FYI. Best, Munsup
P.S. Please reply back to me with ‘unsubscribe’ added to the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
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- FW: [Info] October 21, 1967 - "Mobe" demo in DC & [Info] October 24, 1981 250M say NO Missiles in UK
- FW: How 401(k) plans will change next year
- FW: Tell ESPN to stand with Jenele, not with President Trump
- FW: Today's Headlines: Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots
- FW: Texas: SIGN NOW to oust Ted Cruz
- FW: NRA spokeswoman attacks Trayvon Martin's mom on Fox News
- FW: Three weeks since the Las Vegas shooting
- FW: Bravo, Don Lemon's open letter to Trump: 'Please stop!' & CrowdJustice and crowdfunding lawsuits in the Trump era
- FW: Defend Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants!
- FW: Me Too & Trump's latest attempt to undermine health care
- FW: "6 Years Ago Today, the US Helped Murder Gaddafi to Stop the Creation of Gold-Backed Currency"
- FW: NEIL STEINBERG Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Don Quixote’ ripped from the headlines?
- FW: Expansion of Imperialist US "War on Terror" in Africa Preceded Deadly Attacks in Niger and Somalia
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From: carl bunin
Subject: [Info] October 21, 1967 - "Mobe" demo in DC & [Info] October 24, 1981 250M say NO Missiles in UK
October 21, 1967 | October 24, 1981 |
In Washington, D.C., more than 100,000 demonstrators from all over thecountry surrounded the reflecting pool between the Washington and Lincoln monuments in a largely peaceful protest to end the Vietnam War.
It was organized by "the Mobe," the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Some then marched on, encircled and attempted to storm the Pentagon in what some considered to be civil disobedience; 682 were arrested and dozens injured. This protest was paralleled by demonstrations in Japan and Western Europe, the most violent of which occurred outside theU.S. Embassy in London where 3,000 demonstrators attempted to storm the building.
bit.ly/MobeDemoInDC
at the pentagon
|
More than 250,000 people, organized by the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), marched through London to protest the siting of American nuclear missiles in the United Kingdom.
bit.ly/250MNoMissilesUK
banner from the demo
October 25, 1955
Sadako Sasaki, following the Japanese custom of folding paper cranes – symbols of good fortuneand longevity – persisted daily in folding cranes, hoping to create senbazuru (1000 paper cranes strung together) when a person's dream is believed to come true, died.
Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and at 12 was diagnosed with Leukemia,"the atom bomb" disease.
|
From: LinkedIn
Subject: How 401(k) plans will change next year
How 401(k) plans will change next year
From: MARGARET PETERS
Subject: Tell ESPN to stand with Jenele, not with President Trump: end her suspension of Jemele Hill for calling out racists and racism
ESPN suspended “Sportscenter” host Jemele Hill for calling out racism and racists, and the White House is trying to get her fired. I just signed a petition demanding that ESPN apologize to Jemele Hill for suspending her and publicly commit to protecting its journalists’ First Amendment rights. I hope you will sign it, too:
Tell ESPN: Stand with Jemele, not Trump
| | Tell ESPN: Stand with Jemele, not TrumpDemand that ESPN apologize to Jemele Hill for suspending her and publicly committ to protecting its journalists’... | |
|
|
From: 
Subject: Today's Headlines: Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots
Jeff Flake, a Fierce Trump Critic, Will Not Seek Re-election for Senate
Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots
By ERIC LIPTON
A scientist who worked for the chemical industry now shapes policy on hazardous chemicals. Within the E.P.A., there is fear that public health is at risk. (At right, a signing ceremony for new rules on toxic chemicals.)
Jeff Flake, a Fierce Trump Critic, Will Not Seek Re-election for Senate
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Mr. Flake, a Republican of Arizona, said he would "no longer be complicit or silent" in the face of the president's "reckless, outrageous and undignified" behavior.
From: Team Beto via Daily Kos
Subject: Texas: SIGN NOW to oust Ted Cruz
CNN has just released their list of Senate seats most likely to switch parties in 2018 -- further proof that our people-powered campaign is gaining momentum across Texas. CNN says Ted Cruz finds himself “in a competitive race against Rep. Beto O’Rourke.”
