Irwin Silber's `About The GI Movement' Article Revisited: Part 1

In the booklet that's included with Paredon Records' 1970 vinyl album, FTA!: Songs of the GI Resistance Sung by Barbara Dane with active-duty GIs, former Sing Out! magazine and U.S. Guardian radical newsweekly editor Irwin Silber wrote--in his "About The GI Movement" article--the following:

"Soldiers in the U.S. Army, stationed at Ford Gordon, Georgia, organize a `War Crimes Commission' to investigate the American military machine.

"More than 100 GIs, held prisoner in the stockade in Fort Lewis, Wash., sign a petition supporting the Vietnam Moratorium Day and stage a mess hall boycott for one day.

"Hundreds of U.S. Marines march in an anti-war parade through the streets of Oceanside, Calif., home of Camp Pendleton, largest Marine training camp on the West Coast.

"GIs at Fort Hood, Texas, mimeograph copies of the political program of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam (formerly the National Liberation Front) and distribute them to onlookers and participants in a peaceful demonstration in Houston.

"The Commanding Officer at one of the largest military bases in the U.S.A., Fort Dix, New Jersey, confines his own troops to barracks during an anti-war demonstration for fear they will join the demonstrators. He polices the action with MPs flown in from another base, figuring his own Military Police might be too sympathetic to the protestors.

"19 stockade prisoners at the Presidio in San Francisco, California, sit down in the center of their enclosure and sing `We Shall Overcome' as a protest against inhuman treatment of GIs.

"More than 40 military bases throughout the country cancel traditional Armed Forces Day celebrations (May 16), concerned that anti-war demonstrators will `invade' their bases and propagandize the GIs.

"Incidents such as these, only occasionally publicized in the U.S. press, are occurring daily at the camps, bases and installations of the self-proclaimed most powerful military machine on the face of the earth. Widespread disaffection right within the ranks of the U.S. military has become one of the major political and logistical problems for the Pentagon, whose policy planners have become the High Command of international counter-revolution.

"It is a problem they did not anticipate. Just as the orthodox military mentality has no way of coping with the realities of `people's war' in Vietnam, so the elite officer corps of the U.S. brass, contemptuous of their own enlisted men in the first place, cannot comprehend the depths of alienation and outright political opposition which have infected every branch of the armed forces..."

Sec. of State Clinton's Historic Koreagate Scandal Connection

In 1977, The Power Peddlers: How Lobbyists Mold America's Foreign Policy by Russell Howe and Sara Trott noted that "`T.S,' as Park is known to his friends has generated one of his Stateside fortunes and a part of his lobby power by acting as the Korean Government's official broker for American rice supplies" which "means that rice-producing states like California, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana have to sell to Korea through him."

The same book also observed that "Back in 1970, [Edwin W.] Edwards and fellow Louisiana Congressman Otto Passman had arrived in Seoul with Park and stayed as his guests at the luxurious Chosun Hotel," "in the Fall of 1972, Park was back in the bayou country, staying at Governor Edwards' mansion and even helping Edwards' former congressional aide John Breauz get elected to Edwards' old House seat," and "Governor Edwards says he was first introduced to Park by then Congressman David Pryor...of rice-growing Arkansas."

[Former] U.S. Senator David Pryor preceded [Bill] Clinton [Secretary of State Clinton's husband] as Arkansas governor in the 1970s. Pryor's chief of staff while Arkansas governor was [former] Arkansas Electric Cooperative Coperation President Carl Whillock. In The Clintons Of Arkansas: An Introduction by Those Who Know Them best, Pryor's former chief of staff recalled that after [Secretary of State Clinton's husband, Bill] Clinton decided he wanted to run for congress in 1974, "I climbed upstairs and got a card file with the names of people from throughout the congressional district who had helped [former Arkansas Congressional representative] Jim Trimble" and "I volunteered to travel with Bill a few days to introduce him to influential Democrats in northern Arkansas."

