W.E. A.L.L. B.E.: Mumia Speaks: LESSONS LOST

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Mumia Speaks: LESSONS LOST

LESSONS LOST

[col. writ. 5/25/10] (c) '10 Mumia Abu-Jamal

It's been generations since the Vietnam War, or what may be called 'the war most Americans want to forget.'

In part, that's because the U.S. lost to Vietnam. At the time, it was unthinkable: how could a tiny, poor, Third World country best a global super-power?

Their secret was simple: the Vietnamese refused to lose.

Years ago, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was a hawk at war, who advocated incredible tonnage of bombs against the nationalists trying to unify the country.

Years later, after a lifetime away from the heady halls of power, McNamara decried the destructive martial fervor of those years of imperial war.

In the documentary, "The Fog of War", McNamara, speaking of the carnage of World War II, said, " We burned to death 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo." He added, "[General Curtis] Lemay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side had lost." McNamara asked, "But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?"*

Vietnam was an imperial war, created and sustained by lies. Sound familiar?

An empire wages war to save face, and to extend its influence.

It's not about democracy, or terrorism, or good governance, or even drug control. These are mere pretexts.

It's about power and global spheres of influence -- period.

Today, Afghanistan is a narco-state- something that the dreaded Taliban wouldn't tolerate.

It's as far from democracy as possible.

And both Iraq and Afghanistan have governments based on stolen elections.

Is this worth the lives, health or sanity of your loved ones?

--(c) '10maj

[Source: Lippman, T.W., "In the Shadow of Vietnam: Robert McNamara will be remembered for his handling of a 'terribly wrong' war", Washington Post, 7/13-19/09, [Nat'l Wkly. Ed.], pp.10-12]

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The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!

URGENT Need for Petition Signatures at: http://www.iacenter.org/mumiapetition/

Audio of most of Mumia's essays are at: http://www.prisonradio.org

http://mumiapodcast.libsyn.com/

Mumia's got a podcast! Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays - Subscribe at the website or on iTunes and get Mumia's radio commentaries online.

Mumia Abu-Jamal's new book -- JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: PRISONERS DEFENDING PRISONERS V. THE USA, featuring an introduction by Angela Y. Davis -- has been released! It is available from City Lights Books: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100448090

If you are planning to organize an event or would like to order in bulk, you can also receive a 45% discount on any bulk orders of 20 copies or more. The book retails for $16.95, for orders of 20 copies or more the discounted price would be $9.32 per book, plus shipping and handling. Prepayment would be required and books are nonreturnable. If you or your organization would like to place a bulk order, please contact Stacey Lewis at 415.362.1901 or stacey@citylights.com

Let's use the opportunity of the publication of this brilliant, moving, vintage Mumia book to build the momentum for his case, to raise the money we desperately need in these challenging economic times, to get the word out – to produce literature, flyers, posters, videos, DVD's; to send organizers out to help build new chapters and strengthen old ones, TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS … all the work that we must do in order to FREE MUMIA as he faces LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR EXECUTION!

Please make a contribution to help free Mumia. Donations to the grassroots work will go to both INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL and the FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION (NYC).

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