Thursday, August 28, 2008

Biden, Empire and Iraq Veterans Against the War.

photo: René Clement

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) occupied the gates to Pepsi Center as the Democrats prepared to nominate Senator Joe Biden, the preeminent imperial warrior, as their Vice Presidential candidate. One of the senior members of the US Senate, Biden has helped design US foreign policy for thirty years. For most of this decade, he has chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that position, he promoted Bush’s plan for war in Iraq. Weeks before the Bush Administration began rattling its war sabers in August 2002, Biden predicted that the “United States was probably going to war.” Later that year he claimed, "I do not believe this is a rush to war. I believe it is a march to peace and security.” Many political observers point out that the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee was the chief architect of gaining congressional approval for the war. He has continued to vote for funding of the war.

Biden has also been criticized for his support of the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill that benefitted MBNA, one of the world’s largest credit card issuers. MBNA, headquartered in Biden’s home state of Delaware, has been the largest single contributor to his campaigns, giving him $214,00 during his Senate career. As one of only 18 democrats that voted for the bill, Biden also voted against amendments that would have weakened the bill. Referring to the bill Joshua Holland of Alternet observed “it's clear that it has contributed to the financial sector's woes, making it harder for consumers to dig out from under mountains of consumer debt, forcing more people to walk away from their homes and adding to the large amounts of bad paper being held by finance companies.” As a key player in support of business and an imperial US foreign policy, Biden has regularly attended the World Economic Forum where business and political leaders convene to discuss the future of the planet.

Meanwhile, backed by 4000 supporters, a contingent of Iraq War Veterans pressed against police holding the line at Pepsi Center’s gates. They came to deliver Barack Obama a letter. Dutch journalist René Clement described the situation between the two uniformed forces as tense. As the confrontation intensified, the Obama campaign agreed to meet with an IVAW representative. Former Marine Liam Madden took the veterans’ letter inside the Pepsi Center. They asked for three outcomes: removing U.S. troops from Iraq immediately, providing full health care benefits to returning veterans, and paying reparations to Iraqis for the damage done during the war. Francesca Lo Basso, IVAW media coordinator showed emotion as the confrontation eased. “We won,” she cried. “We accomplished what we came here for.”

As Obama’s staff worked to assuage the critics of American Empire, Joe Biden claimed the Vice Presidential nomination. He told the 4400 Democratic delegates that, “The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole with very few friends to help us climb out.” He failed to mention that he had been a chief promoter of that foreign policy. Then, with the world watching through 15,000 journalists, he predicted that an Obama/Biden administration would lead the way to an invigorated American Empire. “We will hold Russia accountable for its actions,” he warned. “With Barack Obama as our president, they'll look to us again, they'll trust us again, and we'll be able to lead again.” We have to make sure that Joe Biden does not reinvigorate the American Empire.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Jim -- Nice reporting job! Your observations about Joe Biden are especially good. As we all know only too well, politics is always "the art of the possible." Obama obviously has opted to press for serious change from within the prevailing political order and can only do so by knowing the practical limits of that order. As disturbing as some of us find his expressed position on Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, and Joe Biden's past endorsement of the Bush administration's militarist policies in the Persian Gulf/south Asian oil region, these are unavoidable (rhetorically tactical, we hope) compromises. He can achieve none of his program if he fails to occupy the White House. That said, something historic is occurring with his candidacy. Hopefully, for all of us, it will succeed!

Russ Bartley