'Code Pink' Rethinks Its Call for Afghanistan Pullout (Hell freezes over alert)

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | Aunohita Mojumdar

[kristinn]

Kabul, Afghanistan - When Medea Benjamin stood up in a Kabul meeting hall this weekend to ask Masooda Jalal if she would prefer more international troops or more development funds, the cofounder of US antiwar group Code Pink was hoping her fellow activist would support her call for US troop withdrawal.

She was disappointed.

Ms. Jalhal, the former Afghan minister of women, bluntly told her both were needed. "It is good for Afghanistan to have more troops – more troops committed with the aim of building peace and against war, terrorism, and security – along with other resources," she answered. "Coming together they will help with better reconstruction."

Rethinking their position

Code Pink, founded in 2002 to oppose the US invasion of Iraq, is one of the more high-profile women's antiwar groups being forced to rethink its position as Afghan women explain theirs: Without international troops, they say, armed groups could return with a vengeance – and that would leave women most vulnerable.

SNIP

During their weeklong visit here, in which they met with government officials, politicians, ministers, women activists, and civil society groups, the small team of Code Pink members had hoped to gather evidence to bolster their call for US troop withdrawal within two years, and capitalize on growing anxiety back home about the war.

While the group hasn't dropped its call for a pullout, the visit convinced them that setting a deadline isn't in Afghanistan's interests, say Ms. Benjamin and fellow cofounder Jodie Evans.

[garyhope]

You should have posted a barf alert, a VERY LARGE BARF ALERT with this photo. The only thing that could make it worse would be if you had included a picture of Helen Thomas with it. Please NO!!!

Excuse me, but why are these 2 witches still alive?

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Russia is for US pacifying their underbelly for free, and US leftist policy is simply pro-Russia.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

The headline is misleading. You can't rethink something you just emoted about before.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Ms. Jalhal, the former Afghan minister of women, bluntly told her both were needed. “It is good for Afghanistan to have more troops – more troops committed with the aim of building peace and against war, terrorism, and security – along with other resources,” she answered. “Coming together they will help with better reconstruction.”

IOW build their nation for them....and, btw, let’s pretend it was once “built” by calling it “reconstruction”........”peace and against war”?......snide reference to those new McChrystal ROE’s and nearts-and-minds (been there, done that) strategy?

nah....Bring ‘em Home!

flame away....

[ETL]

Cindy Sheehan, Jodie Evans, Hugo Chavez,
Medea Benjamin [co-founder Code Pink]

Code Pink 'Bundles' for Barack, 4/14/2008

"The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink [Jodie Evans] has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money."

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25997
______________________________________________________________

From National Public Radio (NPR):
August 29, 2006
"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been visiting countries such as China, Iran and Russia as part of an effort to build a 'strategic alliance' of interests not beholden to the United States. He considers the United States his arch enemy.":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5729764
______________________________________________________________

From CBS-News, July 29, 2006:

Chavez Vows To 'Stand By Iran'
After Oil Talks In Tehran, Venezuelan Leader Called 'Brother' By Ahmedinejad

"Chavez pledged that his country would 'stay by Iran at any time and under any condition,' state television reported. Ahmadinejad said he saw in Chavez a kindred spirit." "'We do not have any limitation in cooperation,' Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. 'Iran and Venezuela are next to each other and supporters of each other. Chavez is a source of a progressive and revolutionary current in South America and his stance in restricting imperialism is tangible.'":
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/29/world/main1847331.shtml

______________________________________________________________

REVOLUTION: Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA [Maoist]

Revolution interview with ("Peace Mom") Cindy Sheehan: October 29, 2005:
['Revolution' is the official newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party]
http://rwor.org/a/021/cindy-sheehan-interview.htm
______________________________________________________________

The RCP calls for the armed overthrow of the U.S. government...

From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :

"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning.

