Obama snubbed war foes

Pundits say President Barack Obama’s West Point speech addressed different audiences. Yet, he missed tens of millions here and elsewhere who oppose U.S. war-making and the squandering of national blood and treasure for imperialist misadventures in the service of capitalism and corrupt, anti-democratic foreign interests. We vehemently reject continued U.S. occupation of Afghanistan and expansion into Pakistan, with cowardly Predator attacks, human rights abuses and increasing loss of life.

But, after laying out war plans with no definite end date, the president concluded his speech with a flourish of lies, historical errors, myths and fantasies, drawing on the requisite rhetoric of a dying empire, absurdities and self-delusional language about values, democracy and freedom, while conveniently overlooking the long and ongoing U.S. history of global aggression, support for dictators and direct subversion of democracies. This includes our Vietnam War genocide (3 million dead), overthrows of innumerable elected governments (continuing to this day in Honduras), decades of U.S. invasions and occupations and support for ultra-corrupt regimes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Philippines and Colombia.

All this ignores the origins of the Afghan catastrophe in the 1980s – U.S. backing of Osama bin Laden and other forces there. No support for Obama’s imperialist war. U.S. out now!

David A. Brookbank Jr.

Spokane