Make no mistake, our campaign is on CNN’s radar because of YOU! But we also know that the Cruz campaign and their special interest donors can read the news too -- and they’ll respond by rushing a new flood of dark money to our race.
Sign the petition: join Beto for Senate to oust Ted Cruz, win back the Senate, and turn Texas blue!
ADD YOUR NAME & TURN TEXAS BLUE
This news comes as some question our decision to keep this race about people, not PACs. One even said our campaign refusing PAC money makes victory “impossible.” But we’re proving them wrong.
First, our campaign outraised Cruz earlier this year. Then, our most recent numbers showed us receiving 7,000 more individual contributions than Ted. We’ve done it all without a single PAC dollar. And now CNN is paying close attention.
Add your name to support Beto for Senate, who can oust Ted Cruz, win the Senate, and turn Texas blue!
SIGN NOW TO OUST CRUZ
Paid for by Beto for Senate. Does not equal endorsement.
From: The Guns Down team
Subject: NRA spokeswoman attacks Trayvon Martin's mom on Fox News
Last week when we launched our campaign against the NRA’s murder insurance, we knew they’d throw mud at us and make false claims. We knew they’d claim their cynical plans were harmless. And we knew that supporters of their dangerous agenda would attack us.
We didn’t know Dana Loesch, an NRA spokesperson and advisor to NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, would go on national television to gaslight Trayvon Martin’s mother.
But she did.
Help push back against their repulsive attacks
by becoming a Guns Down donor today.
Loesch went on Fox News to discuss the video we released with Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon Martin was killed in a 2012 shooting. Without ever revealing that she is the primary spokesperson for the NRA’s Carry Guard murder insurance, Loesch went on the attack
Friend, she called Sybrina Fulton’s opposition to Carry Guard murder insurance “crazy.” She called arguments against it “completely illogical.” She claimed there’s no good reason to oppose a program as cynical and dangerous as the murder insurance she helps sell.
We need to stand up for what is right. Contribute to our fight and help combat the NRA’s dangerous insurance and their vile rhetoric.
From: Maria, Pulin, Alex, Erica, and the rest of the team, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Subject: Three weeks since the Las Vegas shooting
It's been three weeks since the Las Vegas, NV, shooting—in which 58 people were killed and hundreds more were injured.
In the aftermath, hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members—including gun owners—are taking effective action, mobilizing quickly to ensure members of Congress and elected officials around the country take meaningful steps to end senseless gun violence.
As a result, we can celebrate a major victory that we helped achieve: This weekend, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to reject donations from the gun lobby and other predatory corporate interests—after more than 20,000 MoveOn members signed a petition by Sandy Phillips—the mother of an Aurora, CO, movie theater shooting victim. Sandy's petition was delivered to the DNC by California committee member Christine Pelosi shortly before the vote.
Below are more details on this victory and on further inspiring actions led by MoveOn members and allies. Social change is not a quick or easy process, but in the wake of the Las Vegas tragedy—together—we helped the movement for gun safety grow stronger:
VICTORY: Democratic Party rejects the NRA and other predatory corporate donors
More than 20,000 people signed a petition by MoveOn member Sandy Phillips—whose daughter, Jessi, was slaughtered in the Aurora, Colorado theater massacre in 2012—asking the DNC to reject donations from the gun industry.
And this weekend—the DNC, the governing body of the national Democratic Party—heard us and took action: They passed an official resolution rejecting donations from the gun lobby and other corporate donors that conflict with the Democrats' platform.1
Additionally, dozens of members of Congress who have received NRA campaign support are now facing pressure from thousands of MoveOn members in their districts to give back or donate NRA contributions to causes focused on gun violence prevention. Click here to find out if your members of Congress have received money and sign or start a similar petition to #RejecttheNRA.
Battling the NRA in its home state, Virginia
We’re helping defeat the NRA in Virginia by supporting a slate of diverse progressive candidates who support commonsense gun legislation.
