GLADYS KNIGHT MUST BE EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTED

In a speech at the National Defense University last Thursday, President Obama attempted his (very poor) imitation of John Lennon, declaring "war is over". By the reaction from PNAC founder William Kristol on a podcast at The Weekly Standard you may be forgiven for believing that Obama has indeed declared peace.

But what did Obama really say?

The USA will still use drones and possibly inside the USA
The USA will still detain people without trial, though it may not be at Guantanamo
The USA reserves the right to strike in any country if it thinks that country is not destroying terrorism (yeah, the terrorism that the USA exported to that nation for that purpose?)
The USA will still arm the rebels in Syria and attack Hezbollah
And on and on and on...

Some (but not much) credit is due. There appears to be a shift in policy, but if there is then you need a very powerful microscope to see the movement. Perhaps this paragraph is what disturbs Kristol et al.

The AUMF is now nearly twelve years old. The Afghan War is coming to an end. Core al Qaeda is a shell of its former self. Groups like AQAP must be dealt with, but in the years to come, not every collection of thugs that labels themselves al Qaeda will pose a credible threat to the United States. Unless we discipline our thinking and our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we don't need to fight, or continue to grant Presidents unbound powers more suited for traditional armed conflicts between nation states. So I look forward to engaging Congress and the American people in efforts to refine, and ultimately repeal, the AUMF's mandate. And I will not sign laws designed to expand this mandate further. Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue. But this war, like all wars, must end. That's what history advises. That's what our democracy demands.

[source : President Barack Obama's speech at National Defense University – full text, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/23/obama-drones-guantanamo-speech-text, 23rd May 2013]

So what Obama is effectively saying is that he is not signing any laws to expand the AUMF further and will try to ultimately repeal it. This is a far cry from declaring peace and the war is over.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. - Lao Tzu

Lyndon B Johnson twisted this into

Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time. - LBJ, Address to the UNGA, 17th December 1963

LBJ would go onto embroil the USA in a pathetic, useless war against North Vietnamese peasants, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of US soldiers...AND LOST!

And that is the trap that Obama is (willingly?) falling into.

Obama could declare peace today. Announce a press conference in the Rose Garden, and declare peace. Today. Done.

But it is business as usual.

Satanism.

Mass death.

Terrorism.

Abortion.

GM.

Police state.

Water with added fluoride and God knows what else.

Forced vaccinations.

And on and on and on...