Thursday, June 23, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

Your announcement last night that the U.S. has largely achieved its goals in Afghanistan sounds like an echo from the past. 1973. When we pulled out of another disastrous, unwinnable war of choice–Vietnam. What have we accomplished in Afghanistan? Or Iraq? Pakistan? Yemen? Death, destruction, chaos, corruption, injustice. Declare victory and announce a pullout of 10,000 troops by the end of the year. Mr. President, while you may think it’s a bold policy shift, it doesn’t take much analysis to realize this is just eyewash. 10,000 troops is 10% of the 100,000 troops there now. That’s $1 billion a month in savings. That means we’ll still be spending more than $12 billion a month in Iraq and Afghanistan. This we’re supposed to cheer? This war will continue into 2014 and beyond and the costs will continue to come due for generations. In 2008, We the People, elected a man who promised Hope and Change, and instead we got a passive president who’s more concerned with image than accomplishments. Three years on, We the People are still waiting for a leader who will change things for the better in America. A leader who will end these disastrous wars, who will end the support of brutal and corrupt dictators, who will end the persecution of American patriots who blow the whistle on corruption, lies and deceit in government, a leader who will invest $100 million in job programs for America rather than Kandahar, who will spend $10 billion a month to fix what is broken in America rather than creating mayhem and violence 10,000 miles away. Mr. President, we elected you because you promised real change. You promised single-payer healthcare, an end to the influence of lobbyists in Washington, an end to wars of choice, an end to Guantanamo, an end to injustice and inequality. You have delivered on none of it. Instead, you have given us more of the same and we do not want more of the same. We want a leader with new ideas and new policies, not someone who sifts through the failed policies of the past. What we want is our own Arab Spring. A recent poll by the Washington Post, shows you trailing Mitt Romney by 3 percentage points. I’d say if you don’t do something pretty dramatic to show real leadership and real change for America, to show you actually believe in something and are willing to fight for it with everything you’ve got, your goose is cooked in 2012. And, unfortunately, so is ours. You have a moral duty, Mr. President, and you’re running out of time.