MoveOn members in Virginia have voted overwhelmingly to endorse Ralph Northam for governor, Justin Fairfax for lieutenant governor, along with 11 House of Delegate candidates. And while the NRA is funneling funds to the Republican candidates, we are bringing people power into Virginia, along with deploying state-of-the-art SMS tools and persuasive video content, to demonstrate that we can take on—and defeat—the NRA.
And MoveOn members around the country are making calls to progressive Virginia voters to encourage them to volunteer and—most critically—vote on November 7. Click here to help get out the vote and deliver the NRA and their Republican enablers an electoral defeat.
Delivering a strong message to Congress: Act to end gun violence NOW
The day after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Mark Carman, a Grammy-nominated country music producer and gun owner, launched a campaign on the MoveOn petitions platform calling on Congress to take meaningful action to stop gun violence.
More than 215,000 MoveOn members from across the nation signed Mark's petition, and his impassioned video on Facebook now has 2.7 million views!
Days later, Mark traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak at a press conference and bolster the efforts of Representative Elizabeth Esty—who represents Newtown, CT, where the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place—to announce the introduction of the Keep Americans Safe Act, which would limit high capacity magazines.
And last week, MoveOn teamed up with Newtown Action Alliance and other groups to hold a vigil and rally outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to demand action on gun violence.
MoveOn members were thanked multiple times and heartbreaking petition comments were read aloud, including this one from Sherry C. of Las Vegas:
"I was in attendance at Route 91 festival and am a gun owner and lifelong resident of Las Vegas. I grew up around guns, own guns, and believe in the Second Amendment. However, there is no place for assault weapons in our society outside of the military. Period. PLEASE—enough is enough."
Meanwhile, volunteers personally hand-delivered Mark's petition to all 535 offices of members of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Members of Congress are listening—and speaking out
The morning after the Las Vegas tragedy, Representative John Lewis spoke, prophetically asking: “How many dead bodies will it take to wake up this Congress?"
In the days following, incredible work from gun violence prevention allies and outrage from MoveOn members across the country has helped many members of Congress to listen and speak out.
Representative Dina Titus, who represents the area of Las Vegas where the shooting took place, recorded an exclusive video with MoveOn encouraging the public to stay vigilant in the movement to stop gun violence and hold elected officials accountable in 2018. Her colleague, Representative Ruben J. Kihuen, talked about how it’s incomprehensible that Congress is refusing to take up common sense legislation to stop gun violence.
Many members of Congress have also introduced several new pieces of legislation for commonsense gun violence prevention measures—such as banning bump stocks, the tool used by the Las Vegas shooter to convert his guns into a fully-automatic weapons.2
All of this work and progress is possible only because of your support, dedication, and heart. MoveOn members and our allies have been working to advance gun violence prevention for years, and it can seem like an uphill climb. But, when we come together, we have the power to take on the NRA and to move the needle towards commonsense gun laws.
Thank you for being a part of the MoveOn community and for joining, leading, and supporting important campaigns.
Will you start your own petition for progressive change now?
Thanks for all you do.
Source:
- "DNC creates new restrictions for corporate donations," The Hill, October 21, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/19736?t=30&akid=191868%2E1195276%2ErSkB_P - "Bipartisan lawmakers unveil bill to ban gun bumpstocks," The Hill, October 10, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/19702?t=32&akid=191868%2E1195276%2ErSkB_P
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us? Donate monthly or make a one-time gift
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: Bravo, Don Lemon's open letter to Trump: 'Please stop!' & CrowdJustice and crowdfunding lawsuits in the Trump era
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/opinions/don-lemon-letter-to-trump-la-david-johnson/index.html
SUE THE BASTARD (MORONOTUS)!
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/10/crowdjustice_and_crowdfunding_lawsuits_in_the_trump_era.html
From: Kathryn Johnson; Office of Public Policy and Advocacy, AFSC
Subject: Defend Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants!
Tell Congress: Save TPS!
Maria came to the United States 26 years ago from El Salvador with the hopes of creating a better life for her children. When a catastrophic 7.6 magnitude earthquake ravaged El Salvador in 2001, her family was granted temporary protected status (TPS), a vital program that provides protection for immigrants in the U.S. when it’s unsafe for them to return to their home countries.
