VIETNAM PARALLELS
ARE NEWSPAPERS DYING?
REVITALIZING DEMOCRACY

As I watched the PBS documentary again last night on the buildup to the end of the Vietnam War, I saw how the North Vietnamese and their allies in the South used diversions, and hit-and-run attacks that demoralized the Saigon regime, leading the population to lose confidence in them. Their strategy outmaneuvered a superior army while the United States was unable to muster the political support needed to play any role. Are there any parallels to the current situation? The documentary ends with a question:

“What were the lessons of the war?”

History does not repeat itself, of course, and no two situations are ever the same. Still, you can’t abolish history, and it seems as if history is catching up with the Bush administration and its war on terror. Facing a growing resistance in Iraq and a fragile imploding situation in Afghanistan, independent analysts such as Ivan Eland of the Independent Institute are suggesting the U.S. may be losing the Global War on Terror - or the GWOT, as it is called.

This is the sort of analysis that eludes most of our media analysts, whose focus on “progress” reinforces Administration claims and illusions.

Read this:

LOSING THE GWOT

“The Bush administration is attempting to suppress key data showing that its Global War on Terrorism (or GWOT as government bureaucrats have dubbed it) likely has been counterproductive. According to Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst and State Department terrorism expert who still has many sources within the intelligence community, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s office is suppressing data showing that the number of major terrorist attacks worldwide exploded from 175 in 2003 to 625 in 2004, the highest number since the Cold War began to wane in 1985. U.S. officials said that when analysts at the National Counterterrorism Center declined the office of the secretary’s invitation to use a methodology that would reduce the number of terrorist attacks, her office terminated publication of the State Department’s annual ‘Patterns of Global Terrorism’ report.

“No matter what else George W. Bush does in office, historians will define his presidency primarily by his GWOT, initiated after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Yet the Bush administration is trying to hide important data that might very well lead historians and the American public to conclude that the GWOT has been disastrous for U.S. and global security.

“In the aftermath of 9/11, instead of focusing on a vigorous and effective covert war against the perpetrators of the attacks - al Qaeda - the administration manipulated public opinion to launch the much ballyhooed and excessive GWOT against every terrorist’ group on the planet, whether they had ever attacked the United States or not…”

http://independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1501

WMD WAR WATCH REPORT

Our WMDthefilm.com website is now offering a daily war report from sources all over the world. It seems the GWOT isn’t doing too well there, either:

“Don’t be fooled by the spin on Iraq. If you think Iraq has turned the corner and violence is diminishing, you should pay a visit to the battleground. Violence is ‘off the chart’ in area on Iraq border and the Northern Capital is stalked by Suicide Bombers. Coalition forces are now confronted with ‘an extremely mature and capable insurgency’ and there is no exit strategy in sight. Here we give an in-depth blow-by-blow account of the fighting on the ground in Iraq….”

http://www.wmdthefilm.com/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=90&Itemid=

IRAQ: TIME TO GO?

At the same time a losing war escalates, so does the debate over what to do. Do we stay or leave? That was a Vietnam debate, too, with successive administrations insisting the U.S. had a duty to stay. Few had the guts to advocate withdrawal. That conflict is being replayed today, as the Progressive Democrats report:

“Dean Says Stay; Activists Say Time to Go

“Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), a national organization of activists with active members in 50 states, has released a statement challenging Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean’s recent comments in favor of continuing the U.S. occupation of Iraq. On Monday, April 25, PDA plans to launch a nationwide petition drive aimed at pressuring Dean and other Democratic leaders to support ending the occupation.

“‘Now that we’re there, we’re there and we can’t get out,’ Dean told an audience of nearly 1,000 at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Wednesday, April 20th, as reported in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “The president has created an enormous security problem for the United States where none existed before. But I hope the president is incredibly successful with his policy now that he’s there.’