Pryor's former chief of staff also recalled that his brother-in-law, Rudy Moore Jr., "managed Bill's first campaign for governor in 1978" and became Clinton's chief of staff when [Secretary of State Clinton's husband, Bill] Clinton was first elected governor. In the 1992 presidential campaign, [former] U.S. Senator Pryor also worked as a Clinton campaign advisor.

Coincidentally, in recent years, former U.S. Senator Pryor has been both the first dean of the University of Arkansas's Clinton School of Public Service branch, which is located on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, and a member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [CPB] board of directors; and former U.S. Senator Pryor's son now sits in the U.S. Senate as the representative of the Arkansas Establishment and the Arkansas rice producers that apparently still sell some of their rice on the South Korean foreign market.

(Downtown 8/4/93)

Remembering The Koreagate Scandal

One reason around 28,000 U.S. troops are still in South Korea in 2010 is that the South Korean government has, historically, done a lot of lobbying in Washington on behalf of its special interests. In her early 1990s book, The Power House, Susan Trento recalled, for example, how the South Korean Establishment operated in Washington during the 1970s:

"Tongsun Park was no ordinary student when he first came to Georgetown. He was a trained Korean Central Intelligence Agency [KCIA] officer who had been assigned to infiltrate the American political scene as an `agent of influence.' More importantly, Park came from one of the most powerful families in Korea. They owned oil tankers, a huge rice business, and were politically well-connected.

"By the time The George Town Club was in full operation, Tongsun Park, backed by the KCIA, was the exclusive broker for American rice sold to the Korean government...At the height of his power, the congressional investigation that looked into his activities estimated Tongsun Park earned $11 million in one year in illegal rice commissions. In turn, Park used some of the money to bribe influential members of Congress and to pay the enormous costs of subsidizing The George Town Club...In addition, on behalf of the KCIA, Park lobbied for support for foreign and military aid to South Korea...

"The Koreagate scandal broke open in 1977...and five investigations were opened. Of the dozens of congressmen and senators who enjoyed Tongsun Park's hospitality at The George Town Club and who became implicated in the Koreagate scandal, only one of them ever served time in prison..."

The Power House also noted that in the 1990s Park still traveled "freely to live and do business in Washington, and American troops" were "still in South Korea," while "South Korea's intelligence opeations grew stronger, not weaker, in the aftermath of the scandal."

(Downtown 8/4/93)

Goldman Sachs Senior Partner Recommended Kagan For Government Post

The former General Counsel and recent Senior Director of a Wall Street investment banking firm--Goldman Sachs--which is being investigated for alleged securities fraud in connection with its sub-prime mortgage trading, wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2009 which recommended that Elena Kagan be confirmed as U.S. Solicitor General in 2009.

In his January 22, 2009 letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Arlen Specter, then-Goldman Sachs Senior Director Robert J. Katz stated the following:

"Dear Senators Leahy and Specter,

"I am delighted to write in unreserved support of the President's nomination and the Senate's confirmation of Dean Elena Kagan as Solicitor General of the United States.

"...In 1988 I became General Counsel and a partner (later, managing director) of Goldman Sachs. I served in that capacity for nearly 13 years (and as a member of the firm's management committee and partnership committee) through and beyond the time of our becoming a publicly-held corporation. Since relinquishing leadership of the Legal Department, I have continued to serve Goldman Sachs as a Senior Director.

"I have known Elena Kagan since she was appointed Dean six years ago. Throughout that period, I have worked closely with her as a member of the Dean's Advisory Board, on whose Executive Committee I have sat for the past few years, as well as in various other advisory, fundraising and teaching roles. I even have the peculiarly valuable perspective of being the father of a current student who has spent the past four years in the Law School-Kennedy School joint degree program, and he will graduate this spring.

"With apologies for its length, I wanted to begin from this recitation of background and perspective for my averring without qualification that, if confirmed, Dean Kagan will make not merely an excellent but an exceptional Solicitor General...

"...Elena Kagan is truly a lawyer in the best sense...and...I hope, she is confirmed...

"I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you or your staff may have.

"Respectfully,
"Robert J. Katz
"Senior Director."