TPS has given Maria—and an estimated 330,000 people from countries afflicted by naturals disasters, war, or other dangerous conditions—the opportunity to build their lives in the United States.
But the Trump administration has signaled that it may end TPS—a move that would be the latest in a series of cruel attacks on immigrants that would rip apart families and hurt communities across the U.S.
Call your members of Congress today: Tell them to do everything they can 1) to ensure that the administration extends TPS for all countries currently covered and 2) to support legislation that would ensure stability for TPS recipients who have lived here for many years.
Maria recounted to staff in our Newark office, which represents over 500 TPS holders, how TPS has allowed her to work in the U.S., raise her children (who now have children of their own), and send money home to her family in El Salvador. But, TPS leaves holders of the status in a precarious position paying hundreds of dollars every 18 months to renew, never knowing for sure if it will be extended or not.
Most TPS recipients have been in the U.S. for decades and are deeply integrated into our communities. They provide emotional and financial support to loved ones; shoulder responsibilities in schools, churches, and civic organizations; and contribute billions of dollars to our economy. Ending TPS would have a devastating impact on the social and economic fabric of cities and towns across the country.
Contact Congress today, and urge them to ensure the administration extends TPS and work toward a permanent solution that creates a roadmap to citizenship for recipients and millions of other immigrants in the U.S.
P.S. You can also tweet at your senators and representatives with the message “Declare your support for #TPS holders & legislation to protect them from deportation #SaveTPS #ResidencyNow”
From: Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Emma, Pilar, Natalie,
Melody, Pam, Lindsay, and Ryan, the UltraViolet Action team, UltraViolet Action
Subject: Me Too & Trump's latest attempt to undermine health care
Me Too
Last week, tens of thousands of us shared stories of sexual abuse and harassment on social media using #MeToo. Two simple words, blanketing feeds on social media worldwide, have helped awaken a movement and spurred thousands of conversations about what's next.
Women are using social media in unprecedented and creative ways to hold abusers and sexists accountable, and so are we. Following UltraViolet is the BEST way to stay up to date with breaking news in the fight against rape culture and ensure you won't miss original UltraViolet graphics, live videos, events, and campaign updates.
Will you like us on Facebook?
Already receive our Facebook updates? Twitter is a great way to call out sexists in pop culture, sports, and politics with 140 (or 280, if you're lucky) characters.
Will you follow us on Twitter?
We're also posting original graphics and photos from our actions on Instagram, too. Follow along!
If you already follow us on social media, please share this with a friend.
Thanks for all you do!
--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Emma, Pilar, Natalie, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, and Ryan, the UltraViolet Action team
P.S. We're launching an UltraViolet Action Mobile Updates program, so you can stay up to date with local actions, sit-ins, and campaigns. Learn more and sign up here.
Trump's latest attempt to undermine health care
Trump recently announced he would cut funding for cost-sharing subsidies that make health care affordable, a move that would throw the health care market into complete chaos.
Congress is in a panic and has proposed bipartisan legislation that will restore funding for the subsidies -- but they're far from reaching a deal.1
UltraViolet members mobilized repeatedly this year and stopped Trumpcare in its tracks. Now it's time to create a massive outcry to demand Congress take action to protect these critical subsidies.
Will you chip in $5 to UltraViolet Action to support our emergency campaign to stop Trump's sabotage of our health care system?
Here's what would happen if funding is cut from these cost-sharing subsidies:
- 7 million families would be at risk of losing their health care.
- Premiums would increase by 20% for EVERYONE in 2018 -- even those who don't rely on the subsidies.
- It would become even more difficult for women, especially women of color, to access the care they need.
Since Congress failed twice to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump is trying to dismantle it all by himself. If he thinks he can get away with single-handedly sabotaging our health care system, he's got another thing coming.
Our grassroots organizing has proved to be one of the most powerful tools in the fight to protect the Affordable Care Act. Let's show Trump that we won't back down from defending health care:
Chip in $5 right now to UltraViolet Action and together we will hand Trump another defeat on health care.
