This letter is associated with the following article:
Letters
Friday, November 21, 2008 12:00 AM

The list of the governments that have persecuted journalists

The Washington Post hails those reporters who face grave danger from the Taliban and the governments of Cuba, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the U.S.

Read other letters about this article

  • Saturday, November 22, 2008 03:49 AM

    Plus ça change: "Progressive" Leaders Ride War Machine Deeper Into Darkness

    Armed with the same invincible ignorance and arrogance that have for generations led their imperial forbears to bitter defeat in Afghanistan, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown have both pledged themselves to a substantial escalation of the Anglo-American adventure in Central Asia. Thus these two self-proclaimed "progressive" champions of benevolent change are guaranteeing more of the same bitter fruit already produced by this misbegotten enterprise: more death, more ruin, more suffering, more corruption – and more violent extremism.

    The latter, of course, is where we came in, with the Carter-Reagan marshalling of extremist jihadis -- known as "freedom fighters" in those days of yore -- to hotfoot the Soviets and their secular Afghan clients. Indeed, the entire arc of America's bipartisan policies in the region over the past 40 years can be seen as the elaborate construction of a gargantuan, self-propelled blowback machine, producing an endless effluent of violence, threat, chaos and crime that is now sluicing through the entire world. But blowback, as we all know, is not a design flaw of imperial policy, at least not for the most part; it is a design feature. No War Machine without perpetual war and rumors of war; no war profits – and no war powers – without the War Machine. ...

    --- by Chris Floyd

    So, now that the Democrats are back in charge can we hope for the end of this stupidity? Well, so far Obama and his team of neo-cons have only made 'pledges' so we can still hope that it is all an elaborate rouge to get into the white house. Wait, ..., ha, hmmm. Was he not already elected?

    No by God! The electoral college has not met yet! This is all just to fool the Republicans! He is still the One!

Most Active Letters Threads

475

Do Obama officials know what his Afghanistan plan is?

What explains the completely contradictory statements from key aides on a central plank of the war strategy?
408

America's regression

It's almost impossible to find a nation with as many torture advocates as the U.S. has.
332

Palin: Birthers have "fair question" about Obama

Of Obama birth, the ex-governor says, "the public is still, rightfully, making it an issue" (Updated)
116

Is my kids making me not smart?

Stay-at-home fatherhood dulls my intellect to a nub. Excuse me while I ponder the subtext of "Hippos Go Berserk"
112

Trig, the anti-abortion straw baby

Sarah Palin's son is being used to demonize pro-choicers

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon