Andrew shared this early this morning, and I want to share it with others…
Dear Friends,
Our first obligation in the face of US war threats is to speak a word of truth, wherever we go and to whomever we meet.
With regard to North Korea, I denounce the threats of war coming from the US government. They are not a tough stance in the face of an intractable situation. They are just the opposite. They are the latest and most egregious in a series of unilateral moves by the US government to reject and move away from a diplomatic solution.
Donald Trump and the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, have both made overt threats of military action against North Korea within the past two days. I denounce them both. Haley’s appearance at the UN yesterday was not only a study in mendacity but a reckless and immoral affront to humanity. “We will not repeat the inadequate approaches of the past that have brought us to this dark day,” she said while attempting to rally the world to further economic sanctions against North Korea while making overt threats of war.
The media has begun its “measured analysis” that excludes diplomacy and focuses on the known disastrous consequences of the various military options. This piece from the Guardian is a prime example.
Diplomats and scholars who value human life have been working diligently to end a conflict that the US helped create more than a half century ago with some of the most brutal warfare and mass destruction the world has ever seen. The fact that the story of that war and its scorched earth policy is largely unknown to people in the US only adds to the dastardly stance the US government is taking currently.
Yes, I denounce the US government for its threats of war against North Korea. They constitute in themselves a crime against humanity and are a violation of international law.
Yes, there is an alternative. A peaceful resolution that has been sought by Koreans, north and south, for decades.
Yes, there is something you can do. Stop listening to and reading the mainstream media about Korea. And, yes, that includes NPR and the NYT. For everything you do hear, take a few minutes to read something that might enlighten you. And then at least open your mouth whenever you are with people who begin talking about a war with Korea.
Here are a few things to look at as a start:
The first is by John Feffer. Reinforcing the fact that North Korea wants acceptance, not confrontation (or obliteration).
The second is by Mel Gurtov who lays out some of the history and asks who stands to gain from emphasizing military confrontation to the near total exclusion of diplomacy, except as a fig leaf.
And the third, by Adam Johnson at FAIR, takes apart a front page NYT story from April that introduced a new meme into mainstream reporting. No surprise that the story was authored by David Sanger who has been playing the same role in promoting war with country after country since 2001.
Andrew