And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":

http://revcom.us/a/v20/1000-1009/1000/barw.htm
______________________________________________________________

REVOLUTION: Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA [Maoist]
[Revolution] Interview with Bill Ayers, Revolution #63, October 1, 2006:
"On Progressive Education, Critical Thinking and the Cowardice of Some in Dangerous Times"
http://rwor.org/a/063/ayers-en.html
______________________________________________________________

Code Pink's Jodie Evans embraces Jane Fonda

[Ramius]

Code Pink, founded in 2002 to oppose the US invasion of Iraq

I'm pretty sure CP was protesting the initial invasion of Afghanistan long before the invasion of Iraq was even seriously contemplated.

[BertWheeler]

Nitwits who send them money. Code Pink is too ineffectual and stupid to be funded by George Soros.

[vox_freedom]

Yep, everything bad is good again.

Hypocrisy = Obama = Code Pink

[reagan_fanatic]

This is something you'll NEVER see happen:

[italianquaker]

Shhh gibson said enough already

[spikeytx86]

With the exception of die hard pacifists, Leftists are only anti-war when a Republican is in power. This only further proves that point.

[Frantzie]

Code Pink is a Dem and Obama leftist front group. Probably funded by Soros.

Under the muslim’s “rules of engagement” - our troops are sitting ducks. The goal is to lose and humiliate our troops.

[Chode]

and the RATS, take another one in the..............................HA ha!!!

[DoughtyOne]

Code Pinko will NEVER support the war. It’s support for women is about as ‘real’ as the NOW’s support for women.

Code Pinko will continue to toe the Marxist anti-war line (as long as the effort is defeating the U.S.’ enemies, and NOW will continue to support leftist d—kheads whether they’ve raped women or not.

It’s all about taking down the U.S. and pushing up Socialism/Communism.

[cranked]

Code Pink is a joke.

[swarthyguy]

Not to digress too much, but the ROE and strategy were contingent upon increased troop levels.

JMO, but this request has not been on Obama’s desk since Labor Day, but since the Fourth or even as early as Memorial Day.

The review and report he asked McChrystal for was a hedge to buy him time.

This whole kerfuffle over strategy as Pelosi, Reid, Kerry et al are harping on is simply a smokescreen.

The strategy had been decided last winter and spring, and Obama acknowledged it by sending 21K troops.

Now he’s pivoting......

[CommieCutter]

Screw you b!itch3s! Now—it’s the wrong war for the wrong reasons.
/sarc.

Robots!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yep, their first and foremost aim is to prop up the zero. If Afghanistan goes badly, then the zero looks like the naive loser that he really is.

[JudgemAll]

Hmmm... can you say Belgian waffles... yuk.

If “women’s “ group or feminists were women loving women, they would not exploit/prostitute their own vaginas for political empowerment ends. Feminism - male and female - and islamism have very much in common and goals.

[Jack Black]

I think it’s far from a no-brainer.

We’ve been there for 8 years and the place is a mess. Oh, yeah, by the way - we’re broke. Every dollar we spend there is borrowed.

The government we’ve supported is at best ineffective and at worst hopelessly corrupt. The Constitution that we helped them adopt states that Afghanistan is a “Islamic Nation” or some such. Are we to be in the business of helping Islamic nations be successful? Why?

Do you really believe that the small population of Afghanistan is a threat to us? Why? How?

At what point will we have done enough to make Afghanistan like Omaha? $400 billion? $1 Trillion? 1000 more dead?

Colin Powell said: “You break it, you own it”. Everyone treats that as Gospel. This in itself is a classic neo-conservative formulation.

How about just breaking things, and walking away. “Sorry, you really pissed us off with your support of the Taliban. We are done, for now, blowing the shit out of your crappy little dung heap of a country. But rest assured, our drones are above you, our sattelites are intercepting your calls, our computuers are crunching your conversations. Act good or we will be back and kill a lot more of you.

PS: We won’t bother sorting out who’s who in the future. You have been warned, act accordingly.

Are we to go teach each and every Afghan that they must follow the Miranda rules? What’s the end point of neo-conservative nation building? What Islamic nation has been successfully turned into a tolerant multi-cultural, diversity respecting, non-corrupt functioning democracy - much less a vibrant free market utopia.

NONE.

I say pull out. If you need to inflict more punnishment pull out ground troops and bomb. Enough of losing our finest in this dusty hell hole.

We need our brave boys back in the USA to fight the libtards.