Wikileaks may have the blood of our soldiers on their hands

If this helps to hasten our withdrawal from the quagmire in Afghanistan, then it may actually save the lives of American soldiers.


LP Monday Message: If Libertarians save one life

July 26, 2010

Dear Friend of Liberty,

The War in Afghanistan has dragged on for almost nine years. According to the Washington Post, there have been 1,189 American military deaths, which is more than two per week.

And of course, today's big news about WikiLeaks raises a lot of questions about whether we've been honestly told how badly the war is going.

I'm often asked how Libertarian candidates make a difference in cases where they don't win their election. We have over 150 candidates running for U.S. Representative, and over 20 for U.S. Senator.

Here's how: ending the war sooner will save both lives and money. I'm also convinced that ending the war sooner will reduce terrorism, although I understand some others disagree.

I'm not attempting to put a dollar value on a life saved, but I've seen reports that some environmental and safety regulations cost anywhere from millions to billions per life saved. The cost of training and equipping replacement military personnel is also very high.

The entire national Libertarian Party budget, plus all of the funds raised by Libertarian candidates and affiliates, is a few million dollars at most.

I don't know when this war will end. But if our party and our candidates help end this war just one week faster, that alone could save two American soldiers' lives, plus contractors, and many more civilians. And with just a few million dollars in spending, Libertarians could save lives at a far lower cost than what the government spends on its attempts to save lives.

I think we can do even better than that, but I'm just trying to make the point that even a small improvement makes the whole effort worthwhile.
Libertarian candidates for Congress can help end this war by putting pressure on incumbents, particularly Democrats, who voted to authorize Afghanistan and Iraq. Simply mentioning it in a voter survey or media appearance makes a difference.

Any Libertarian volunteer can write a letter to the editor reminding people that Libertarians support a non-interventionist foreign policy. I often think that short letters work better. You could try, "I thought President Obama and the Democrats would end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our troops home quickly, but I was wrong. Congressman ___ voted to authorize the wars and keeps voting for additional war spending. That's why I'm voting Libertarian."

You can check here to see if there's a Libertarian running for Congress in your district.

Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

- www.lp.org/blogs/staff/lp-monday-message-if-libertarians-save-one-life

 

No, I want to see American armed forces personnel saved by abandoning President Bush's warmongering that President Obama has continued and has ramped up in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The warmongering of these two presidents has cost lots of American lives and the lives of innocent civilians in these countries and in Iraq.

 

Pastor Mitchell, do you want the truth withheld from the American people who are paying for this horrible policy?


Wikileaks

Posted by Karen Kwiatkowski on July 26, 2010 08:01 AM

Julian Assange’s technological know-how and his ethical ascendance are a great gift — and of course, mainstream media (and Mother Jones!) look the gift horse in the mouth. However, I first heard of the latest Wikileak release on 880 am radio (CBS, NYC) as the lead 30 minute news run last night, with a very complimentary and respectful verbal assessment of the latest Afghanistan files by NYT reporter (and smart guy) Eric Schmidt. Some years ago, Eric once visited me at my house; the visit was well, short, and each of us was decidedly unimpressed with the other. I think it started to go sour when I suggested that the major reporters had not done their simple and obvious job in investigating/reporting both the facts and the lies made to justify the Iraq invasion, subsequent occupation, and assorted puppetry.

Today, after nearly a decade of Afghanistan destruction, and over two decades of messing with and up Iraq, perhaps our kings and deciders think it might be time for the military industrial complex to sit back on their plump and well-fed haunches and let some other government supplicant have their turn at the teat. Before it dries up for good. Or not — but it may not matter if Wikileaks can continue to jujitsu the secret keepers and their Praetorian guard in the mainstream media.

- www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/62398.html

 

No, I am not. It is folks that continue to support the warmonging by the U.S. government in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq who are willing to support the death of American soldiers for no good reason.

 

Care to answer the question I asked you?

I am willing to overlook your personal attack on me, Pastor Mitchell. :1_grouphug:

Have a nice evening, brother.

 

Great thinking Ken. Next you should attempt to release the names and addresses of informants who assist your local police department. After all, the war on drugs is a bad thing according to libertarians. Why you'd be saving saves in the long run! That is after the informants have all been murdered. <sarc off>

 

>Great thinking Ken. Next you should attempt to release the names and addresses of informants who assist your local police department.

After 30 years personal experience I have concluded that paid police informants and under cover police work generates much more evil than it eliminates. "We have met the enemy and they are us," Pogo.

 

Ok. But I assume you resisted any urge to post their names & addresses on the net?

