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Duopoly Votes for *More War* Even After Afghanistan Debacle

Duopoly Votes for *More War* Even After Afghanistan Debacle

In the midst of the confusion and controversy around the defeat of the United States in Afghanistan, one thing has become clear: The rulers lost control of the narrative favoring endless war. The people suddenly became re-focused on the supposed “good war.” By doing so, they realized the real winners are the defense companies and military contractors. And who are the losers? The Afghan people, the soldiers who were killed and wounded, and the U.S. public whose national treasury was looted to the tune of over $2 trillion.

Yet, on September 1, the U.S. House of Representatives—in a bipartisan vote that ignored the sentiments of the people and that had Democrats defying U.S. President Joe Biden—once again awarded the Pentagon with an increase to its already bloated budget of $24 billion of the public’s money.

Afghanistan No 'Graveyard' for U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination

Afghanistan No 'Graveyard' for U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination

Some have asserted the U.S. empire has reached its historic endpoint because of its defeat in Afghanistan. However, that call is as premature as political scientist Francis Fukuyama’s proclamation that history had "ended" in 1989 when Western liberalism won because the former Soviet Union was coming apart.

Afghanistan might have been the so-called “graveyard of empires” and of certain states at other points in history. But the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan had occurred years earlier, a fact verified by revelations found in the “Afghanistan Papers.” That defeat had no appreciative impact on U.S. foreign-policy makers, who continued their destructive path in places like Yemen, Libya and Syria. Only a handful of the U.S. population was still interested in continuing a war in Afghanistan up until the last week or so. But the rulers did not inform the U.S. public, so the masses did not know the war had been lost.

Linking Palestine Solidarity with African Liberation

Linking Palestine Solidarity with African Liberation

"The managers of the colonial/capitalist world understand the terms of struggle, and so should we. It must be clear to us that for the survival of collective humanity and the planet we cannot allow uncontested power to remain in the hands of the global 1%. The painful truth for some is that if global humanity is to live, the Pan-European white supremacist colonial/capitalist project must die." -Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace National Organizer


Like Indigenous people throughout the world, the Palestinian people demand a life of dignity, sovereignty and self-determination.

What prevents Palestinian national self-expression is the constructed state of Israel. The United Kingdom helped settle the first Zionists in Palestine in 1922 after the Balfour Declaration. Later, a brutal Nakba took place when the U.K. aided the newly created state of Israel's settler-colonization. Meanwhile, the United States has armed and funded Israel for years. But lately, that support has come at a cost of $3.8 billion per year, plus an additional $8 billion in loan guarantees.

Afghanistan: Demand an End to the Second Longest U.S. War

Afghanistan: Demand an End to the Second Longest U.S. War

War was the primary instrument used to establish the U.S. settler state and expand U.S. hegemonic global power after the end of the Second World War. War has become so normalized that the U.S. state's two-century-long horrific war of conquest against the Indigenous peoples of the landmass that eventually became known as the United States, as well as the war with North Korea that technically has not ended, have been erased from the U.S. public's awareness.

The two-decade war on Afghanistan, therefore, is the second longest continuous war. That fact increasingly is being lost because of the corporate press's lack of coverage, resulting in vast swaths of the U.S. public being completely unaware of the peace process initiated in 2020 and the Biden-Harris administration's subsequent moves to undermine or completely gut that process.

That is why the Black Alliance for Peace is once again attempting to bring attention to this issue. We are organizing an International Day of Action on Afghanistan on April 8 to demand the Biden-Harris administration adhere to the agreement and withdraw U.S. troops from the country by the May 1 deadline. Find out how to get involved.

‘Building Back Better’—Via Neoliberal Warmongering

‘Building Back Better’—Via Neoliberal Warmongering

It is the white rulers who spent millions building prisons in Haiti and funding and training the Haitian police and military. It is the white rulers who have turned a blind eye to the atrocities of the Moïse administration. It is the white rulers who have condoned the lack of parliamentary elections, the ruling of the country by decree, and the rewriting of the Haitian constitution. Most importantly, it is the white rulers who have affirmed Moïse’s illegal extension of his ruling mandate. —Jemima Pierre, “Haiti: Black Despots and White Rulers”

After the “anti-democratic” Trump forces were defeated, the Biden-Harris administration assured it would re-commit to neoliberal orthodoxy in both domestic and foreign policy with its slogan, “Build Back Better.” That promised a return to the “traditional” U.S. values of decency, democracy and human rights.

Yet, the Biden-Harris administration, as well as most U.S. policymakers and political representatives, employ a double standard: While expressing concern for oppressed people and rhetorically supporting “democratic” processes and human rights in their domestic and foreign policies, they inflict harm on millions of people around the world through their wars, subversions and sanctions.

Who Really Wants Peace in Afghanistan?

Who Really Wants Peace in Afghanistan?

Despite several hurdles, peace talks between the Taliban and the U.S.-created Afghan government began September 12 in Doha, Qatar. However, instead of expressing an interest that the longest war in U.S. history may be coming to an end, the response from the U.S. news media, congressional representatives and even some elements of the peace movement has ranged from silence to indifference.

Donald Trump made withdrawing from “endless” U.S. wars a signature promise of his 2016 presidential campaign. That might account for the paucity of media coverage and the lack of acknowledgment that a possibility existed for the United States to extricate itself from the quagmire that previously trapped the British and Soviets in Afghanistan.

