When "The Movement and the Madman" premiered last month, I asked for comments:

“We’re interested in hearing from anyone who watched the new documentary, 'The Movement and the Madman,' streaming now on PBS.org. It premiered last week and pulled together the largely unknown and shocking story that Nixon and Kissinger activated the military in fall 1969 to use nuclear weapons on what was then North Vietnam. The film shows evidence that the anti-war Mobilization to stop the war, with huge protests on October 15 and November 15, curbed their plans.”

It was good to hear from you and others who are working on stopping the U.S. imperialists from making war on the world.

We're interested in hearing from anyone who watched the new documentary The Movement & the Madman, streaming now on PBS.org. It premiered last week and pulled together the largely unknown and shocking story that Nixon and Kissinger activated the military in fall 1969 to use nuclear weapons on what was then North Vietnam. The film shows evidence that the anti-war Mobilization to stop the war, with huge protests on October 15 and November 15, curbed their plans.  

Thank you to all who registered for and attended the World Can't Wait Zoom discussion on March 20, marking the 20th anniversary of the U.S. attack on Iraq. See the report back here. Most present had been in the streets in 2002/03 attempting to stop Bush/Cheney from launching that unjust, illegitimate, immoral attack on Iraq's people. But the first question was what are we going to do now?  

In the last week, the global situation re the U.S. has gotten more dangerous in three ways:

Most people on the call had been actively involved in trying to stop the U.S. invasion in 2003; a few got active during and after that time.  I spoke to how illegitimate (based on lies), immoral and unjust the occupation of Iraq remains, and how the U.S. war of aggression was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, and the displacement of millions.

The war on the people there destroyed Iraq's infrastructure, economy, and opened the door for sectarian fundamentalist forces to destroy it further, as the U.S. continues fighting in Syria and backs the Saudi war on Yemen.  Our interests are with global humanity, not with the crimes of our government.

March 20 2023: 20 Years Since the U.S. launched "shock & awe" on the people of Iraq

There is no way to exaggerate how profoundly the U.S. destroyed Iraqi society, killed its people and drove them to flee; fired up sectarian violence, grew the outmoded Islamic fundamentalists and ISIS; flooded the land with toxic chemicals and weapons while taking oil; and left a poverty rate in Iraq of over 30%.  

The U.S. presence in the region was the central cause of 20 years of violence, based on lies. Did anyone know in 2002-2003 that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction? As a new anti-war activist said then, "I was sitting on my couch eating Cheetos and even I knew Bush and Powell were lying." Massive lies - regime change would bring "democracy" - and outright deceit fueled this crime against humanity.

Yesterday I was listening to Brian Lehrer's politics show on WNYC, the NPR station, on the year anniversay of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The guest was Ishaan Tharoor, a foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Post.  I didn't hear much from him that didn't assume as true all the arguments of the U.S. in its proxy war with Russia over Ukraine, and I see very little in U.S. media today that isn't designed to keep people living here in support of U.S. aims.

This is such a bitter contrast with 20 years ago when we never saw Iraqi civilians portrayed with sympathy as the "shock and awe" hit them, nor the people of Afghanistan, Syria, Libya or Yemen who suffered from unjustified U.S. occupation.

Debra Sweet | Feburary 14, 2023

Readers of this message are uniformly horrified at the suffering of the Ukrainian people over the last year in what I believe is a proxy war between Russia and the U.S. that has killed and harmed so many. I've heard from some of you who say we have no choice but to support any/all actions the U.S. takes to stop Russia in hopes that the U.S. can be a force for good in this case; others are not only opposed to this war, but to all wars. Many are deeply conflicted over the possibility of this conflict going global/nuclear in scope, to the point of feeling paralyzed, particularly as the prospect of the U.S. colliding with China looms.

Based on what Biden said in his State of the Union address last night, one would not learn basic features of how this Union functions, or even of huge recent events:

• The domestic prosperity Biden glorified is only possible because the U.S. is a global imperial empire exploiting the labor and resources of humanity.
• "Spreading democracy" is not what the global "war on terror," operating under the 2001 authorization in Africa and the Middle East, with troops in 800+ military bases does; it has killed millions in enforcing U.S. military supremacy to keep that global empire.
• Joe "we will never separate families" Biden continues to enforce denial of rights of asylum seekers and non-white immigrants, accepting that some children won't be found.
• The dangerous proxy war the U.S. pursues with Russia over Ukraine is neither about saving Ukrainians nor bringing peace; both Russia and the U.S. are out for dominance.
• Biden, prodded by the "freedom" fascist caucus, shot down a surveillance balloon similar to those with which the U.S. surrounds China - in addition to the placement of new bases in the Philippines and Guam, all part of increased military threats to China.

Since we live in the U.S., our concern must be over the dangerous, reckless actions this government is taking in its proxy war with Russia over Ukraine. There have been repeated claims by the U.S. that the more than $45 billion in "aid" to Ukraine is only defensive, and not aimed at Russia.  

The U.S. sent huge amounts of missiles and ammunition including 34 long-range HIMARS missile systems, enabling attacks into Russia. It sent Patriot missiles, and announced after holding off for months, that it will send M1 Abrams tanks, as Germany has agreed to send Leopard tanks to arm Ukraine.

Pentagon/White House spokespeople explain this is all to defend the people of Ukraine, who are being sacrificed in the interests of imperialist powers.  But the steady, if measured, crossing of "red" lines towards direct confrontation with Russia is extremely dangerous in its unpredictability.

Last week, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies discussed their book, War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, here in NYC. This week, things further worsened as the U.S. moves more and more into direct conflict.

This past week, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO (the U.S.-led military coalition) warned that the war in Ukraine could at any moment "become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia."

The U.S. war "of" terror laid bare the unlimited ambitions of the U.S. to wage war unlimited by national boundaries or time, going to the "dark side" per Dick Cheney.   The world was outraged, and we should never forget.

But the U.S. empire is maintained on the backbone of the world's largest military, with truly a global imprint. This is what people living here largely don't see. The global system of production is protected by a network of 876 identified U.S. bases, by secret operations, by the new forms of warfare including drone and cyber.

This is all important to know.