There was something both wonderful and terrible about the spectacle of U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama on the world stage. Wonderful, as he is a Black man at the very pinnacle of political power. Terrible too, in that his immense talents are put at the service of the empire. When he speaks in an eloquence so sorely lacking from that of his predecessor, one hears the sweetness of self-evident reason with an ease that would have baffled he who came before him, and yet beneath the words and things unsaid lie the very same imperial perceptions and presumptions—as Bush said, “What we say goes.”
It is astonishing to read and realize how easily the U.S. may indict another country for some evil which we or our allies have perpetrated with perfect impunity. Iran may not have a nuclear weapon, but Israel can have hundreds. Indeed, during the Shah’s reign, Iranian scientists performed nuclear tests at MIT. But today’s Iran isn’t the Shah’s, and in the seat of power sits an Iranian religious leader who, unlike the Shah, isn’t the paid puppet of the Americans. The Alawite state in Syria can be taken to task for a disputed report of chemical weapons use, but Israel can strike Gaza with white phosphorus, an extremely poisonous chemical, that ignites into flame when in contact with air. The U.S. acted as if Israel dropped cotton candy. And as for chemical weapons, remember Agent Orange? The U.S. denuded Vietnam’s great forests, causing almost incalculable human and ecological damage that continues to haunt Vietnam to this day. Not to mention tens of thousands of Vietnam vets who have visited damage upon their children caused by exposure to this powerful defoliant and poison. War talk on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq debacle is just crazy talk. From in prison nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
