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Redfairen

(1,276 posts)
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:19 PM Feb 2013

Cornel West: Obama is a 'war criminal'

Professor Cornel West continues to be an outspoken critic of Barack Obama, this time likening the president to a “war criminal.”

During Thursday’s “Tavis Smiley Show,” West took on the administration’s drone policy and said, “The chickens are coming home to roost.”

“We’ve been talking about this for a good while, the immorality of drones, dropping bombs on innocent people. It’s been over 200 children so far. These are war crimes.”

West said, “Let us not be deceived — Nixon, Bush, Obama, they’re war criminals,” adding that “They have killed innocent people in the name of the struggle for freedom, but they’re suspending the law, very much like Wall Street criminals. The law is suspended for them, but the law applies for the rest of us.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/cornel-west-obama-a-war-criminal-87702.html?hp=r6

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Cornel West: Obama is a 'war criminal' (Original Post) Redfairen Feb 2013 OP
What president wasn't? maxsolomon Feb 2013 #1
Look to Nicaragua... a la izquierda Feb 2013 #23
Fuck Cornel West...nt SidDithers Feb 2013 #2
Cornell West, you have 2 minutes for rebuttal Capt. Obvious Feb 2013 #5
Now, there's a persuasive rebuttal. Comrade Grumpy Feb 2013 #10
Agreed Mr Dixon Feb 2013 #13
yep. nt DevonRex Feb 2013 #45
Nobody was talking about him, so he just wanted you to know he's still there. Tarheel_Dem Feb 2013 #53
I don't think much of West, but on this we agree. nt kelliekat44 Feb 2013 #3
Ditto Puzzledtraveller Feb 2013 #4
me too klyon Feb 2013 #37
Why stop at Nixon? We've been killing innocents during wars since the dawn of our democracy. JaneyVee Feb 2013 #6
! KG Feb 2013 #7
I am starting to like Dr. West less each time he speaks. bamacrat Feb 2013 #8
Because he agreed with Obama's campaign davidn3600 Feb 2013 #14
I disagree... DonViejo Feb 2013 #15
West, who has always been a hero on the Left, has not changed one bit in his sabrina 1 Feb 2013 #40
Yes, I opposed Bush's policies... DonViejo Feb 2013 #48
yeah, it's all about those tickets, i tell ya. HiPointDem Feb 2013 #44
I'm not saying that but,... DonViejo Feb 2013 #47
True, and I think many of us progressive feel the same way. bamacrat Feb 2013 #19
Wasn't Harrison a general in the Mexican Wars.... WCGreen Feb 2013 #16
He made his name in the Indian wars RZM Feb 2013 #17
Thanks. I took a shot with my ever decreasing memory... WCGreen Feb 2013 #28
Yes, but as a President he never used the military... bamacrat Feb 2013 #18
He never fought in the Mexican War. He died before it happened n/t RZM Feb 2013 #21
You're right, it was the war of 1812.. bamacrat Feb 2013 #25
ha. West. dionysus Feb 2013 #9
KG's eatin popcorn... so.... MrMickeysMom Feb 2013 #11
By what right can the president kill a child? Octafish Feb 2013 #12
Justification is based on two letters of the alphabet Puzzledtraveller Feb 2013 #26
Seems like that is a prime consideration. Octafish Feb 2013 #31
thank you woo me with science Feb 2013 #65
Every war has included the death of children Yavin4 Feb 2013 #27
And we're still at war to kill bin Laden? Octafish Feb 2013 #29
No. We are at war with Al Qaeda, a multi-national stateless army Yavin4 Feb 2013 #32
and were we onboard with this effort since GW? Puzzledtraveller Feb 2013 #34
Since before GW, going all the way back to 1993 Yavin4 Feb 2013 #35
Go back to 1943. Octafish Feb 2013 #50
So when do you think this war is going to end? Cali_Democrat Feb 2013 #52
Yeah, you know whatchamacallit Feb 2013 #60
Not the Pig War wpelb Feb 2013 #63
well, they called W that when he did it datasuspect Feb 2013 #20
Let's not forget the BFEE started these horrible wars. Initech Feb 2013 #22
And you're no better than Nugent, Mr. West... EastKYLiberal Feb 2013 #24
This is a cheap shot by Dr. West, and he knows it Yavin4 Feb 2013 #30
That's all Cornel has.. is cheap little Cha Feb 2013 #41
Shorter Cornel West: LOOK AT ME! geek tragedy Feb 2013 #33
Oh my! Demo_Chris Feb 2013 #36
Carpet bombing kills far more innocent civilians. Bake Feb 2013 #38
Cornel West is talking out of his ass again ProSense Feb 2013 #39
"Cornel West is talking out of his ass again".. A-GAIN. Cha Feb 2013 #42
Fuck Cornel West. nt DevonRex Feb 2013 #43
i see his tiny fists are flailing again... care for a truffle? dionysus Feb 2013 #55
Mmm. Yes. DevonRex Feb 2013 #56
West is great. The Link Feb 2013 #46
178 or more children have been killed by drones in Pakistan and Yemen alone Fire Walk With Me Feb 2013 #49
Thank you. nt woo me with science Feb 2013 #67
Noam Chomsky would probably agree with Cornell West.......... PDJane Feb 2013 #51
Merely echoing the sentiment around here. MrSlayer Feb 2013 #54
This is why few college professors become Presidents BainsBane Feb 2013 #57
Fuck off, West. Zoeisright Feb 2013 #58
I respectfully differ with Doctor West NoPasaran Feb 2013 #59
Cornel West and Tavis Smiley have never got over being eclipsed by the Obama presidency .. kwassa Feb 2013 #61
Keep it up West. Fox News will be calling you to become a contributor. bluestate10 Feb 2013 #62
Isn't he a friend of Sean Hannity? wpelb Feb 2013 #64
If the money is right, he will gobble it up without hesitation. Dr.West used to be well mfcorey1 Feb 2013 #66

