By Larry Pinkney

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

“To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal…” –Malcolm X [el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz]

Whether or not the legitimate rage and strong opposition on the part of just plain everyday ordinary people, to Barack Obama’s ongoing saber rattling and war plans against the sovereign nation of Syria will actually permanently thwart his military madness, in this instance — remains to be seen.

What is clear however, is that the outright collaboration, betrayal, and/or complicity of silence demonstrated by certain so-called ‘progressives’ and ‘leftists’ in the U.S., with Barack Obama’s war plans, was and remains, a stinging indictment which points directly to their political hypocrisy, untrustworthy method of operation, and their utter lack of principles. May we ordinary everyday Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people remember, and remember well, who these would-be ‘progressives,’ are – be they elected politicians, ‘intellectuals,’ or so-called ‘community activists/organizers.’

Barack Obama has already bombed the sovereign north African nation of Libya to smithereens, leaving death, destruction, torture, untold misery, slaughter, and chaos in its wake. Obama did this in egregious violation of both the U.S. Constitution and international law; and for this alone he should be impeached and prosecuted. Yet, numerous so-called ‘progressive’ politicians in the Democratic Party publicly supported Obama’s war plans against the sovereign nation of Syria for even more death, destruction, and regional destabilization.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison

Of the many ‘progressive’ pretenders, one such slippery, double-talking, hypocritical, unprincipled, so-called ‘progressive’ Democratic party politician that apparently just can’t get enough of U.S. foreign military interventions is U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota).

I received a written response from Mr. Ellison dated September 9, 2013, (via The Black Commentator) to my letter to him. In my written communication to Mr. Ellison, I had indicated that a U.S. military attack upon the SOVEREIGN nation of Syria would be in direct violation of international laws (including the United Nations’ International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights), and would in fact worsen the human carnage and suffering in Syria, and throughout that geographical region. Moreover, I urged that international law be adhered to and that diplomatic efforts be utilized – as opposed to drone and/or cruise missiles, or other U.S. military actions.

It is stunning, almost beyond belief, and certainly devoid of logic, that Mr. Ellison on one hand supported Obama’s push for military action against the government and sovereign nation of Syria, while simultaneously claiming to “oppose war and favor diplomacy over military action.”

In the above-mentioned September 9, 2013 written response to me, Mr. Ellison, using a liberal amount of double-speak states that the conflict in Syria is a “civil war.”

I ask you, since when does it become the acceptable norm for the U.S. to take military action against the government of a SOVEREIGN nation in a so-called “civil war.?!!” If a “civil war” were to break out against the U.S. government in this 21st century, would military action inside this nation, on the part of another nation, against the U.S. government be in order or welcomed by the U.S government?! Of course not!

Further, in his September 9, 2013 letter to me Mr. Ellison absurdly and specifically stated that it is his “longstanding foreign policy perspective to oppose war and favor diplomacy over military action.” Just how stupid and/or ignorant does Mr. Ellison think the people of this nation and world are?!! One cannot “favor diplomacy over military action” while simultaneously being in support of militarily attacking a sovereign nation! Get real, Mr. Ellison!!! Your bloody hypocrisy is showing and it too is, in your words, “unconscionable.”

Mr. Ellison further stated in his letter that, “The United States has repeatedly tried to end the conflict [in Syria] diplomatically, but Russia and China have vetoed every meaningful effort at the United Nations Security Council.” Mr. Ellison of course neglected to mention that the Obama administration, has and is, militarily arming (via the Saudi Arabian and Turkish governments, etc.) the very “foreign fighters linked to terrorist groups” that he bemoans in his letter to me. What poppy cot! What double-speak! Moreover, both Russia and China, at the United Nations, have repeatedly urged that the U.S. government engage in direct diplomatic negotiations – which negotiations would include representatives of the Syrian government. Did Mr. Ellison simply forget to mention this in his letter to me (and other constituents)?

Finally, U.S. Representative Ellison specifically mentioned, among other things, in his letter to me the “extrajudicial killings” on the part of the Syrian government, but of course mentioned NOTHING about the extrajudicial killings carried out by Barack Obama against even U.S. citizens, thanks to Barack Obama’s infamous ‘kill list.’

The foregoing unadulterated crap from U.S. Representative Keith Ellison is very typical of the disinformation, misinformation, crucial omissions, hypocrisy, and double-speak on the part of the black misleadership class, including far too many so-called ‘progressives’ (irrespective of color or gender) in their sanctimonious, covert, and hypocritical efforts to perpetuate this corrupt, corporate-owned U.S. political system – and keep everyday ordinary people perpetually on the Democrat and Republican plantations / reservations of disinformation, misinformation, and control.

What Next?

Our task is to understand that we are, but do not have to be, the canon fodder of an avaricious corporate-owned and controlled system – which is aided and abetted by the corporate-stream media of incessant disinformation and misinformation. This system is all about divide-and rule through fear, covert black flag operations, subterfuge, and outright lies. What we have is not democracy. Rather, it is the mimicry of democracy – perpetual hypocrisy. It doesn’t have to be or stay this way!

This is not merely about Syria, Libya, Palestine, Ireland, Scotland, Haiti, Africa, or anywhere else in the world. This is about the collective struggle of everyday ordinary people throughout our precious Mother Earth!

It’s time for a serious change, and only we the ordinary everyday Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people can make it real in this long, hard, and protracted people’s struggle!

Each one, reach one. Each one, teach one. Onward, then, my sisters and brothers. Onward…!

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Each one, reach one. Each one, teach one. Onward, then, my sisters and brothers. Onward…!

http://www.blackactivistwg.org/blog/obamas-syria-war-plans-his-slimy-progressive-collaborators/

Larry Pinkney is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil / political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities, Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour. Pinkney is a former university instructor of political science and international relations, and his writings have been published in various places, including The Boston Globe, the San Francisco BayView newspaper, the Black Commentator, Global Research (Canada), LINKE ZEITUNG (Germany), and Mayihlome News (Azania/South Africa). For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book.)