CONTRIBUTE
SOURCE: 1. 2 Senators Strike Deal on Health Subsidies That Trump Cut Off, New York Times, October 17th, 2017
Want to support our work? UltraViolet Action is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
From: Judy Burnette
Subject: "6 Years Ago Today, the US Helped Murder Gaddafi to Stop the Creation of Gold-Backed Currency"
http://wakingtimesmedia.com/6-years-ago-today-us-helped-murder-gaddafi-stop-creation-gold-backed-currency/?utm_source=Waking+Times+Newsletter&utm_campaign=84dcc70c3b-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_25f1e048c1-84dcc70c3b-39413993
From: Eric Kramer
Subject: NEIL STEINBERG Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Don Quixote’ ripped from the headlines?
"Let’s just say the tale of a delusional old man who blunders about, claiming to help people while actually attacking innocent passersby and then interpreting the resulting fiascoes as embellishing his legend of unmatched glory, well, has a certain unexpected relevance."
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/don-quixote-unexpected-relevance/
From: Daytonians Against War Now (DAWN) On Behalf Of Logan Martinez
Subject: [DAWN] Expansion of Imperialist US "War on Terror" in Africa Preceded Deadly Attacks in Niger and Somalia
Expansion of Imperialist US "War on Terror" in Africa
Preceded Deadly Attacks in Niger and Somalia
Tuesday, October 24, 2017 By Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now! | Video Interview
We look at the US military presence in Africa and what happened during the ambush of US Special Forces by militants in Niger, in which five Nigerian soldiers were killed along with four US Green Berets. The incident is now the subject of a military and FBI investigation. At least 800 US servicemembers are currently stationed in the country to support a French-led mission to defeat militants in West Africa. Meanwhile, Somalia continues to recover from a massive bombing in Mogadishu that killed at least 358 people. We speak with Horace Campbell, who is currently spending a year in West Africa as the Kwame Nkrumah chair at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. Campbell is a peace and justice scholar and professor of African American studies and political science at Syracuse University. We are also joined by Mark Fancher, an attorney and frequent contributor to Black Agenda Report, where his new article is headlined "US Troop Deaths in Niger: AFRICOM's Chickens Come Home to Roost."
TRANSCRIPT
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to the US military presence in Africa and what happened during the ambush of US Special Forces by militants in the West African nation of Niger, which is now the subject of a military and FBI investigation. During a press conference Monday, Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, laid out a timeline of the Niger attack on October 4th, in which five Nigerien soldiers were killed along with four US Green Berets, after their 12-member Army Special Forces unit accompanied 30 Nigerien forces on a reconnaissance mission to an area near the village of Tongo Tongo, about an hour north of the capital. They reportedly ended up spending the night there, and when they left the next morning to return to their base, they encountered about 50 enemy fighters. This is General Dunford.
GEN. JOSEPH DUNFORD: So, early in the morning of 3rd October, as I mentioned, US forces accompanied that Nigerien unit on a reconnaissance mission to gather information. The assessment by our leaders on the ground at that time was that contact with the enemy was unlikely.
Mid-morning on October 4th, the patrol began to take fire as they were returning to their operating base. Approximately one hour after taking fire, the team requested support. And within minutes, a remotely piloted aircraft arrived overhead. Within an hour, French Mirage jets arrived on station. And then, later that afternoon, French attack helicopters arrived on station, and a Nigerien quick reaction force arrived in the area where our troops were in contact with the enemy.
During a firefight, two US soldiers were wounded and evacuated by French air to Niamey, and that was consistent with the casualty evacuation plan that was in place for this particular operation. Three USsoldiers who were killed in action were evacuated on the evening of 4 October. And at that time, Sergeant La David Johnson was still missing. On the evening of 6th October -- 6 October, Sergeant Johnson's body was found and subsequently evacuated.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Dunford's description underscored how long the attack dragged on. He said when he realized the body of Sergeant La David Johnson was missing, he made a call to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and got immediate approval to bring the, quote, "full weight of the US government to bear" in order to locate the missing soldier. Dunford defended the broader American mission in Niger, saying USforces have been in the country intermittently for more than two decades. At least 800 USservicemembers are currently stationed in the country to support a French-led mission to defeat the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram in West Africa.
