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November 1, 2001
Alexander
Cockburn
FBI
Eyes Torture
William Blum
Unleashing the
CIA
October 31, 2001
Tom Turnipseed
Terrorize
the Poor,
Subsidize the Rich
Chris Clarke
Thank God
for Berkeley
Steve
Perry
The
Silent Genocide
October 30, 2001
Rep. Ron Paul
War on Terror
Bad as War on Drugs
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Flying
Blind:
The Predator's Problem
Ali Abunimah
Dear Colin
Powell
St. Clair/Cockburn
Atomic
Trains Grounded
Maud Hurd
We Need a Real
Stimulus Package
Dr. Susan
Block
We're
All Afghans Now
Tariq Ali
Busted in Munich
Francis
Beer
Toward
the Terrorist
Anti-World
October 29, 2001
Alexander Cockburn
The Left
and the Just War
John Pilger
Hidden
Agenda
of the War on Terror
David Krieger
Nukes on
the Loose
Jack McCarthy
Neo-Nazis
and 9/11
Marina Kalashnikova
The Brzezinski
Interview
Richard
Manning
Terrorism:
a definitive history
October 27, 2001
Edward
Said
A
Vision to Lift the Spririt
October 26, 2001
CounterPunch
Wire
Genocide
Scholar Gagged
Over Comments on the
Bombing of Afghanistan
Rahul
Mahajan
Poisoning
the Well
Sen. Russ Feingold
Why I Opposed
the
Anti-Terrorism Bill
John Troyer
Put
the War to a Vote
Norman Madarasz
What It
Means to be
Against the War
Patrick
Cockburn
Northern
Alliance Attacks
US Bombing Strategy
Richard Lloyd Parry
Terrible Images
of a "Just" War
October 25, 2001
Ghassan
Andoni
Raid
on Bethlehem
N.D. Jayaprakash
From
Hiroshima to NYC
Evan Schultz
Memo
to Ashcroft:
Read Marbury
The Sunshine
Project
Assault
on the BioWeapons
Convention
Sarah
Turner
Cashing
In on Patriotism
Latin American Colloquium
on Systemology
The Meridia Manifesto
Noam Chomsky
The
New War on Terror
Resources:
100s of Links
About 9/11
CounterPunch:
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Days That
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Seattle and Beyond
By Alexander
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War Diary
CIA's Assassination Plan a
History of Torture in US Prisons
bin Laden
and Bush Business Connections
Aisha Ikramuddin on the Hidden
Hype of US Food Bombs
Peter Linebaugh
on Pakistan
Christopher Hitchens' Love for Mrs. Thatcher
Jiang Zemin
Tells Bush: Nuke 'Em
Search
CounterPunch
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How the CIA's Backing of the Mujahideen Created the World's Most
Robust Heroin Market and Helped to Finance the Rise of the Taliban
and Osama bin Laden
Whiteout:
CIA, Drugs & the
Press
by Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
The New Intifada:
Resisting Israel's Apartheid
Edited by Roane Carey
Responses to 9/11:
Chomsky, Russell Banks,
Zinn, and Alice Walker
A Free ebook from
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A Pocket Guide to
Environmental Bad Guys
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The
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November 1,
2001
Let Women Be Heard
Where are the Voices
of Reason?
By Molly Secours
"Where are the women, where are
the women"? This was the chant reverberating throughout
a stadium holding several thousand participants just two months
ago. It was the NGO closing ceremonies at the World Conference
Against Racism in Durban, South Africa and Fidel Castro was the
honored speaker. As five dark suited dignitaries--all males--took
their seats at a table behind him, a lone voice shouted the question
from the vast crowd.
Within seconds the mantra rumbled through
the masses with an intensity that crossed lines of race, gender
and nationality. The entire stadium echoed the chorus "where
are the women?"
Little could anyone have predicted that
less than a month later the United States would stage a war in
which few voices of reason or sanity are audible. Let's face
it, the feminine perspective--which does not necessarily have
to come from women--has been scarce throughout this entire crisis;
if not altogether absent.