maxsolomon

(32,987 posts)
1. What president wasn't?
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:26 PM
Feb 2013

Jimmy Carter? I'd wager the CIA killed someone during those 4 years.

Murder, along with lying, is part of the duties of the office as long as America is a global empire, and murder is a tool of empire.

a la izquierda

(11,784 posts)
23. Look to Nicaragua...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:01 PM
Feb 2013

The US's buddy Somoza was a real swell guy Carter finally demanded he quit violating human rights...but Somoza's own people took care of that.

klyon

(1,697 posts)
37. me too
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 04:09 PM
Feb 2013

I said it the first week of his first term
Bush I & II were murdering innocent people when he bombed Iraq. This country stood and cheered when that poor guy in his car crossing a bridge died as the bridge was blown-up.(Bush I) Killing civilians is a war crime. Bombing innocent people from airplanes or drones is murder especially if no war is declared as is true with drones in Pakistan.

 

JaneyVee

(19,877 posts)
6. Why stop at Nixon? We've been killing innocents during wars since the dawn of our democracy.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:31 PM
Feb 2013

Last edited Sat Feb 16, 2013, 01:28 AM - Edit history (1)

bamacrat

(3,867 posts)
8. I am starting to like Dr. West less each time he speaks.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:36 PM
Feb 2013

He was awesome when PBO was running for his first term. West was insightful and fun to listen to. Now all he does is shit all over the President. Every President since the beginning of the country could be considered a war criminal by some. Well except for William Henry Harrison and Garfield. Not sure they had much of a chance. Every President that has sent people into battle or used military force in any way could be considered a war criminal by some.

 

davidn3600

(6,342 posts)
14. Because he agreed with Obama's campaign
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:54 PM
Feb 2013

But he has not liked what he has saw from his presidency.