AMY GOODMAN: This comes as Republican Senator John McCain, chair of the Armed Services Committee, threatened to issue a subpoena in order to speed up the release of details about the attack. On Monday, Johnson's widow spoke out on Good Morning America about her husband's death, saying she's upset about remarks President Trump made during a condolence call. Myeshia Johnson reaffirmed she and others heard Trump say, "He knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway." She said it, quote, "made me cry even worse," and noted the president also struggled to remember her husband's name.
MYESHIA JOHNSON: It made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said -- he couldn't remember my husband's name. The only way he remembered my husband's name, because he told me he had my husband's report in front of him. And that's when he actually said "La David." I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband's name. And that's what hurt me the most, because if my husband is out here fighting for our country and he risked his life for our country, why can't you remember his name?
AMY GOODMAN: Last week, Florida Congressmember Frederica Wilson said she heard the call in which President Trump told Johnson's widow he, quote, "knew what he signed up for … but when it happens, it hurts anyway." Over the weekend, Trump called Wilson "wacky" in a series of tweets, without once mentioning La David Johnson or offering condolences to his family. That was the day of the funeral.
Meanwhile, Somalia continues to recover [after] a massive bombing in Mogadishu that killed at least 358 people and wounded over 400 others, [and] a roadside bomb exploded on Sunday, killing 11 people. The explosions come after the Trump administration stepped up a US campaign against al-Shabab in Somalia. In March, Trump declared Somalia a so-called zone of active hostilities, giving wide latitude to military leaders to launch airstrikes and ground assaults. In May, that led to the first US combat death in Somalia since 1993, when Navy SEAL officer Kyle Milliken was killed in an assault on an al-Shabab radio station. In August, a raid by US soldiers and Somali troops on a village outside Mogadishu left 10 civilians dead, including three children.
For more, we're joined by two guests. In Detroit, Mark Fancher is with us, an attorney, frequent contributor to the Black Agenda Report. His latest article, "US Troop Deaths in Niger: AFRICOM's Chickens Come Home to Roost." Joining us via Democracy Now! video stream from Luanda, Angola, is Horace Campbell, currently spending a year in West Africa as the Kwame Nkrumah chair at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. He is a peace and justice scholar and professor of African American studies and political science at Syracuse University.
We want to welcome you both. Professor Campbell, let's begin with you. You're on the continent. You're in Africa. Can you respond to what has happened in Niger and put it in a larger context of US-Africa policy right now?
HORACE CAMPBELL: Greetings from Luanda, and greetings to all the people who want peace.
What is happening with the United States' presence in Africa is similar to the United States' presence in the United States itself. That is, the lives of African people do not matter. The United States of America is involved in a duplicitous war on terror in Africa, when on the streets of the United States of America black people are being terrorized. At the same time, the United States is in a dubious alliance with France, that wants to instigate ideas about terror in order to save capitalism in France.
So, this relationship between the United States and France, in what is called fighting war on terror in the Sahel, comes six years after the United States, France and Britain went into Libya to destroy that country, because that country wanted to create the basis for the unification of Africa and an African currency. Last year, President Obama said that going into Libya was the biggest mistake of his presidency. Later, in October of 2016, the British Parliament had a report that said that going into Libya was based on lies. The only government that did not respond was the French government, that mobilized those who are called al-Qaeda to fight against Gaddafi. The same French government that mobilized the so-called al-Qaeda forces in Mali, in Niger, is mobilizing within the United Nations to get African Union, to get five countries in Africa -- Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger -- to support France, to get the United Nations to send millions of dollars in this so-called fight against terrorism.
