The Shame of Nations: A New Record is Set for Spending on War"
http://hnn.us/articles/shame-nations-new-record-set-spending-war
By Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network, posted April 23
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany

"Secret British Colonial Archive Finally Released"
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/04/20/secret-british-colonial-archive-finally-released
By Graham McPhee, CounterPunch, posted April 20

"Collateral Damage in Afghanistan: After Decades of Military Devastation, Afghans Are Traumatized"
http://inthesetimes.com/article/13008/collateral_insanity_in_afghanistan
By Terry J. Allen, In These Times, posted April 17

Suggestions for these more or less biweekly lists can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.  Thanks to Rosalyn Baxandall and Mim Jackson for suggesting articles that are included in the above list.

 

 

 

 

To the Editors:

 

Regardless of our particular positions on the state of Israel and its policies toward the Palestinian people, we wish to declare our profound distress at the language and intent of the ad sponsored by the "David Horowitz Freedom Foundation" that appeared on the op-ed page of the NY Times on Tuesday, April 24th. It is a disgrace that this ad attempts to draw a direct connection between support for the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel movement and the recent tragic murders of a rabbi and three Jewish students in Toulouse. Furthermore, we are deeply disturbed by the Times' decision to publish an ad that names and targets specific academics, accuses them of being motivated by "hatred," and that then calls for them to be "publicly shamed and condemned." The exact details of the "public shaming" that the Horowitz Foundation has in mind are not divulged, but it would apparently go beyond reasoned criticism or vigorous disagreement.

 

David Horowitz has a long record of attempting to suppress academic freedom, and of seeking to silence scholars who have expressed what he considers unorthodox views. This latest ad, however, is an especially unsavory effort to incite harassment of scholars whose opinions are not to his liking. Horowitz's tactics, which rely on innuendo and intimidation, are inimical to an atmosphere of free expression and open debate, and should be condemned accordingly.

 

Barbara Weinstein

Silver Professor of History

New York University New York, NY 10012

New York

 

Linda Gordon

Florence Kelley Professor of History

New York University

New York

 

Temma Kaplan

Professor of History

Rutgers University

New Brunswick

Alice Kessler-Harris

R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of History

Columbia University

New York

 

David Abraham

Professor of Law

University of Miami School of Law

Coral Gables

 

Elaine Tyler May

Regents Professor of American Studies

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis

 

Marilyn B. Young

Collegiate Professor of History

New York University

New York

 

Gary Gerstle

James G. Stahlman Professor of American History

Vanderbilt University

Nashville

 

Linda K. Kerber

May Brodbeck Professor of History

University of Iowa

Iowa City

 

Nelson Lichtenstein

MacArthur Foundation Professor of History

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

 

Jon Wiener

Professor of History

University of California, Irvine

Irvine

 

Mary Nolan

Professor of History

New York University

New York

 

Lary May

Professor of History

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis

 

Joan Hoff

Research Professor of History

Montana State University

Bozeman