Besides working on the Harvard Law School Dean's Advisory Committee and on "fundraising" work with the former General Counsel of a Wall Street firm accused of securities fraud, Supreme Court Justice-Designate Kagan apparently was paid $10,000 for working on some kind of Goldman Sachs advisory committee in recent years; and Supreme Court Justice-Designate Kagan also gave the keynote address at an American Friends of Hebrew University event in Manhattan that honored the former General Counsel of the Wall Street firm that has been accused of securities fraud.

The Goldman Sachs Senior Director and former General Counsel who recommended Supreme Court Justice-Designate Kagan for her current U.S. federal government position apparently recently purchased a condominium in Manhattan for $7 million; and, besides working with Kagan on the Harvard Law School Dean's Advisory Committee, has also been a member of the board of trustees of another Ivy League university, Cornell University.

Instead of appointing a Goldman Sachs-recommended lawyer and former Harvard University Law School Dean to represent the special corporate interests of Goldman Sachs and Harvard University on the U.S. Supreme Court as a Supreme Court Justice, why didn't the Democratic Obama White House just appoint, for example, some labor lawyer, some civil rights or civil liberties lawyer or some consumer rights lawyer who had no professional connection to Goldman Sachs?

Supreme Court Justice-Designate Kagan's Goldman Sachs Connection?

Did you notice that the former Williams & Connolly D.C. law-lobbying firm associate and Clinton White House Staff member-lawyer that Democratic President Obama recently appointed to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, both sat on a "non-profit" board with an AIG executive and spoke at an American Friends of the Hebrew University/lobby function honoring a Goldman Sachs executive?

As the Equal Justice Works website notes, U.S. Solicitor General Kagan recently sat on the Equal Justice Works “non-profit” board next to Anastasia “Stasia” Kelly; and “Anastasia `Stasia' Kelly is the executive vice president and general counsel and senior regulatory and compliance officer of American Insurance Group (AIG)” who “leads a worldwide legal and regulatory team and manages the Corporate Secretary function of this international insurance and financial services firm.”

And, as the Jewish Forward newspaper’s website revealed:

"Unlike Jewish women comics who tend to malign their mothers, Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School (whose awesome curriculum vitae includes a stint as associate counsel to the president (1995-1999), paid homage to hers. At the October 19 American Friends of the Hebrew University lawyers lunch at Cipriani 42nd Street, Kagan told the sea of suits that (despite all her accomplishments) her mother “would be proud” that she was the keynote speaker at this George A. Katz “Torch of Learning” luncheon honoring Robert Katz, a philanthropist and partner at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc".

So don't expect many Goldman Sachs or AIG executives to be quickly sent to jail if they're convicted of or plead guilty to any white collar crimes--if former Clinton White House staff member-lawyer Kagan is confirmed as the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Black Female Worker Jobless Rate Jumps To 13.7 Percent Under Obama

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black female workers over 20-years-of-age in the United States jumped from 12.4 to 13.7 percent between March and April 2010 under the Democratic Obama Administration; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all U.S. female workers over 20-years-of-age increased from 8 to 8.2 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 8.9 to 9.2 percent between March and April 2010; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 18 percent in April 2010.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Hispanic or Latino workers was still 12.5 percent in April 2010; while the official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Asian-American workers decreased from 7.5 to 6.8 percent.

The “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 37.3 percent in April 2010; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was 23.5 percent in April 2010. The “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Hispanic or Latino youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 29.2 percent in April 2010.

The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all male workers over 16 years of age in the United States increased from 10.7 to 10.8 percent between March and April 2010; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all female workers over 16 years of age increased from 8.6 to 8.8 percent.

The official “seasonally adjusted” national unemployment rate in the United States for all workers increased from 9.7 to 9.9 percent between March and April 2010. The total number of unemployed workers in the United States also increased from 15,005,000 to 15,260,000 between March and April 2010.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 7, 2010 press release:

“…In April, the number of unemployed persons was 15.3 million, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent. The rate had been 9.7 percent for the first 3 months of this year…

“Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for whites (9.0 percent) edged up in April…

“The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up over the month, reaching 6.7 million. In April, 45.9 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was about unchanged at 9.2 million in April. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

“About 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in April…These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey…

“Among the marginally attached, there were 1.2 million discouraged workers in April…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“Over the month, employment changed little in wholesale trade, retail trade, information, and financial activities.