The challenge for us in the peace and justice movement is to oppose both the United States and France in this so-called war on terror. What the people of West Africa need is money for reconstruction, health, housing, employment and changing the natural environment, so that the millions of youth can get jobs. It makes no sense for the United States of America to be spending $100 million to build a base in Agadez, in Niger, where France has already a military base, and France is using the United Nations in the so-called multidimensional peacekeeping force in this so-called war on terror. What we need is for a massive campaign to get the truth about why these people are in Niger, Mali and Chad, because there is no war on terror going on when they finance the so-called terrorists to overthrow the government of Libya.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Professor Campbell, if you could -- you've talked about France and the United States and their role. Most Americans were not aware that there were this many troops, American troops, in Africa. But could you also contrast or compare the French role and the US role to China's increasing role in Africa and the strategy that China is using, as well?
HORACE CAMPBELL: Well, in the case of France and the United States of America, both cannot compete with China. In the case of Niger, Niger provides 75 percent of the electricity needs of France, because it produces uranium; 7.5 percent of the world's production of uranium comes from a French company in Niger. In 2010, in 2008, 2010, China promised to invest billions of dollars in oil production in Niger. The president of Niger at the time, Mamadou Tandja, had accused France of financing those who are called terrorists. He was overthrown in a coup d'état. Both the United States and France and other members of the European Union are opposed to the Chinese presence in Africa, because where in a country like Djibouti the United States has 4,000 troops, China has spent $5 billion building a state-of-the-art port and has spent $10 billion building a railway from Djibouti to the capital city of Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa. There is no possibility of the United States of America and Western Europe competing with China in Africa.
Africans do not want this competition over their territory. What Africans want is a demilitarization of the continent and for the duplicitous role of France, the European Union and the United States to end in this so-called war on terror. The African people want money for reconstruction, so that in a country such as Somalia, every cent that is being used for fighting the war on terror could be spent in building schools, and then the police operation could be used against al-Shabab. We can only deal with terror when we demilitarize it and treat the extremists in Africa in isolating them from the communities of young people, who are fed up with the alienation because there's unemployment and low standards of living for the African people.
AMY GOODMAN: Professor Campbell, we have to break, but we're going to come back to this discussion, and we'll be joined by Mark Fancher and find out specifically in Niger about the US building a drone base there and how many drone bases are being built across Africa. Right now the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is taking a trip to South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: "For All We Know" by Abbey Lincoln, here on Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We continue to examine the US military presence in Africa and what happened during the ambush of US Special Forces by militants in the West African nation of Niger, which is now the subject of a military and FBI investigation. I want to bring into the discussion Mark Fancher, an attorney and frequent contributor to Black Agenda Report. His latest article is titled "US Troop Deaths in Niger: AFRICOM's Chickens Come Home to Roost." We're also -- we're also joined by -- from Luanda, Angola, by Horace Campbell, Institute of African Studies professor at the University of Ghana. Mark Fancher, the "chickens come home to roost," explain.
MARK FANCHER: Well, the USAfrica Command is something that was created in or about 2007. At the time, it was clear from its design that it was intended as a way for the United States to use military methods to carry out its imperialist agenda in Africa without having to run the risk of suffering US casualties. The idea was that US military forces would be placed in strategic locations in Africa for the purpose of training, advising and directing the armies of African countries, essentially, to carry out missions for the United States. So it was a, you know, they-could-have-their-cake-and-eat-it-too sort of a situation, where they could engage certain hostile forces in combat and not have to worry about US troops dying.
It has not worked out that way. We have just seen within the past month the fact that there are US troops that are at risk as a result of this. It was inevitable. Any time that you introduce violence into a situation that requires the construction of infrastructure and attending to the needs of the poor, you're going to run into this kind of thing. So, it was, in a very real sense, their chickens coming home to roost. They did not escape.
AMY GOODMAN: Mark Fancher, can you talk about what the US troops are doing right now in Niger? I'm surprised many a number of senators, although apparently they've been briefed several times this year -- that at least 800 US soldiers are in Niger right now. Can you talk about why a drone base is being built? Can you talk about where Agadez is, what they're doing both in Niger and in other places in that region?
MARK FANCHER: Well, it's not just Niger. What many people also don't know is that this level of military presence can be found in many countries throughout Africa -- most of them, as a matter fact. Since 2007, the United States has been expanding its reach and has been planting small groups of people in various different locations, not always with what would be regarded as military bases, but as embassy-based operation centers, where they carry out military training and different operations using African armies. So, it's no different in Niger. And the use of drones is just an extension of the basic idea of carrying out reconnaissance missions, and sometimes actual attacks, without putting US troops at risk. So, this is very much par for the course.
