Ah, the sweet fruit of change. How marvelous it is to have a president in the White House who challenges the oppressive systems that have held down the majority for so many years. While some of my less cynical cohorts bask in ejecting the militaristic former President George W. Bush from our nation’s highest office, I seem to be left virtually alone in my disgust at what should amount to scandal in a changed, better world.
An informed look at a few members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet tells a very different narrative than what we might expect from a liberal Democrat who voted against the war in Iraq. In fact, by some standards, the history of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair seems more fitting for a jail sentence than a political career.
While the new Secretary of State’s single-payer health care system was quite progressive and hopefully a sign of change, Clinton never misses an opportunity to support Israeli defense, otherwise known as constant violations of international law and killing thousands of civilians.
No one who sees Palestinian civilians and Israeli civilians as equal human beings can support the decades-long apartheid program in the occupied territories. A critical view is especially important now, as Israel’s political world has shifted to the right. Former Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line politics have both prompted the “moderate” Kadima party to emphasize strength, and perhaps given rise to neofascist Avigdor Lieberman, whose supporters chant “Death to Arabs.” Clinton’s involvement will only strengthen the $10 million daily aid and political pressure that has kept the United Nations from effectively countering Israel’s terrorism sine the 1960s.
More embarrassing, still, is the appointment of former Admiral Blair as National Intelligence Director. Blair was the chief of the Pacific Fleet in the late ’90s and supported General Wiranto of Indonesia during his 1999 massacre of church members. Two days after Indonesian militias hacked 50 people to death with machetes, Blair met with and reassured Wiranto, offering to help reinstate full U.S. military aid. This prompted the Indonesian commander to massacre refugees in the city of Dili.
Obama discussed Indonesia’s political ties to the U.S. in his first book, so he is surely aware of the plight of the East Timorese. Deposed in 1998, Indonesian President Suharto was backed by the U.S. during his numerous invasions of East Timor, leaving at least 700,000 dead. In 1995 President Bill Clinton offered Suharto F-16 Falcons and U.S. Army Special Forces trained his soldiers. The next day a senior Clinton Administration official called Suharto “our kind of guy.”
These appointments were made not by the warmongering crusader Bush, but a president who told us that this “is a team that is committed to breaking with some of the past practices and concerns that have, I think, tarnished the image of the … intelligence agencies as well as U.S. foreign policy.”
Palestinians, Vietnamese, East Timorese, Afghanis, and countless others across the world must be shaking their heads at what we perceive as a new hope for the world. Meanwhile, we spend a trillion dollars a year on unnecessary fighter jets and six-figure security guards. Our educational system emphasizes conformity rather than critical thinking, and doesn’t teach our children — but in passing — the atrocities that have shaped our identity, from the Iroquois to Iraq.
Rather, we are indoctrinated with a militaristic attitude about the U.S. spreading freedom and democracy. Acts of military intervention or supporting dictators are not Republican or Democratic ideas. They are American political ideas that occupy virtually the entire spectrum of mainstream political ideology.
Sorry, America. I held off as long as I could. For nearly a month we’ve slumbered in nationalist fervor, but unfortunately it’s time for all of us to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America. In affirming the humanity of our people, we must understand that humanity is never a given. It must be earned. Reforming our country beyond symbols and hollow gestures of real progress is not a path for the fainthearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures and riches of fame. It will be an extended battle that will require a significant shift in philosophy — away from American exceptionalism, and toward universal human rights and equality.
Drew Robert Winter is a State News guest columnist and journalism and English senior. Reach him at winterdr@msu.edu.
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