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"His task, will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period, when really a New World Order can be created. Its a great opportunity it isn't t a crisis. He (Obama) has appointed an extraordinarily capable group (of advisers and staff) in both foreign and economic fields" ~ Henry Kissinger (YouTube)

Obama Wants Bush Pentagon Appointees to Stay (read).

Cheney lauds Obama's choice of national security team (read).

Obama choice of evangelical pastor to give invocation at his inauguration has gay rights groups angry (read).

Obama's Pro-Nuclear Pick for Energy Secretary Steven Chu has a keen interest in energy efficiency and solar power and other clean forms of renewable energy, Chu is a staunch advocate of nuclear power (read).

Obama's Dept. of Ag. choice Vilsac is pro-GMO.

Campaign Promises on Ending the War in Iraq Now Muted by Reality

"I said that I would remove our combat troops from Iraq in 16 months, with the understanding that it might be necessary - likely to be necessary - to maintain a residual force to provide potential training, logistical support, to protect our civilians in Iraq," Mr. Obama said this week as he introduced his national security team (read).

"I said that I would remove our combat troops from Iraq in 16 months, with the understanding that it might be necessary - likely to be necessary - to maintain a residual force to provide potential training, logistical support, to protect our civilians in Iraq," Mr. Obama said this week as he introduced his national security team (read). Barack Obama's kettle of hawks

The absence of a solid anti-war voice on Obama's national security team means that US foreign policy isn't going to change - "What does it say that, with 130 members of the House and 23 in the Senate who voted against the war, Obama chooses to hire Democrats who made the same judgment as Bush and McCain?" Neoconservative leader and former McCain campaign staffer Max Boot summed it up best. "I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could just as easily have come from a President McCain," (Jeremy Scahill, 12/1/08).

The absence of a solid anti-war voice on Obama's national security team means that US foreign policy isn't going to change - "What does it say that, with 130 members of the House and 23 in the Senate who voted against the war, Obama chooses to hire Democrats who made the same judgment as Bush and McCain?" Neoconservative leader and former McCain campaign staffer Max Boot summed it up best. "I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could just as easily have come from a President McCain," (Jeremy Scahill, 12/1/08). Karl Rove praises Obama's economic team - "Thanksgiving Cheer From Obama - He's assembled a first-rate economic team" (read). "Hawks For Hillary" The New Republic: Why Are Conservatives Praising Obama's Pick For Secretary Of State? Newt Gingrich, Iraq war architect Richard Perle (read).

Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona is reportedly set to be offered the position of Homeland Security secretary. She is a two-term governor, as well as a former US attorney and state attorney general for Arizona. She was the first governor to call for National Guard troops to secure the US-Mexico border (read).

President-elect Obama is also expected to tap billionaire Penny Pritzker to serve as Commerce secretary. Pritzker is a longtime friend of Obama's and served as his national finance chair. Pritzker was involved in running and overseeing the Illinois-based Superior Bank, which collapsed in 2001. The bank has been described as being at the forefront of turning sub prime loans into securities, the risky practice at the heart of the financial crisis (read).

Obama sends Madeleine Albright to represent him at the G20 summit. Albright is the person who, when told that a half million Iraqi children had died due to sanctions, said "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it." (read).

Obama continued the fear-mongering that pushes this country into multiple wars when he told 60 Minutes: "I think it's important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack," (read).

Obama reportedly to keep Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense (read).

University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee will be U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the White House economic team (read).

Obama wants embattled U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman to remain in the Senate Democratic caucus (read) , and fellow democrats follow and allow Lieberman to keep a key chairmanship (read).

Obama vowed to shut down Guantanamo - this is good news, and maybe something a John McCain presidency wouldn't have done. But what is Obama going to do with those held without charge at Guantanamo? And what about torture centers at Bagram and Diego Garcia? And will he shut down the School of the Americas torture training center in Ft. Benning, Georgia? And what about the torture American prisoners face in US jails?

