New Quaker Notebook

Reading or listening to Howard Zinn is like dining on a gourmet meal. You come away wanting more, but not right away, because you're satisfied. You're nourished and pleased and want to share the experience with your friends.

On Monday Democracy Now! reissued its complete transcript of Zinn's October 5, 2006, lecture on "The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism" at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, where he received the Haven Center's Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship. The lecture is noted for enduring Zinn-like themes—historical amnesia, consistent government deception, generally incompetent national media, delusions of empire. One of my favorite lines in the lecture:

And Göring said, "Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war? But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy. The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. All you have to do is tell them they're being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism. It works the same way in any country."

It doesn't matter that the lecture was also available online last month. It's that good.

Haute Worm^*

With the quick succession of Robert Gates to Secretary of Defense within the Cheney-Bush presidency, the military industrial complex is the winner again in the battle for control of death and destruction in the Middle East. Not only will we have a "stay-to-victory" course against the "enemies of freedom," but we can also expect the following:¹

An ongoing US military presence in Afghanistan—"Another pressing concern is Afghanistan. The progress made by the Afghan people over the past five years is at risk. The United States and its NATO allies have made a commitment to the Afghan people and we intend to keep it. Afghanistan cannot be allowed to become a sanctuary for extremists again. How we face these and other challenges in the region over the next two years will determine whether Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations at a crossroads will pursue paths of gradual progress toward sustainable governments which are allies in the global war on terrorism, or whether the forces of extremism and chaos will become ascendant."

More victory-seeking militarism in Iraq—"All of us want to find a way to bring America's sons and daughters home again. But, as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come."

Deadly, ubiquitous, ambitious US military activity around the globe—"Before he came to office, the president said that one of his top priorities was to help our military become more agile, more lethal, and more expeditionary. Much has been accomplished in this. Much remains to be done. This remains a necessity and a priority."

The new defense secretary should feel very comfortable, too, as he gathers with incumbent confederates in the White House. At his confirmation hearing, Gates wowed the Intelligence Committee with his candor after he said the US was not winning the war in Iraq.² After a lunch break, he took it all back by saying, "I certainly stand by my statement this morning that I agreed with General Pace that we are not winning, but we are not losing. And, but I want to make clear that that pertains to the situation in Iraq as a whole."³

* Hey, and you thought we'd run out of creative phrases which include the word haute.
1. The following I'm taking from the text of remarks made by Robert Gates at his swearing-in ceremony yesterday. See "Gates' Remarks at Swearing-In Ceremony," AP, Washington Post, December 18, 2006.
2. "US 'not winning conflict in Iraq'," BBC News, December 5, 2006.
3. Read the transcript at The Situation Room, December 5, 2006. Sen Carl Levin said to Gates before lunch: "Your acknowledgement that we're not winning in Iraq, frankly, is a necessary, refreshing breath of reality that is so needed."

Now and Zinn

Haute Worm*

Haute Worm^*