OBAMA, STOP RUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu comes to Washington several weeks from now, besides addressing Israel's premier lobbying group in the U.S., AIPAC, he is expected to visit with Pres. Obama and pressure him on attacking Iran.

Mr. Obama, stand up to Netanyahu.  Don't let him bully you into sending American war planes to bomb Iran and kill thousands of Iranians.

FREE BRADLEY MANNING

Pfc Bradley Manning faces life in prison if convicted.  But what is he guilty of?

Bringing to light "secret documents" that have embarrassed high ranking politicians?  Yes, this is why he is being prosecuted.

And for this, Bradley Manning could be sacrificed on the altar of secrecy.

Don't punish Bradley Manning.  Free him and give him a medal.  He is a hero for his part in releasing documents that show the inner workings of our government.

STOP DRUM BEATS OF WAR AGAINST IRAN!

Scott Shane writes in today's The New York Times about the seemingly ineluctable American march to war against Iran.

Writes Shane:

"Israel’s stance has played out politically in the United States. With the notable exception of Representative Ron Paul of Texas, Republican presidential candidates have kept up a competition in threatening Iran and portraying themselves as protectors of Israel. A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday released a letter to President Obama saying that new talks could prove a “dangerous distraction,” allowing Iran to buy time to move closer to developing a weapon."

But even more disheartening are the statistics cited by Shane showing most Americans would approve a U.S. attack against Iran. 

"Despite a decade of war, most Americans seem to endorse the politicians’ martial spirit. In a Pew Research Center poll this month, 58 percent of those surveyed said the United States should use military force, if necessary, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Only 30 percent said no.

"I find it puzzling,” said Richard K. Betts of Columbia University, who has studied security threats since the cold war. “You’d think there would be an instinctive reason to hold back after two bloody noses in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

We must reverse this American blood lust for more war.  The public needs to know that there is no credible proof that Iran is building a nuclear weapon.  We should be friends with Iran and Iranians, not enemies about to drop thousand-pound bombs.

OBAMA: RESIST THE ISRAELI PUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN

The Guardian carries an editorial today that warns of the terrible outcome if Israel mounts a bombing attack on Iranian nuclear development sites.

When Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, visits Washington in March to attend the national convention of AIPAC, the biggest and most bellicose Jewish organization unreservedly backing Netanyahu's Greater Israel policies, the U.S. president Barack Obama needs to tell him in no uncertain ways that the U.S. government will not participate in such illegal attack.

If Israel attacks Iran, there will be no peace in the Middle East, or in the world, for the next 500 years.  Stop the constant drumbeat telling the Iranian people that "all options are on the table."  That's only a euphemism for all-out war and destruction of the Iranian people and civilization.

U.S POLICY TOWARDS BAHRAIN PROTESTERS HYPOCRITICAL AND SELF-SERVING

I have written in the past about the hypocritical treatment of the uprising in Bahrain by the U.S. Government.  Because the protesters are overwhelmingly Shia, and because Iran, close by across the Persian Gulf, is predominantly Shia, the U.S. can't bring itself to condemn the harsh and brutal tactics of King Khalifa and his Sunni government in an attempt to to crush the protest.  And all along, the protesters have been non-violent in the face of tanks, bird shot, rubber bullets and tear gas.

Why won't Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come out and unequivocally condemn Khalifa?  Because Bahrain has a military tie-in with the U.S. military.  It allows the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet to have a base there.  The U.S. is so caught up with perceived threats from Iran that it will put principles on the back burner in its quest to protect its military presence located some 100 miles from Iran.

The U.S. prides itself as a government that supports democracy all over the world.  It has supported the Libyan rebels, the Egyptian revolutionaries and the fighters in Syria.  Yet the U.S. fails to stand up for those marching for democracy and representation in Bahrain.

STOP THE MARCH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

Israel again is clamoring for a strike against Iran.  Pres. Obama must resist these militaristic solutions to Iran's nuclear development.  So far there is no evidence that Iran wants or intends to make nuclear weapons.  Everything is innuendo:  Iran "might" have the capability to develop nuclear weapons, signs point to Iran's "desire" for nuclear weapons, Iranian agents are "suspected" in bombings of autos in Georgia and India, but so far not one shred of hard evidence.  Nevertheless there are some who would like nothing better than to drop bombs on Iran.

Imagine the death toll of Iranians in the case of an attack by Israel.  And imagine the lasting damage to world peace by going along with the present Israeli government in an attack against Iran.  There would be catastrophic conflict for the next 500 years.

OBAMA DISAPPOINTS WHEN HE APPLIES ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST PEOPLE OF IRAN

What a disappointment Obama is!  What a waste of a Democratic presidency!

Here are my complaints today:

1.  Obama, stop the economic sanctions against Iran and its 77 million people.  These are just a form of economic warfare against ordinary Iranians in Tehran and throughout the country.  I thought democratic principles had been settled at Nuremberg:  a country may not inflict "collective punishment" upon its "enemy."  One nation may not target the population and citizenry of another either by dropping bombs or applying economic sanctions.

2.  Mr. Obama, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela dares to imply without evidence that his cancer, and that of Lula da Silva of Brazil and Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, is the result of some bizarre American plot.  Perhaps Chavez makes this ridiculous claim because you, Mr. President, have totally ignored Latin America, its problems and its leaders.  Have you, Mr. Obama, sent anyone of the above leaders a get-well card or any other sign of your personal concern over their life-threatening illnesses?  I doubt it, and I would be most pleased if any of my readers would tell me otherwise.

OBAMA'S BELIEF IN U.S. MILITARY HEGEMONY NO BETTER THAN BUSH'S

I don't understand Obama's foreign policy.  Why must the United States send marines to reside in Australia?  The broader question:  why must the U.S. have bases in the Far East, or for that matter, anywhere on foreign soil?

It is clearly a provocative act to the Chinese.  It is belligerent and communicates that the U.S. might resort to starting a war against China because of its predominant economic successes.

Obama is no better than George W. Bush.  Like Bush, he must believe, truly believe, in American hegemony.

OBAMA CRITICIZES IRAN FOR AIDING SYRIAN REPRESSSION, BUT NOT SAUDI ARABIA FOR BEATING MEDICAL DOCTORS IN BAHRAIN

Obama criticizes Iran for aiding the Syrian government in its bloody crackdown on protesters even though there is no evidence of Iranian involvement. Yet Obama remains silent when Saudi Arabia sends troops to Bahrain to kill and imprison protesters. Why? Answer: the U.S. Navy maintains its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, not in Syria. Shame on Obama.

OBAMA: CONDEMN BAHRAIN 'S CRACK-DOWN ON MEDICAL DOCTORS HELPING WOUNDED PROTESTERS

I want Pres. Obama to: 1) condemn government violence against doctors in Bahrain; 2) stop mass deportation of Latino undocumented immigrants; 3) end drone attacks against Pakistani villages in Waziristan that kill innocent civilians; 4) fight Republican attempts to destroy Social Security and Medicare under guise of reducing debt.