It is somewhat of a minor miracle that the peace process made it this far. At every turn, the military-industrial complex, the neoliberal media, the foreign policy community and members of Congress had conspired against a peace process that would have significantly reduced the U.S. presence in the country. Lurid stories of Russian bounties paid to the Taliban for dead U.S. personnel filled the media a few months after the Trump administration brokered an agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government to enter into a process of direct negotiation. Because of that story, Congress passed legislation to prevent Trump from completely withdrawing U.S. personnel from the country.

For the people of the world watching this shameful behavior, it provided more evidence of the corrupt nature of both U.S. parties, as well as the moral bankruptcy of the liberal global order and the depravity of the U.S. ruling class. 

 

PRESS AND MEDIA


WPFW’s “Voices With Vision” paid tribute to BAP supporter Kevin Zeese, who suddenly passed away September 6. The episode included BAP Coordinating Committee member Jaribu Hill reading BAP’s September 7 newsletter, which was dedicated to Kevin’s memory. Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo also wrote a tribute to Kevin in Black Agenda Report. 

“Voices with Vision,” co-hosted by Netfa Freeman, who represents BAP member organization Pan-African Community Action (PACA) on the BAP Coordinating Committee, featured an interview last week with Freedom Mazwi, a researcher at the Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies, in Harare, Zimbabwe, about disturbing developments for Black liberation in Zimbabwe. Plus, BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley was featured on the show reading from a recent article she wrote about the natural connection between law enforcement in the United States and white supremacist organizations.

Black Agenda Report Executive Editor Glen Ford asks in his piece for Black Agenda Report why Black Lives Matter chapters are withholding support for Community Control of Police, which he writes puts people on the path to both defunding and abolishing the police.

Ahjamu Umi of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party writes the Black bourgeoisie will continue to derail African/Black people with “their empty promises of inclusion.”

BAP member Jacqueline Luqman interviewed historian Gerald Horne on the settler-colonial roots of property rights with The Real News Network.

Margaret and BAP Supporter Network Co-Coordinator Danny Haiphong break down on The Left Lens why Kamala Harris represents a “negation of everything that the Black liberation movement and U.S. political prisoners currently fighting for freedom stand for.” Margaret also was featured on WBAI’s “La Voz Latina” to discuss lesser evilism in the 2020 election, starting 30 minutes into the show. Then she appeared with BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka on Radio Sputnik’s “The Critical Hour” to discuss 9/11, 19 years later. Their discussion starts 59 minutes into the show. You also can hear Margaret on Radio Sputnik’s “Fault Lines” talking about the protests and the 2020 election 85 minutes in.

BAP member YahNé Ndgo was featured on 6ABC Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Facebook and Instagram discussing the work she’s been doing in Philadelphia around the housing crisis, including participating in an encampment. YahNé and BAP member Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture also were featured on CBS3 Philadelphia. Additionally, YahNé was interviewed on 6ABC Philadelphia about a community healing and building event she organized. 

Meanwhile, BAP member organization Black Workers for Justice was featured on local TV station WRAL for playing a key role organizing a Labor Day rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, for a higher minimum wage and better working conditions.

Then on the foreign affairs front, Danny wrote about how Barack Obama was brought into the NBA strike to silence African/Black resistance against capitalism. And Margaret discussed how both the Democrats and Republicans support the endless U.S. wars abroad.

 

EVENTS


September 16 and 30: BAP member organization AfroResistance is hosting an anti-oppression workshop, “Dominant Culture: A Virtual Anti-Oppression Workshop.” Registration is required.

September 19-20: Labor and Community for an Independent Party is organizing a two-day online conference, “Break the Grip of the Two-Party System Program Agenda.” Registration is required.

September 23: PACA's Assata Shakur Study Group will be held at 7 p.m., EST, online. PACA requests non-Africans who wish to attend bring an African.

September 24: Mark your calendars for 4 p.m., EST, for BAP’s next webinar, “Full Spectrum Dominance: From AFRICOM to Indo-Pacific Command.” Registration is required.

November 7-8: The Black Is Back Coalition calls on all to march, rally and convene in Washington, D.C., during the “Black People's March On White House.” Registration is required. Read their article in Black Agenda Report.

 

TAKE ACTION

  • The Black Latina Girls and Women Fund was created by AfroResistance, a Black Latina women-led organization in the service of Black Latinx women in the Americas. This fund offers financial support by giving money directly to Black Latin womxn, girls and femmes who are experiencing severe financial need across the region, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether in Brazil, Colombia, United States or Panama, Black Latina girls, women, and femmes are organizing in their local communities in the fight against several forms of state violence. You can donate here and people are encouraged to use the hashtag #BlackLatinaGWFund.

  • Ask your local, state and federal candidates to sign BAP’s 2020 Candidate Accountability Pledge. If you are a candidate, distinguish yourself from the other corporate warmongering candidates by signing the pledge.

  • Sign up to join BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa Network to receive the bi-weekly AFRICOM Watch Bulletin in your inbox.

  • Make sure you keep up with us throughout the week by subscribing to our YouTube channel, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram and Twitter.

  • We are raising $30,000 to help expand our membership support capacity and revamp our website. Donate and share our GoFundMe campaign with your networks today.


No Compromise, No Retreat!
 
Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Dedan, Jaribu, Margaret, Netfa, Nnamdi, Paul, Vanessa, YahNé

P.S. Freedom isn’t free. Consider giving today.

Photo credit: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images