A politics of generosity
“You take a tiny minority of extremists and try to make them emblematic of 1.3 billion people, and you expand the number of people whom you fear and don’t like and are potential enemies of yours, and you shrink the number of people who could be on your side.…U.S. Member of Congress Keith Ellison spoke today on the Democracy Now program with Amy Goodman. This is more of what he had to say on anti-Islam feelings and actions, U.S. foreign policy and CIA drone attacks, and U.S. progressives.
“There are Muslims in places like Jordan and Afghanistan and Pakistan and all over this world—American Muslims. There are 6,000 [Muslims] in the United States armed forces. They are serving their country. Many millions more are seeing patients every day, representing people in court, looking after their kids right here in the good old USA.…
“Let’s unpack your fear, unpack your worry so we can get down to some real humanity.”
Islamophobia—Anti-Islam in United States
I do hope that this spike in Islamophobic ideas can cause us to really think about prejudice, acceptance, belonging, who’s in, who’s out, what is our national commitment to inclusion and generosity.
[America] is a country that underwent a civil war over who belonged and then went through a momentous civil rights movement, again, over who belonged.
Let’s pull on our experience and rediscover the fact that we shouldn’t have any second-class citizens in America. I think if we don’t get together we run certain risks.
U.S. foreign policy: Yemen
The White House considering armed CIA drones against militants in Yemen (as CIA’s Pakistan campaign), to strike in sovereign territory without approval from the government of Yemen.
I’m concerned about that policy. I am concerned about it because I have endeavored to try to study terrorist ideology and these people don’t expect to defeat the United States with these bombs and stuff.
They want to provoke a reaction, which they then can use to whip up—use as a communications tool against the United States.
These terrorist groups are hoping to agitate the United States or the larger military power to come back at them; and then, when civilians die, they say, ‘See what the U.S. did. We’re the ones to help you; the U.S. is not.’
I think it’s important to bear in mind what their strategic objectives are and not allow ourselves to be tricked into their game plan.
I think that what we may do is go slower here. Think through the implications of it. Think through the legalities of it and really try to come up with a real counterterrorism strategy designed to undermine these people. I am concerned about [White House policy in Yemen] and really, really have reservations.
U.S. CIA Drones on Yemen as Pakistan/Afghanistan
[Killing by remote control]
… The whole idea of the drone program is something I think we need to have a real dialogue about; talk about asymmetric warfare. This is the ultimate in being able to strike but not be struck back against. Whenever that is the paradigm, you wonder whether or not your threshold for decision making gets lowered.
…How many casualties are acceptable?… There is a whole range of important questions that I don’t think we’re answering or even asking. … I can tell you that the United States used to be a very popular country in Pakistan. Our popularity there has plummeted. I don’t think it’s a good idea to repeat that scenario in Yemen. I do believe there’s got to be better ways to do this.
How much evidence do we need before you do a targeted assassination?
What are the due process implications?
Are victims to be compensated?
The fact is we need to strengthen diplomatic relations.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. Yemen is a country where some transnational terrorists can … run around without a lot of scrutiny because the Yemeni government is so weak. There are many things we should do before we launch into — we basically become — a military presence in Yemen.
We would be [a military presence] if we have military wherewithal, hardware, personnel, there, and are engaged in fighting. Then we are militarily in Yemen without the Congress ever saying a word about it.
The reason Congress is not really focusing [on Yemen] is because there are no body bags to worry about; nobody’s son or daughter is going to come back—and, of course, we don’t want that— but that then relieves us of the responsibility to really make the tough decisions. There are a number of issues.
U.S. assassinations
When you do this assassination, you essentially give him what he wants, martyrdom. Anwar al-Awlaki is not scared to get killed. He is somebody who has delusional, fantastic, crazy dreams of being some kind of a martyr.
Why reward him with that? The last thing Anwar al-Awlaki wants to be called is a common criminal, which is what I think he is. I would rather us pursue a strategy of arresting him and putting him on trial — not allowing him to claim himself a victim.
To “Progressives”
What if progressives in 1950 had said: ‘you know what; this civil rights stuff is hard. We haven’t seen the progress we were looking for so we’re going to abandon the effort.’ Please, don’t do that. Stick, stay, and remember that this movement is not about a personality, a president— or even an election.
It’s about restoring dignity to working and middle-class Americans
Eliminating poverty
Upholding civil and human rights
Inclusion for everybody.
It’s about a politics of generosity.
Sources and notes
Congressman Keith Ellison has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. His House Committee Assignments are Financial Services and Foreign Affairs. Before coming to the U.S. Congress, he served in the Minnesota State House (2003 — 2007); he practiced law in Minneapolis, Minnesota (1990-2006). He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Economics from Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Minnesota Law School.
“U.S. Representative Keith Ellison on Tea Party Anti-Muslim Bigotry, U.S.-backed Assassinations in Yemen, and the Firing of Juan Williams,” November 1, 2010,
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/1/muslim_congressman_keith_ellison_on_tea
Anwar al-Awlaki of Yemeni descent was born April 22, 1971 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He holds dual United States and Yemen citizenship. Anwar al-Awlaki is an Islamic lecturer, spiritual leader, and former imam who has purportedly inspired Islamic terrorists against the West; and, according to U.S. government officials, he has also become ‘operational’ as a senior talent recruiter, motivator, and participant in planning and training ‘for al-Qaeda and all of its franchises’ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_al-Awlaki]
________________________________________________
Bennett's books available at New York independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; The Book Den, Ltd.: BookDenLtd@frontiernet.net [Danville, NY] Talking Leaves Books-Elmwood: talking.leaves.elmwood@gmail.com [Buffalo, NY]; Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza: http://www.bhny.com/ [Albany, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY] Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY] Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]
No comments:
Post a Comment