What is the feminine perspective? Generally
it is the perspective that values life above all else and one
that is most adept at negotiations and communication. A feminist
perspective weighs humanitarian issues along side of the political--rather
than in place of it. It is the feminine which experiences the
excruciating pain and the rapturous joy of creating life. And
historically, it is primarily the masculine who destroys human
life through war, aggression and greed.
This explains why women (and those with
feminine perspective) are generally excluded from the discussion
in matters of politics and war. It's not because they are not
intelligent enough or not qualified to offer insight and perhaps
a solution. In the current situation it is because the United
States--and most of the world--views women as a detriment to
social and political self-interest. Hence, women are generally
overlooked in such heady matters.
If you are skeptical about the lack of
feminine perspective or influence, pick up a daily newspaper
or tune into the news. How many images feature women negotiating
with world leaders or signing bills that violate civil rights
or target immigrants for the greater good?
This weekend's edition of the countries
most widely read newspaper was jam-packed with authoritative
voices espousing war-wisdom. Not one of them questioned the U.
S. position on the bombing in Afghanistan or the devastation
of innocent people. They were all written by men.
These days voices of dissent are roundly
criticized, discredited and dismissed. It takes a lot of courage
(and maybe a death wish) to stand up and confront U.S. leadership
about the current crisis--especially if you are black and a woman.
In spite of all the intimidation, there
is one woman who spoke out early on in this crisis. It was the
Honorable Barbara Lee, the African American House representative
from the Ninth District of California.
Way back in September (before the war)
Ms. Lee opposed the resolution giving the President free reign
to spend a $40 billion budget on the military to retaliate against
the terrorist attacks. In a vote of 420-to-1 she was the lone
dissenting voice that said no, we should not go to war.
Lee also proposed that a review of U.S.
foreign policy is necessary in order to reverse the current war
trend. As a result of speaking out Ms Lee was ostracized and
rewarded with death threats that have required her to secure
police protection.
Like many Americans, Ms. Lee has the
audacity to believe that the annihilation of civilian men, women
and children abroad isn't an appropriate response to the terrorist
attacks in the U.S.
During an interview in September Ms.
Lee said "We don't know the real nature of terrorism in
the true sense of the word. We have not invested in combating
terrorism the way we should have, which involves many issues.
I am convinced that military action alone will not prevent further
terrorist attacks."
This isn't "women's intuition".
It is a perspective based on a broader and more honest viewpoint
of American foreign policy.
It appears Ms. Lee was right. After weeks
of bombing, the military strikes have produced few results while
extinguishing numerous lives. And now our leaders inform us the
war must expand rather than end.
Why are we so afraid to talk about the
contributing factors of this ugly war? Is it really so traitorous
to discuss the fact that Osama Bin Laden is a creation of the
U.S. intelligence forces or ponder the ramifications of our actions?
Is it a betrayal to speak of the U.S. recruitment and arming
of right wing Islamic fundamentalists during the Cold War in
order to defeat the Soviet-backed democratic regime in Afghanistan?
Or to question whether or not decimating a war torn country will
do anything to make us safer or feel better about the loved ones
who died on September 11th?
Before the bombing even started, the
Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan (WAPHA)
noted, "The tragedy that has hit the innocent American people
is deeply felt by the suffering people of Afghanistan. The people
of Afghanistan have been tortured, terrorized and massacred on
a daily base by the international terrorists such as Osama Ben
Laden, his followers, the Taliban, the Pakistani ISI, the Pakistani
religious extremist groups and other foreign extremists."
And now these very same people are being killed at the hands
of Americans.
There are numerous voices of reason absent
from the mainstream current debate. Voices of dissent who are
advocating for a political and a peaceful resolution. The voices
of women (and men) who offer a social and political viewpoint
based on historical accounts of American foreign policy. These
are the voices of Howard Zinn, Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Cynthia
McKinney, and of course, Barbara Lee.
There are many voices of reason to shed
light on this war. We just dont get to hear them.
Molly Secours
is a writer, videographer and racial dialog facilitator in Nashville
TN. She can be reached at mollmaud@earthlink.net
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