Hatha Sunahara
28th March 2012, 02:49 PM
Panetta says polls cannot dictate Afghan war plans
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/27/panetta-says-polls-cannot-dictate-afghan-war-plans/
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 20:31 EDT
OTTAWA — US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday a poll showing a big drop in public support for the war in Afghanistan would not alter Washington’s strategy, or efforts to battle Al-Qaeda.
“We cannot fight wars by polls — if we do that, we’re in deep trouble. We have to operate based on what we believe is the best strategy to achieve the mission that we have embarked on,” Panetta told reporters.
He said the objective of the United States and NATO was “to safeguard a country by ensuring that the Taliban and Al Qaeda never again find a safe haven in Afghanistan,” he explained, recalling the attacks of September 11, 2001.
“We’ve been through 10 years of war in the United States and there’s no question that the American people are tired of war, just as the Afghans are tired of war, and yet I think the American people understand why we’re engaged in Afghanistan,” he added.
A New York Times/CBS poll published Monday showed support for the war in Afghanistan had dropped sharply among Americans: 69 percent of those polled thought that the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan, from 53 percent four months ago.
Recent setbacks include violence set off by the burning last month of Korans by American troops and the alleged killing of 17 Afghan civilians by a US soldier, as well as killings of American troops by their Afghan partners.
Those incidents perhaps fueled the opinions of 68 percent of respondents who thought the fighting was going “somewhat badly” or “very badly,” compared to 42 percent who said they had that impression in November.
Panetta spoke in Ottawa after meeting with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on strengthening security ties, including anti-drug efforts, disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
Panetta is promoting a fraud here. The fraud is that the Department of Defense is engaged in a struggle that the American people are paying for, and they are tired of paying for it. The war serves the interests of large corporations and banks far more than it serves the interests of ordinary people, yet the ordinary people are paying for it. If they just wanted to have a war in Afghanistan, then I say, go ahead, but the big corporations who benefit from it should also pay for it. If the Department of Defense wants to contract itself out to do the dirty work of these big corporations, then they should receive no funding for this activity, and the taxes of the American people should be reduced.
But Panetta can be pretty cavalier and get away with it. What he is saying here is that the American people's opinion doesn't really matter because somebody's objectives are more important than the wishes of a majority of the American people. The citizens, as they call us. He says this with impunity because the peoples' representatives--the Congress is beholden to these same interests, and will not act on what their constituents want--by blaming 'the system'. This works every time for them, judging by their re-election successes. This can only be explained by the co-ordinated support of the MSM TV news outlets, who assure us that nothing is really wrong, and to just sit back and be entertained. Meanwhile, a really expensive war for an unstated purpose rages on, and it is absolutely impossible for anybody who really profits from it to give up any of the benefits they receive from the continuation of this war.
The short message to the American people is "F**k Off, and pay your bills."
How many people are left who still think 'Elections Make a Difference'? Elections only matter when your politicians are not bought by the people who control all the money.
This is why it took years after people openly disapproved of the Vietnam War for the US Government to end it. They think they can fool all the people all the time. Way to go Leon Panetta, Hero of the CFR.
Hatha
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/27/panetta-says-polls-cannot-dictate-afghan-war-plans/
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 20:31 EDT
OTTAWA — US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday a poll showing a big drop in public support for the war in Afghanistan would not alter Washington’s strategy, or efforts to battle Al-Qaeda.
“We cannot fight wars by polls — if we do that, we’re in deep trouble. We have to operate based on what we believe is the best strategy to achieve the mission that we have embarked on,” Panetta told reporters.
He said the objective of the United States and NATO was “to safeguard a country by ensuring that the Taliban and Al Qaeda never again find a safe haven in Afghanistan,” he explained, recalling the attacks of September 11, 2001.
“We’ve been through 10 years of war in the United States and there’s no question that the American people are tired of war, just as the Afghans are tired of war, and yet I think the American people understand why we’re engaged in Afghanistan,” he added.
A New York Times/CBS poll published Monday showed support for the war in Afghanistan had dropped sharply among Americans: 69 percent of those polled thought that the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan, from 53 percent four months ago.
Recent setbacks include violence set off by the burning last month of Korans by American troops and the alleged killing of 17 Afghan civilians by a US soldier, as well as killings of American troops by their Afghan partners.
Those incidents perhaps fueled the opinions of 68 percent of respondents who thought the fighting was going “somewhat badly” or “very badly,” compared to 42 percent who said they had that impression in November.
Panetta spoke in Ottawa after meeting with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on strengthening security ties, including anti-drug efforts, disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
Panetta is promoting a fraud here. The fraud is that the Department of Defense is engaged in a struggle that the American people are paying for, and they are tired of paying for it. The war serves the interests of large corporations and banks far more than it serves the interests of ordinary people, yet the ordinary people are paying for it. If they just wanted to have a war in Afghanistan, then I say, go ahead, but the big corporations who benefit from it should also pay for it. If the Department of Defense wants to contract itself out to do the dirty work of these big corporations, then they should receive no funding for this activity, and the taxes of the American people should be reduced.
But Panetta can be pretty cavalier and get away with it. What he is saying here is that the American people's opinion doesn't really matter because somebody's objectives are more important than the wishes of a majority of the American people. The citizens, as they call us. He says this with impunity because the peoples' representatives--the Congress is beholden to these same interests, and will not act on what their constituents want--by blaming 'the system'. This works every time for them, judging by their re-election successes. This can only be explained by the co-ordinated support of the MSM TV news outlets, who assure us that nothing is really wrong, and to just sit back and be entertained. Meanwhile, a really expensive war for an unstated purpose rages on, and it is absolutely impossible for anybody who really profits from it to give up any of the benefits they receive from the continuation of this war.
The short message to the American people is "F**k Off, and pay your bills."
How many people are left who still think 'Elections Make a Difference'? Elections only matter when your politicians are not bought by the people who control all the money.
This is why it took years after people openly disapproved of the Vietnam War for the US Government to end it. They think they can fool all the people all the time. Way to go Leon Panetta, Hero of the CFR.
Hatha