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
15. I disagree...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 02:19 PM
Feb 2013

West began whining on Inauguration Day, 2009, when he did not receive enough tickets to attend the inauguration (an extra ticket for his mother). As a result, West and his family stayed in their hotel room and watched the ceremonies on TV.

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
40. West, who has always been a hero on the Left, has not changed one bit in his
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 04:45 PM
Feb 2013

principled stand against US foreign policy. As for the 'he is just pissed because he didn't receive an invitation' bs, that is pure nonsense. He campaigned for a president who he believed would change US foreign policy as did all of us who opposed Bush's arrogant and criminal enterprises against innocent people overseas. He continues to remain consistent. It's interesting to see some, not all thankfully, democrats change THEIR views of the very same policies they opposed so strongly under Bush.

Did you, like West, oppose Bush's foreign policies and if so, do you still oppose them? I ask because I am surprised at the silence of some on the Left against the very same policies they so vocally opposed during the Bush years and this can only be explained imo, if people have come to the conclusion that they were wrong to oppose Bush. Otherwise it would be hypocritical to support policies they once opposed simply because a Democrat is now in charge. I rarely get an answer to this question so I'm not really expecting one, but hope springs eternal so I do keep asking.

Our foreign policies ARE criminal. They were criminal, and we all agreed, when Bush was doing it, how on earth could they not still be criminal unless the 'left' was not really opposed to them, but were merely opposing a political opponent.

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
48. Yes, I opposed Bush's policies...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 05:51 PM
Feb 2013

just as I opposed those of LBJ, Nixon and Reagan (do you require a longer listing?). I used to admire West very much, I still do admire him but not "very much"

bamacrat

(3,867 posts)
19. True, and I think many of us progressive feel the same way.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 02:46 PM
Feb 2013

But to call him a war criminal, I feel, minimizes real crimes perpetrated by real war criminals.

 

RZM

(8,556 posts)
17. He made his name in the Indian wars
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 02:40 PM
Feb 2013

'Tippecanoe and Tyler too' etc. Lots of stuff named after him (and Anthony Wayne - another Indian fighter) around here. I see you're from Ohio so you know how common 'Wayne' is all over the whole state.

WCGreen

(45,558 posts)
28. Thanks. I took a shot with my ever decreasing memory...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:10 PM
Feb 2013

I do remember an old Batman comic that claimed "Mad" Anthony Wayne was a relative of Bruce Wayne...

bamacrat

(3,867 posts)
18. Yes, but as a President he never used the military...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 02:44 PM
Feb 2013

but even as a General I'm sure some could claim war crimes..especially in the Mexican Wars.......

bamacrat

(3,867 posts)
25. You're right, it was the war of 1812..
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:04 PM
Feb 2013

and the Indian Wars, which were pretty heinous. Thanks for the correction.

MrMickeysMom

(20,453 posts)
11. KG's eatin popcorn... so....
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 01:48 PM
Feb 2013

When you perpetuate and/or accentuate the drone program...

are you NOT a member of the club of war criminals?

What is this... Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?

Puzzledtraveller

(5,937 posts)
26. Justification is based on two letters of the alphabet
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:05 PM
Feb 2013

D and R

Under one it's okay, under the other it's not okay

Yavin4

(35,357 posts)
32. No. We are at war with Al Qaeda, a multi-national stateless army
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:22 PM
Feb 2013

who train and inspire people to kill civilians like Hasan at Ft. Hood, the underwear bomber, and the Times Square bomber. Because the latter two were incompetent, their acts did not kill anyone.

Yavin4

(35,357 posts)
35. Since before GW, going all the way back to 1993
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:43 PM
Feb 2013

when we discovered that OBL was behind the 1993 WTC bombings. Clinton launched cruise missiles against OBL.

Many people here criticized Bush for ignoring the August 2001 daily briefing about OBL determined to attack America.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
50. Go back to 1943.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 07:06 PM
Feb 2013

“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

And remember, what the NAZIs did to her and millions of other innocent children was legal under German law.