And I really think it's important to really understand what has happened in Africa over the last 10 years. In 2007, when AFRICOM was created, the presence of terrorists, to the extent that we see them now, was -- there was nothing comparable. The presence, if any, was minimal. What was going on in Africa at the time was that you had organizations like the Movement to Emancipate the Niger Delta, or MEND, which had engaged in very militant kinds of attacks on US oil installations, breaking up pipelines, kidnapping USoil company and Western oil company personnel, and issuing a threat in 2006 that they could not guarantee the safety of either the facilities of oil companies in and about Nigeria and in that region or the people who were sent there to work on them. It was at that moment that the United States decided that it was going to set up this special command, which was unprecedented, for Africa exclusively.
You know, you also see what was happening during that period was what they branded as piracy off the coastal waters of Somalia. These were fishermen whose waters had been contaminated by people who had come in and had plundered and raided their fishing facilities and had made them unable to engage in a livelihood. And in retaliation, they began to attack those boats and ships that were coming through those waterways, which was a major international shipping lane.
So, these twin concerns about access to the coastal region in Somalia, the oil that was being produced in the Niger Delta and in the Gulf of Guinea, those were the primary drivers for the creation of AFRICOM. And the more that the US military established a presence in that region and throughout Africa, the more terrorism tended to grow.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Mark Fancher, I wanted to ask you about another key event in the history of Africa, the recent history of Africa, which was the US participation in the overthrow of Gaddafi and the situation in Libya. To what degree did the total destabilization of Libya and the -- Libya is now, in essence, a failed state -- have an impact on the growth of extremism and terrorist groups in other parts of Africa?
MARK FANCHER: Oh, it had a huge impact. And if you look at the infamous emails of Hillary Clinton, which are available at the State Department's website, you see an email exchange where State Department personnel are talking very frankly about their conversations with Sarkozy about his interest in overthrowing Gaddafi because he wanted two things. One, he wanted to eliminate the threat of a pan-African currency, gold-backed currency, that Gaddafi wanted to establish, because he was afraid that it would devalue the franc. And he also wanted access to Gaddafi and Libya's oil fields. That was the bottom line for why they went after Gaddafi in the way that they did.
And in order to do it, AFRICOM stepped in and played a major role in recruiting local forces within Libya to attack Gaddafi. They chose to establish relationships with some of the worst elements in Libya. In fact, one of the groups that they established a relationship with was one which, by its very name, said that its mission was to eliminate black people from Libya. And so they gave guns, heavy artillery, to all kinds of people in Libya, with the hope and expectation that they would, you know, carry out this overthrow of the Libyan government and assassinate Gaddafi. That played itself out, but those weapons were still there. And --
AMY GOODMAN: Professor Horace Campbell, we just have 30 seconds. Your final comment in talking about what's happened in this latest attack in Niger -- also five Nigeriens were killed -- not to mention what happened in Somalia with over 358 dead?
HORACE CAMPBELL: I want to follow up on the point about what happened in Libya and why the progressive forces must continue to press for a United Nations investigation in what happened in Libya. I spelled all this out in my book, Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya.
What is happening in Niger is a continuation of what happened in Libya. France is in deep crisis. France is over -- has taken over as undersecretary of peacekeeping forces in the United Nations. France tried to put a resolution through the United Nations Security Council to get more money for France in Niger, in Chad, in Mali and Burkina Faso.
AMY GOODMAN: Horace Campbell, we're going to have to leave it there, and Mark Fancher, as well, but we'll do Part 2 and post it online at democracynow.org.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Juan González co-hosts Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman. González has been a professional journalist for more than 30 years and a staff columnist at the New York Daily News since 1987. He is a two-time recipient of the George Polk Award.
AMY GOODMAN: Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on more than 1,100 public television and radio stations worldwide. Time Magazine named Democracy Now! its "Pick of the Podcasts," along with NBC's "Meet the Press."
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