“Employment in transportation and warehousing fell by 20,000 in April, reflecting a large decline in courier and messenger services…”

A People's History of Afghanistan--Part 2: 1876 to 1901

The Democratic Obama Administration’s Pentagon spent nearly a billion dollars in 2009 on the Afghan War contracts it awarded for construction projects that were mostly on U.S. military bases across Afghanistan . Yet most U.S. taxpayers still probably know little about the 19th-century history of people in Afghanistan or about the wars that were fought in Afghanistan during the 19th century.

After occupying Quetta in Baluchistan in 1876 and converting it into a military base, UK imperialism, for example, launched the Second Anglo-Afghan War by again invading Afghanistan . The UK government then replaced Sher Ali Khan as Afghanistan ’s king by putting Sher Ali’s son, Yaqub Khan, on the Afghan throne. Yaqub Khan was then forced by the UK government to sign the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879.

As a result of the 1879 Treaty of Gandamak, the feudalist monarchical regime agreed to let the UK government control Afghanistan ’s foreign affairs and establish UK diplomatic missions in Kabul and other Afghan cities. It also gave the British control of large areas of Afghanistan west of the Indus River in exchange for the UK government agreeing to now pay the new Afghan king, Yaqub Khan, an annual subsidy of 60,000 British pounds per year.

But, naturally, most Afghans who lived in Kabul did not support the terms of the May 1879 Treaty of Gandamak and were against giving the UK government so much special influence in Afghanistan . So in September 1879 the UK government’s diplomatic representative in Kabul was murdered “by mutinous Afghan soldiers who had been assigned to protect him,” according to Afghanistan: A Modern History by Angelo Rasanayagam. In retaliation, a British general named Roberts moved his troops into Kabul on October 12, 1879 and forced Yaqub Khan to abdicate. Then General Roberts “became the virtual ruler of Kabul , instigating a rule of terror that was bitterly resisted” until “the British forces found themselves under siege,” by Afghan resistance fighters, according to the same book.

But after being defeated in open battle by Afghan resistance fighters on July 27, 1880 at Maiwand, near the Afghan city of Kandahar , UK troops were finally withdrawn from Afghanistan in April 1881, thus ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Yet before withdrawing its troops, the UK government began supporting an Afghan feudal warlord, Abdur Rahman Khan, after Rahman had marched on Kabul and declared himself the new Afghan king in Charikar on July 20, 1880. In this way, the UK government insured that Afghanistan would continue to be a British protectorate whose foreign policy would be controlled by the UK government, instead of being a fully independent state.

Known as the “Iron Amir,” Afghan King Abdur Rahman ruled over people in Afghanistan in a repressive way. Afghanistan: A Modern History described how this British imperialist-backed monarch governed Afghanistan :

“In almost continuous warfare during his 20-year reign, rebellions were punished by mass executions, or deportations, such as the forced resettlement of thousands of Ghilzai Pashtun tribesmen…He established a ruthless police force to subjugate suspected opponents and uncooperative officials.”

Not surprisingly, the UK government whose special interests he served provided Rahman’s repressive regime in Afghanistan with “substantial supplies of arms and ammunition,” according to the same book. And, like the previous 19th-century Afghan kings, Abdur Rahman also was paid an annual subsidy by the UK government during his reign of nearly 20 years. Between 1.2 million and 1.85 million Indian rupees per year were paid to Rahman between 1882 and 1901 by the UK government; and Rahman used a portion of his annual subsidy from the British imperialists to fund his recruitment of the Afghan troops he required to continue to rule people in Afghanistan in an undemocratic way.

(end of part 2. To be followed by “A People’s History of Afghanistan—Part 3: 1901-1924))