War on Terror: Pathways To Peace - YourNetwork.tv

Welcome back to YOURTRUTH. If you tuned in to our previous segments, you already know how much of your tax dollars are being spent on the war and the influence that defense corporations have in shaping our foreign policy. Many had hoped that the end of the George W. Bush administration would free us from corruption and scandals in American politics. 2008 was looked forward to as the year for change, with Barack Hussein Obama emerging as the leading peace candidate in the Democratic Party. Now that he's in office, what steps has he taken to end the war on terror? The biggest change made thus far has been a name change. President Obama has substituted the term "War on Terror" with "Overseas Contingency Operation." Why would he do this?

It seems like a lot of students aren't fooled by this PR strategy, and can see that changing the name of the war certainly doesn't mean an end to it. In this segment we will be taking a look at where we are now and what people all over the world are doing to be the change and end the war. So where are we now? Well, on the campaign trail, Obama promised an immediate timetable for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. However, once he became President, the rhetoric changed.

At a press conference on March 27th, 2009, Obama outlined a renewed effort to fight terrorism in the Middle East. And now we face even more unsettling news with regard to Afghanistan. Obama has announced that we must refocus our efforts back to Afghanistan to help train the Afghan army against the Taliban, proposing to send an additional 21,000 troops into the region. On May 5th, 2009, CNN posted an interview with an Afghan Taliban spokesperson who promised that Afghanistan will be Obama's Vietnam. Two days later, Raw Story reported that "the cost of fighting the war in Afghanistan will overtake that of the Iraq conflict for the first time" in 2010. The same day, the media reported that a sprawling 440-acre U.S. military base is being constructed in the middle of the Afghan desert to accommodate the increased troop presence there.

But that's not all. Since Obama took office, we have been sending drone planes into Pakistan, bombing villages and killing hundreds of innocent people in an attempt to fight Al Qaeda. Ironically, the latest war funding bill includes $1.4 billion in development and security aid for Pakistan. President Obama approved this $106 billion war spending measure on June 24th 2008, but not all of this taxpayer money is going to our troops. 12% has been allocated to the International Monetary Fund and the Swine Flu pandemic! It seems as if Obama is not working to end the War on Terror, but is looking to expand it. In light of these facts, it's clear that the president has forgotten the promises he made to the anti-war base that got him elected. So how can we get him to remember what he promised?

Movements and organizations full of regular people like you and me are springing up all over the country and mobilizing for peace. People are finally realizing that change doesn't come from politicians. Instead, it starts with regular people and concerned citizens. Who are we talking about? One of the largest worldwide efforts to bring accountability and justice back into politics is WEARECHANGE. WEARECHANGE is an international movement comprised of hundreds of people of all ages who aren't afraid to ask the tough questions and demand answers that the corporate media will not.

CODEPINK started as a small peace and social justice movement dedicated to ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and stopping new wars from happening. CODEPINK is infamous for staging rallies, peaceful protests and other non-violent actions in Washington D.C. and all over the world. They are not afraid to call out our elected leaders either. CODEPINK has now become a worldwide network of more than 200,000 men and women working together for peace.

Locally, the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice, San Diego Veterans for Peace, Activist San Diego, and San Diegans for 9/11 Truth are four of the most prominent organizations working for peace and social justice. If you are more comfortable with being an internet activist, express your viewpoints on blogs and forums. Furthermore, Meetup.com is one of the greatest tools to reach out to hundreds of people and galvanize like-minded individuals in your community. You don't have to be a part of a group to take individual action. Leave flyers around your community and talk to your friends and neighbors about these issues. Awareness is essential for lasting change.

What else can you do? Don't be afraid to explore outside the world of Democrats and Republicans. Other parties like the Libertarian Party, Constitution Party, and the Green Party serve as viable alternatives to the two-party system. In the last presidential election Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate, Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate, and Ralph Nader, who ran as an independent, united with Republican candidate Ron Paul on four critical principles: to end the Iraq War as quickly as possible, quit increasing the national debt, protect civil liberties, and audit the Federal Reserve. For now, Democrats and Republicans have the most sway in government and some of them do strongly oppose our global war on terrorism. Republican Ron Paul and Democrats Dennis Kucinich and Barbara Lee are a few of the most outspoken advocates of peace in politics today. Representative Lee demonstrated remarkable fortitude when she was the only member of Congress to vote against authorizing military force in the wake of 9/11. We encourage you to research these representatives and find others who demonstrate a consistent support for responsible foreign policy.

If you think that one person can't change anything, think again! When Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey during combat in Iraq in 2004, she channeled her grief through activism. She stepped up as the spokesperson for the antiwar movement and drew national attention in 2005 when she camped out next to President Bush's Crawford Ranch until he agreed to meet with her. Bush didn't meet with her, but the stand inspired a new generation of antiwar activism and Cindy has been one of the strongest and most steadfast advocates for peace ever since. In 2008, she ran against Congressional leader Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco and got 17% of the votes in the district. Thankfully, she is not stopping there. We were lucky enough to hear more from Cindy herself.

The bottom line is that we need to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. We need to work for peace in this country and around the world to prove to others that the American people are good people. And that we care about restoring peace. So what are you waiting for?