Chomsky on Obama appointments

"Obama's choices to [run his economic team] were Robert Rubin and Larry Summers from the Clinton--Secretaries of Treasury under Clinton. They are among the people who are substantially responsible for the crisis. One leading economist, one of the few economists who has been right all along in predicting whats happening, Dean Baker, pointed out that selecting them is like selecting Osama Bin Laden to run the war on terror." ( read or listen to the entire speech).



Obama supports $700 billion bailout of toxic financial institutions. (Sep '08)

Barack Obama has now declared -- to Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, no less -- that Bush's "surge" in Iraq has "succeeded beyond our wildest dreams." He also proclaimed his "absolute" belief in the "War on Terror," and said "we have to go after them" (in Pakistan and Afghanistan). (WATCH or READ )

As riot police were assaulting and arresting innocent activists outside the Democratic convention, Joe Biden was inside saying "Barack will put more cops on the street" (Aug '08)

Georgia/Russia: Obama sides with Georgia - position similar to Bush and McCain. (Aug '08)

Would keep a residual force (possibly 60,000-80,000) in Iraq after 2010 to train military personnel, provide security for U.S. interests and thwart terrorist threats. (Jul '08)

"A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," "Iranians need to understand that whether it's the Bush administration or the Obama administration, this is a paramount concern to the United States," (Jul '08)

Wants 10,000 more troops for Afghanistan. (Jul '08)

Making sure Iran does not have the capability to build a nuclear weapon would be "a number one priority" in an Obama presidency.... Iran policy must "combine much tougher threats of economic sanctions with direct diplomacy," (Jul '08)

Supports legislation granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration's program of wiretapping without warrants. (Jul '08)

Wants to expand faith-based programs. (Jul '08)

Voted in favor of $162 billion more for Iraq & Afghanistan wars. (Jun '08)

At his first stop after winning the primaries, Obama wore a U.S/Israeli flag lapel pin at AIPAC. (Jun '08)



Neoconservative leader William Kristol said: "Obama's not for pulling troops back from our forward positions around the world, with the exception of Iraq. Obama and McCain don't actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran" (Jun '08)

Reverses his pledge and opts out of public financing. (Jun '08)

"But as president of the United States, I would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing if and only if it can advance the interests of the United States." (Jun '08)

"I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for the most egregious of crimes," (Jun '08)

Supports a military 'surge' in Afghanistan. (May '08)

"I will maintain the embargo (on Cuba). It provides us with ... leverage..." "Never, in my lifetime, have the people of Cuba known freedom. Never, in the lives of two generations of Cubans, have the people of Cuba known democracy." (May '08; also, read Fidel Castro's response)

Obama Exposed: Facts about Obama from the African People's Solidarity Committee

"I think that when you look back at George H.W. Bush's foreign policy, it was a wise foreign policy. In how we executed the Gulf War, how we managed the transition out of the Cold War, I think it's an example of how we can get bipartisan agreement." (Apr '08)

Would "take no options off the table when it comes to preventing [Iran] from using nuclear weapons or obtaining nuclear weapons, and that would include any threats directed at Israel or any of our allies in the region." (Apr '08)

"The truth is that my foreign policy is actually a return to the traditional bipartisan realistic policy of George Bush's father, of John F. Kennedy, of, in someways, Ronald Reagan." (Mar '08)

Said the 2008 violence in Gaza was the result of Hamas decision to launch rocket attacks on Israeli civilians (Mar '08)

Said the US should not meet with (the democratically elected) Hamas leadership (Mar '08)

Would not rule out using mercenaries (private military companies) like Blackwater in Iraq. (Feb '08)

Said that US troops should be "relieved of the burden of policing someone else's civil war," and that Iraqis need "to take responsibility for their own future. (Jan '08)

He skipped the vote on Attorney General Michael Mukasey. (Nov '07)