“‘We agree with Chairman Dean that the war has put the U.S. in greater danger,’ said PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter, ‘but we disagree that continued occupation lessens the danger…’”

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5360513.html

PDA’s statement can be found here: http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/leaders-quagmire.php

WHITEWASH THIS:

BBC Reports: “U.S. Troops Cleared Over Shooting

“U.S. military investigators have cleared American soldiers of any wrongdoing over the death of an Italian agent, who was shot at a checkpoint in Baghdad.

Nicola Calipari was killed by U.S. forces as he traveled in a car near Baghdad airport after securing the release of Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena.

“The U.S. soldiers were ‘not culpable,’ according to the U.S. military report, which Italy has refused to endorse.

“Differing accounts

“A U.S. Army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Italian and U.S. authorities still disagree over the speed at which the vehicle approached the checkpoint and how much communication there was between those in the car and the checkpoint guards.

“‘The United States is ready to release the report but Italy has more questions,’ the official said.

“The BBC’s Adam Brookes in Washington says that although Italy’s government, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has been a staunch American ally in the conflict in Iraq, the war is deeply unpopular with the Italian people.

“As such, our correspondent says that a report completely exonerating the soldiers involved in the shooting could present Mr. Berlusconi with a problem and be ‘highly politically inflammatory inside Italy.’”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4483949.stm

POODLE REPORT

Yesterday, I reported on how the British press were downplaying the Iraq war. But the issue will not go away. ICH reports:

“The Iraq war has erupted as a major Election issue after legal advice warning Tony Blair that the conflict breached international law was sensationally leaked. The Government’s refusal to disclose the advice has been one of the most controversial issues since the war ended, but The Mail on Sunday can now reveal for the first time exactly what counsel Mr. Blair received.”

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8658.htm

NEW POPE’S FIRST CRISIS: DID HE OBSTRUCT SEX INQUIRY?

The Guardian: “Pope ‘Obstructed’ Sex Abuse Inquiry
Confidential Letter Reveals Ratzinger Ordered Bishops to Keep Allegations Secret

“Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had ‘obstructed justice’ after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church’s investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.

“The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001.

“It asserted the church’s right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II’s successor last week.

“Lawyers acting for abuse victims claim it was designed to prevent the allegations from becoming public knowledge or being investigated by the police. They accuse Ratzinger of committing a ‘clear obstruction of justice.’”

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1469055,00.html

MIDDLE EAST: ISRAEL’S POPULARITY FALLS IN SWEDEN

AFP reports (via Progressive Review):

“Israel has seen its popularity rating in Sweden plummet to a mere eight percent, down from 49 percent three decades ago, according to results of a new Swedish study… While 49 percent of Swedes said they agreed with Israel’s actions in 1973, 83 percent said they disagreed with the Jewish state’s behavior in 2004, according to Bjereld, who has based his study on annual opinion polls over the past 35 years.”

Al-Jazeera reports:

“Syrian forces have completed withdrawal from Lebanon and handed over the last military post to Lebanese forces.”

CNN’s lead story last night:

“An Afghan, allegedly one of the country’s key drug lords and an ally of the its former Taliban rulers, appeared in a New York court Monday. The U.S. indictment alleges Haji Bashir Noorzai transported at least $50 million worth of heroin to the United States and other countries. Noorzai built ‘a multimillion dollar heroin business by forging an unholy alliance with the Taliban,’ U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley said.”

SHOCKING STORY OF THE DAY

‘Armies of girls caught up in conflict: Armed or unarmed, most are forced into sex slavery, says report’

Jonathan Steele reports in The Guardian:

“A hidden army of more than 120,000 girls is working or fighting with armed groups around the world, and international programs to help them often fail or make things worse, Save the Children says in a report published today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1469370,00.html

QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHO IS A TERRORIST?

The Bush administration’s terrorist list excludes right-wing groups:

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not include extreme right-wing groups, some of which have ties to the Republican Party, on its list of potential terrorist threats, according to a report last month by the Congressional Quarterly, a publication with high-level sources in Congress and the federal government.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/apr2005/terr-a25_prn.shtml