Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you.
-- "Honesty," written by Billy Joel
If we want to avoid revisionary tactics on the Iraq War, that's going to require honesty. If we want to learn anything, that's going to require honesty. And Tom Hayden just can't stop lying. Here's David Walsh (WSWS) on Hayden's lies about the Afghanistan War:
Hayden makes entirely unwarranted claims about the so-called withdrawal plan and then attributes the "de-escalation" to pressure from a "peace movement" that is largely the product of his imagination.
Obama made his deceitful speech last Wednesday in the hope of assuaging and diverting growing opposition to the war, at least through the November 2012 elections, with his claims that the "tide of war is receding" and "the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance."
In other words, Tom Hayden's really not needed.
The Iraq War has not ended and is not ending. If Bush were moving in thousands of contractors and placing them and US military members under the control of the State Department, we wouldn't pretend it was withdrawal. If Bush were using Kuwait as a staging platform for at least 4,000 US troops, we wouldn't pretend it was withdrawal.
We have no reason to pretend nor do we need liars like Tom Hayden.
While Tom Hayden was praising the 'peace movement' and its accomplishments, we were reminded yet again that United for Peace and Justice closed shop in November 2008, right after Barack Obama was elected.
Three years later, Tom was crediting them for 'ending' the war in 2011. They'd been inactive for three years. Not only that, have you checked out their website lately?
Yeah. They forgot to pay the bills, didn't they? Maybe next time don't trust Leslie Cagan around money. (Shh, no rumors about her actions while serving on the Pacifica board.)
They haven't done a damn thing in three years and they don't even have a website anymore and Tom Hayden wants to pretend a victory came about as a result of the 'peace movement'?
Here's the reality, even if negotiations for 'trainers' continues to fail and the US doesn't keep US soldiers in Iraq under that guise, the war goes on, the occupation goes on. Tom Hayden's just another pole dancer for the Democratic Party. Only a fool would drop a ten spot in the g-string. Get him off the stage already.