 

Cali_Democrat

(30,439 posts)
52. So when do you think this war is going to end?
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 07:26 PM
Feb 2013

How much longer do we have to keep fighting this war?

Initech

(99,914 posts)
22. Let's not forget the BFEE started these horrible wars.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 02:55 PM
Feb 2013

They're the ones that should really be prosecuted for war crimes.

 

EastKYLiberal

(429 posts)
24. And you're no better than Nugent, Mr. West...
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:01 PM
Feb 2013

You should take notes from Reverend Sharpton on how to be an effective leader. Maybe then more than Smiley and Maher will pay attention to you.

Yavin4

(35,357 posts)
30. This is a cheap shot by Dr. West, and he knows it
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:18 PM
Feb 2013

First, the President made clear during his 2008 campaign that he would go after terrorists no matter where they reside. Where was West back then?

Second, Al Qaeda has killed more civilians including children than we have with drones. That group has no problem whatsoever targeting innocent people for slaughter. See the attacks in Bali as an example or the London bombings in 2005.

Finally, Dr. West, and many who think like him, have an overly-romantic view of the world. They don't understand that there are indeed groups of people who want to kill us because of their religious fervor. There are bad people in this world, and it's the primary duty of the POTUS to protect us from them.

p.s. If Bush had killed OBL and other major Al Qaeda leaders, I would not have had a problem with nor would a majority of Liberals in America. Our problem with Bush is that he lied to get us into an unnecessary war, and he tortured people in order to justify his rationale for war. That is the reason why he is considered a war criminal.

Cha

(295,907 posts)
41. That's all Cornel has.. is cheap little
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 05:04 PM
Feb 2013

chickenshit pot shots. From Whining about Pres Obama using MLK's Bible at the Inauguration to calling him a "republican in blackface". His "delicate ego" makes him inconsequential, imv.

President Obama swore the protect our Country from All Enemies Foreign and Domestic.. it's not the President's doing that we have such demented enemies.

 

geek tragedy

(68,868 posts)
33. Shorter Cornel West: LOOK AT ME!
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 03:23 PM
Feb 2013

Bet he would still jump at the chance for a photo with that 'war criminal.'

Bake

(21,977 posts)
38. Carpet bombing kills far more innocent civilians.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 04:32 PM
Feb 2013

War is hell. No two ways about it. At least the President is trying to get us OUT of the wars Bush started.

Bake

ProSense

(116,464 posts)
39. Cornel West is talking out of his ass again
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 04:35 PM
Feb 2013
“We’ve been talking about this for a good while, the immorality of drones, dropping bombs on innocent people. It’s been over 200 children so far. These are war crimes.”

West said, “Let us not be deceived — Nixon, Bush, Obama, they’re war criminals,” adding that “They have killed innocent people in the name of the struggle for freedom, but they’re suspending the law, very much like Wall Street criminals. The law is suspended for them, but the law applies for the rest of us.”

What exactly has the President done that's illegal and earns him the status of "war criminal"?

Immorality? He can throw out such claims, but he has no facts to back up his charge that the President is committing war crimes.

He's also pulling numbers out of his ass.

The number of strikes, locations and casualties since 2002 are in the right column.
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2013/02/04/naming-the-dead-bureau-announces-new-drones-project/

If he's going to claims that civilian casualties make a President an instant war criminal, then every President is guilty.

Why are drone strikes any different than the bombing of Dresden?
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10022347168

President Carter investigated FDR's Japanese American Internment.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022318948

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War#Civilian_losses

Remembering Bush, accurately
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022343435

The label "war criminal" has lost all meaning because assholes throw it around without evidence or justification.

Cha

(295,907 posts)
42. "Cornel West is talking out of his ass again".. A-GAIN.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 05:21 PM
Feb 2013

Thanks for posting all this research, ProSense..

More Cornel West blathering..

