A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by Bruce A. D ixon
President Obama is lying to get his war in Syria. The inability of black “liberals” like Van Jones and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who cannot bring themselves to call a president a liar unless he is white or a Republican, frustrates and impedes the building of any movement of principled opposition to war and empire. A warmongering lie is a warmongering lie, no matter the party or color of the president who tells it.
The Unspeakable Truth No Black Democrat Can Utter: President Obama Is Lying On Syria
A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by Bruce A. Dixon
From the 1960s clear into the first decade of the new century black Americans were the most politically savvy, the most dependably and wisely skeptical US constituency when it came to our government's bloody lies and misadventures overseas. Less than 10 percent of us endorsed the invasion of Iraq, but a full 40% of black America are willing to bomb Syria, a full 2% more than the 38% of white Americans who want this war.
The only thing that's changed since Iraq is the party and color of the president. Consumed by cowardice and ambition, most of our black misleadership class of politicians, preachers, TV talking heads and others are perfectly willing to endorse a war in Syria based upon lies even flimsier than those the Bush-Cheney gang used to justify the war in Iraq. After all, the black cruise missile liberals reason, the president is black, and a Democrat, and nobody's ever hurt their career by agreeing with a sitting president.
Even the “peace wing” among black liberals, represented by figures like Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who affirms she will vote against Obama's war in Syria if given the chance, or Van Jones, who says he'd do the same if he had a vote, pretend to believe every single lie the president and his advisors tell to justify that war.
They never mention the monstrous hypocrisy of US posturing on chemical weapons. They neglect to remind us that every one of the last 11 presidents has lied to get us and keep us into wars around the world which have killed millions. Two or three million in Vietnam alone, another million perished in Iraq, and countless more in invasions, bombings, deployments of special forces, mercenaries and drones on four continents from Central America to Africa to the Middle East. And they don't tell us that the US and its client states, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Jordan the Gulf States, are funding and supplying the international mercenaries who make up most of the Syrian “rebels.”
By leaving out this crucial context, our black “peace liberals” make themselves completely unhelpful to, even directly in the way of building, any movement of principled opposition to wars of empire among black Americans. Their pretense of standing on the shoulders of Dr. King and other fighters for peace and freedom is just as hollow as Obama's was on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington..
They can't fix their mouths to say that like the last 11 presidents before him, President Obama is lying to justify an unjust war. Among many other falsehoods, there is little or no evidence connecting the use of chemical weapons with the Syrian government. There are even reports that the rebels are or were in possession of chemical weapons and carelessly mishandled them, causing the incident in late August.
If Republicans were in power black “peace liberals” like Van Jones or Barbara Lee, perhaps even black “drone war liberals” like Joy Ann Reed and Melissa Harris-Perry, would have little or no trouble calling THEM liars, or reminding us of US hypocrisy on chemical weapons. A warmongering lie should be a warmongering lie, no matter the color or party of the president who tells it, but apparently not for black liberals.
Loyalty and craven deference to the black president on the part of all black liberals is really loyalty to the system that makes their own careers and ambitions possible. It far outweighs their loyalty to the truth, or to the legacy of real truth tellers and movement builders. It means that whatever movement is built to oppose wars of empire among black people and among all Americans will have to be built in spite of, and in opposition to, black liberals.
For Black Agenda Report, I'm Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web at www.blackagendareport.com .
Bruce A. Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report and a member of the state committee of the Georgia G)reen Party. He lives and works in Marietta GA and can be reached via this site's contact page, or at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com.
The trial of the New York Panther 21 was the moment in the Black liberation movement that ushered in an era of intensified state repression and violence and increasingly aggressive tactics…
Three members of the Uhuru Movement were recently indicted on charges related to operating as "unregistered foreign agents." This attack has huge implications for free speech everywhere.
After months of social unrest, the youngest leader in the West African state’s history will take office pledging a progressive program.
We hear from a Black and Brown coalition in Chicago about their meeting with minister Naledi Pandor of South Africa and their mobilizations for solidarity with Palestine.
This week we hear about how the latest round of sanctions are harming the people of Cuba, and how they are responding. But first we talk to members of a Chicago Black and Brown coalition about…