"It is important to have tough sanctions on Iran, particularly on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which supports terrorism," (Oct '07)

Voted to expand NAFTA to Peru. (Oct '07)

Would not pledge to have all troops out of Iraq by the end of his first-term. (Sep '07)

Was "a strong supporter of the war in Afghanistan". (Aug '07)

I strongly support the expansion of our ground forces by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines." (Apr '07)

We lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good, said Obama. We must lead by building a 21st-century military... to advance the security of all people. (Apr '07)

"No President should ever hesitate to use force unilaterally if necessary to protect ourselves and our vital interests when we are attacked or imminently threatened." (Apr '07)

Said the United States must be willing to strike al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan. (Apr '07)

"[W]e must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and ... related missile defense programs, he said. This would help Israel maintain its military edge and deter and repel attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza." (Mar '07)

Voted for Robert Gates (of the Iran-Contra scandal) to be Defense Secretary. (Dec '06)

"[L]aunching some missile strikes into Iran is not the optimal position for us to be in given the ongoing war in Iraq. On the other hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse. So I guess my instinct would be to err on not having those weapons in the possession of the ruling clerics of Iran." (Oct '06)

Voted for building a fence along the U.S./Mexican border. (Sep '06)

Said the government must crack down on employers who hire 'illegal immigrants'. (Sep '06)

Supported Israel's war against Lebanon. (Aug '06)

Voted for Patriot Act II. (Mar '06)

Voted for Bush s 2005 energy bill which sent billions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies. (Jun '05)

Voted to allow credit card companies to raise interest rates to over 30%. (Mar '05)

"Military strikes on Pakistan should not be ruled out if violent Islamic extremists were to take over" (Sep '04)

"[T]he big question is going to be, if Iran is resistant to these pressures [to stop its nuclear program], including economic sanctions, which I hope will be imposed if they do not cooperate, at what point . . . if any, are we going to take military action?" (Sep '04)

"There s not much of a difference between my position and George Bush s position" on Iraq. (Jul '04)

Said it was time "to end the embargo with Cuba" because it had "utterly failed in the effort to overthrow Castro." (Jan '04)

Two weeks after the Iraq war started he said, we "absolutely want to make sure that the troops have sufficient support to be able to win." (Mar '03)

"I am not opposed to all wars, I'm opposed to dumb wars." (Oct '02)

9/28/08 St. Pete for Peace statement on Obama following the first Presidential debateDear friends of peace,The presidential debate on Friday night confirmed our previous statements about Barack Obama - he is not an antiwar candidate. St. Pete for Peace, in the strongest terms, condemns Obama's positions on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and Iraq, among others. Like John McCain, Obama is pro-military and pro-empire. And just like the Republican Party, the Democrats are not representing the people, as further evidenced by the Democrats who pushed at least as hard as the Republicans for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout.Some people believe Obama is just making pro-war statements to get elected, but if that were true, how do you know he's not also being deceitful about the things he says in which you agree? And if he's saying things now just to get elected, how do you know he wouldn't say those things to get re-elected? Some say that an Obama presidency would mean that their antiwar voice has a chance of being heard. How can this be true if he's not listening to your voice now when he's trying to get your vote?"But he's better than McCain" is the reason many give for their support of Obama. Yes, that's true. But, if somebody knocked on your door and said, "You can either give me your children, or you can give me every dollar you earn for the rest of your life" what would you say? You would say "neither" and shut the door. It's time to shut the door on the Republicans and Democrats until they start representing the people. Of course, John McCain and the Republicans are dangerous and should not be in power, but acceptance of the "lesser of two evils" philosophy is one reason we continue to be stuck with two evils.So, what do we do? Well, if you support the Democrats and Obama, then at least demand they start representing you, or abandon the party. This is not a call to join some other party - election politics should be just one small part of participating in your country's affairs. This is a call to consciousness. What you do once every four years pales in comparison to what you do every day.