“He feels most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart, very savvy and very effective in getting what they want,” he says


From the kos writer, Adept2
Oh really? It’s the JOOOOOOOOOOOS is it? What the fuck is different from this statement and the one Beck made? Cornel West knows what makes the President comfortable? This man is an academic? No he’s not he’s half an anti semite. I wonder if his bat man reggie or his Black brother that he got from his Black wife think he feels uncomfortable around them. Oh why isn't this racist like I got called in the diary of the Plainsmen? I don't know must be because it fits certain peoples perspectives and because Cornel (comb your head dude) West says it, it gives them cover to let their little racist hearts soar.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/18/977132/-Cornel-West-You-Progressive-defenders-come-and-get-some

P.S. I don't care if combs his hair or not.. it's not about that.

dionysus

(26,467 posts)
55. i see his tiny fists are flailing again... care for a truffle?
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 07:35 PM
Feb 2013

I hid a bunch behind the console so Wadsworth wouldn't pilfer them

DevonRex

(22,541 posts)
56. Mmm. Yes.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 07:57 PM
Feb 2013

Plain old Valentine's Candy just won't do! But, this is for you. <a href="http://www.millan.net" title="From Millan.Net"><img src="" border=0 alt="From Millan.Net"></a>
And for Snives and Wadsworth:[url=http://www.desismileys.com/][img][/img][/url]

 

Fire Walk With Me

(38,893 posts)
49. 178 or more children have been killed by drones in Pakistan and Yemen alone
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 06:00 PM
Feb 2013

much less the far greater adult civilian count. Drones are used to "double tap", meaning they return to a strike scene to shoot up those digging through the rubble.

We are not at war with Pakistan and Yemen, much less the three or more additional countries in which drones are being used to kill. Drone bases are said to be under construction in Africa, and 64 bases are being built within the US. The US are still running secret prisons, renditioning prisoners around the world. Gitmo is still open. PFC Manning is coming up on 1,000 days in torture conditions, for revealing war crimes.

The military-industrial complex continues to rake it in via a permanent war budget. Tech companies enjoy a $1 trillion budget to militarize US police and to install spy tech in public places (airports, etc.) Indeed, banksters and wall street have not had to pay a damn dime for nearly having brought the country into a second great depression. Priorities somewhere are ass-backwards and must be completely changed.

 

MrSlayer

(22,143 posts)
54. Merely echoing the sentiment around here.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 07:34 PM
Feb 2013

In the broadest sense of the term he's right. I personally have no problem with the droning of terrorists but it is technically a war crime.

War itself is the crime.

BainsBane

(53,001 posts)
57. This is why few college professors become Presidents
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:17 PM
Feb 2013

It's easy to keep one's hands immaculate in an Ivory Tower.

kwassa

(23,340 posts)
61. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley have never got over being eclipsed by the Obama presidency ..
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 09:49 PM
Feb 2013

as being the self-designated spokesmen for black America. Obama stole their self-importance.

The sour grapes club, co-commiserating.

bluestate10

(10,942 posts)
62. Keep it up West. Fox News will be calling you to become a contributor.
Fri Feb 15, 2013, 11:21 PM
Feb 2013

And West will deserve the company that he will have at Fox.

mfcorey1

(10,997 posts)
66. If the money is right, he will gobble it up without hesitation. Dr.West used to be well
Sat Feb 16, 2013, 11:28 AM
Feb 2013

respected until his talk did not reflect his walk. If he is so concerned about Chicago, I would think that I would see him walking the streets of the gang infected areas and dialoguing with the "brothers" he likes to tout that need help. I would see him and his friend, Tavis, in the areas where there is poverty and becoming community organizers. Monday morning quaterbacking is worth a damn for people in need. Stop hiding behind the mic and get your hands dirty in the fight for the underserved. Their bitterness mirrors that of John McCain, who will never get over the fact that he lost the election. Tavis and Cornel will never reconcile that they did not get an invite to the White House. There are many of us who disagree with President on many of his policies, but we are tired of being portrayed by these two as being butt kissers for the administration. Enough is enough.

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