 

Ken, is a real nice guy, I listen to his show on Saturday mornings and it brings great enjoyment.

I don't think they will be held accountable, but in my mind they should.

But, he is a Libertarian. The problem I have with libertarian is from my study and 10 years of study and going to their meetings, off and on, is if it don't effect my family in my house it is ok, even if I disagree with it. I've listen when they had Larry King (who is about as liberal as you can get), Ron Paul (many times) Neal Bortzs (who I still recall as the most liberal talk show host in Atlanta) and many others. The one thing I got out of all that time, if I would put away my Christian world view and replace it with self, I could be a libertarian.

Down here I know about 35 libertarian who are big Ron Paul backers, I believe about 30 of them voted for BHO, as did our friend Ken. That is one of the many reasons I couldn't vote for Ron Paul.

 

Thanks Bob. I don't mean to belittle Ken personally.

 

Hopefully the little PFC who leaked the info, to begin with, gets life in prison.

 

I think that your analysis of Libertarians is correct.

Take Ron Paul for example - he is all for limited government but has no problem with earmarking money for his district and pet agenda items.

 

Thanks, Bob.

 

>Ok. But I assume you resisted any urge to post their names & addresses on the net?

Yes.

 

Personnally, I'm suspicious about how a PFC can get hold of such deeply classified material, know where to find it, how to steal it, and where to publish it without help. How, for example, does a PFC have access to such intenslly damaging classified material anyway? Could it be that there's a plan behind this release?

No, that can't be! Obama.... and others in government aren't concerned about free speech, tea parties, people who study the Constitution, or Christians. They certainly aren't concerned about the freedom of the Internet,......... right?

Could it be that there's a plan behind this release? No, that can't be! A site which is open to whistle blowers and people revealing secrets annomyously... can't be working for a purpose..... right? Is it possible that it could be like a magnet..... appearing trustworthy to those who have something they want to expose... but find no safe avenue to do so? Is it possible to trace back the information released there to the person who commits it? and thereby.... draw out some who have a real conscience and have some forbidden knowledge... useful for public consumption.... and ultimately be a tool for revealing those 'soft hearts' ?

Could it be that there's a plan behind this release? No, that can't be. After all .......there couldn't be people in the military that question the purpose of this war.... and whether its for the good of the American people ......or a war fought for the benificiaries of government and the high investment community positioned in government that depend upon their arm chair labors... while the poor grunts are sent to fight.... a war that we're told is necessary for our good..... while we rack up debts in our generation which we know that we can never pay.... debts which are a immoral shackle upon future generations to pay.... if they still can have the freedom to pay instead of succumb to indentured servantude. For what? Because of a man named OBL, whom the FBI, doesn't even have charges, and muslim terrorists (trained and harbored inside our boundaries ....but reportedly from Saudia Arabia) who were responsible for flying planes into towers.... so we go to Afgahistan, and Iraq.

We don't question that it was reported there were plans for military action [Iraq war] on the President's desk the day before the tower attack. We don't question that the ownership of Towers 1, 2, and 7.... transferred into the hands of a man named Silverstein.... just weeks before they came down. We don't question that he had insurance policies on all greater than his investment.... covering terrorist attacks.... and specifically covering airplanes hitting the towers. We don't question how bldg 7 came down by command. Were there explosives in the towers? We don't know.... But what would firemen trained to find explosives eventually uncover going through bldg 7 to put out the spotty fires.... or be caught in ...... had they not been evacuated and the building 'pulled'. How did he know? HOW DID HE KNOW?

Did it pull us into a unity and a mind ready for war which we could not have imagined a week before?

While many of us suspected WMD, yet, who did we depend on for the truth? Both parties had privilege to the reports.... so it wasn't just an administrative decision. Who were the names of those involved in that agreement at the time.... forget about their recanting.... each and everyone contributed to the verification of the information they gave to us? How else could we know?

Certainly not from the records of history! History tend to hide the sins of man, and seldom tells the whole truth... only that which leads the reader to the conclusions which are the author's intent.

Everything we've been taught has encouraged us to accept (confidence, faith, trust, believe) the words of our leaders. We tell ourselves it is 'unChristian' to question our leaders. We teach others the same: We put aside the fact that in the beginning God gave us dominion (not talking about the cultist dominionism) over every living thing (Ge. 1;28). God did not give man dominion over man. We forget (Ex. 20;1-6) which compells the believer to recognize God, in authority, in worship, in trust .....even in service, before all others. (Jer. 17;9) the heart is deceitful, desparately wicked. (Jer. 17; 5-10) an admonition for our time? for our hearing?