Obama and Clinton: The Siamese Twins
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
Barack Obama tortures the English vocabulary and strains logic to the breaking point in an attempt to validate his bogus
claim to be an anti-war candidate. The New York Times, eager to believe Obama, donated copious space to the senator's so-called "Iraq withdrawal plan" - which turns out to
be predicated on so many "ifs" and multitudinous "security" considerations as to be counterfeit on its face - like
Hillary Clinton's even murkier schemes. Both Democratic front-runners reveal themselves to be as wedded to U.S. global
domination as George Bush, minus the insane demeanor. In the final analysis, Barack and Hillary are plotting further war
crimes in the language of twin-speak.
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Obama and Clinton: The Siamese Twins
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
"Their shared Iraq position is no different than George Bush's stated goals."
Barack Obama is engaged in a high-profile/low substance effort to distance himself from Hillary Clinton on the Iraq war.
It's like watching Siamese Twins slap each other around, knowing that the two are genetically identical and inseparable.
Clinton and Obama are conjoined War Democrats who pretend to disagree on a phrase here and there. Both intend to stay in
Iraq as long as so-called "U.S. interests" dictate. In that regard, their shared Iraq position is no different than
George Bush's stated goals.
Last week, the New York Times gave Obama acres of space to spin his illusory Iraq "withdrawal" plan - more space than the newspaper has afforded Dennis Kucinich, the real
peace candidate, during the whole primary campaign. It was a waste of words, see-through clothing on a naked body. Obama
claims he doesn't plan to maintain permanent bases in Iraq. So, by the way, do Hillary Clinton and George Bush. But
Obama says he'll employ a "broader strategic" approach than Clinton - that he won't shy away from "talking" directly to
the leaders of Iran and Syria. Sen. Clinton says she'd have to study the matter awhile, before deciding whether to have
face-to-face meetings.
But, meetings about what? Obama and Clinton both insist that the U.S. military reserves the right to remain in Iraq
until it serves U.S. interests to do otherwise - in Obama's words, until "we see some stability" in the region. But,
what is "stability"? Apparently, it means pacification - just as it did in Vietnam. The "withdrawal" of which Obama
speaks is predicated on leaving behind "secure" areas - again, in his words, "so we can afford to remove troops." And
that depends on getting the "cooperation" of the Iraqis, friend and foe alike. George Bush sings the same song: "When Iraqis Stand Up, We Stand Down," says Bush, bringing back an oldie-but-goldie phrase that presidents Johnson and
Nixon deployed endlessly in Southeast Asia, two generations ago.
"Like Bush and Clinton, Obama refuses to take any military options ‘off the table.'"
Obama assured the New York Times that he doesn't intend to stay in Iraq for another "ten or twenty years" - that is, if those pesky Iraqis just act
right. If they don't, all bets are off. Here's a definitive quote from the candidate: "I will remove all our combat
troops, we will have troops there to protect our embassies and our civilian forces and we will engage in counter
terrorism activities," said Obama. However, he continues, "How large that force is, whether it's located inside Iraq or
as an over the horizon force is going to depend on what our military situation is."
In other words, Iraq will have to be pacified for Obama's 14-to-15 month, piecemeal and totally iffy "withdrawal" plan
to take place. Hillary Clinton won't even mention anything smacking of a timetable, but that really doesn't make a
difference, since Obama's schedule depends on achievement of some kind of U.S. "victory" before withdrawal - which is
George Bush's stated scenario, as well. Like Bush and Clinton, Obama refuses to take any military options "off the
table," including nuclear options. Although Obama is less rhetorically bullying than Bush, and more charming than
Clinton, all three reserve the right to launch a first strike against Iran. This is the language of war criminals.
It seems our problem is not the Siamese Twins, Obama and Clinton, but Siamese Triplets, Hillary, Barack and Bush.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.
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BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com .