Short takes with Meria (on the radio) and PressTV (on television)

[James H. Fetzer]

Two short takes:

Meria and I had a terrific conversation last week, which will be rebroadcast by Gary Null tonight in New York at 7 PM/ET and which she is making available on her "free stuff" web site at http://meria.net/free-stuff/ I was there and this is one that "you don't want to miss"!

An interview I did with PressTV a few days ago has just been posted at http://presstv.com/detail/2012/05/12/240877/cia-world-biggest-drug-...

Sat May 12, 2012 5:45PM GMT
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Interview with James Fetzer, American philosopher

 "I predict and I have said this before that we are there to mine the vast deposit of lithium that has been discovered perhaps the world’s largest deposit and to protect the poppy crops because the CIA has become the world’s largest drug dealer."--James Fetzer, American philosopher

The US-led forces have admitted that a number of Afghan civilians were killed in airstrikes conducted last week in southern and northwestern Afghanistan.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and US forces issued a joint statement on Friday confirming the deaths of civilians on May 4 in the southern province of Helmand and on May 6 in the northwestern province of Badghis, AFP reported.

According to Afghan officials, 21 people, including women and children, were killed in two airstrikes last week.

The Helmand governor's office said that on May 4, six members of a family, including two boys, three girls and a woman, were killed in an airstrike conducted after ISAF checkpoints came under attack in the Sangin district.

In the incident in Badghis Province, 15 civilians, including women and children, were killed on May 6, according to MP Qazi Abdul Rahim.

On Monday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai summoned the NATO military commander and the US ambassador to warn that civilian deaths threaten the newly signed US-Afghanistan strategic pact.

Karzai told the ISAF commander, General John Allen, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker that if Afghan lives were not protected, the deal would "lose its meaning.”

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Fetzer, American philosopher, to hear his opinion on this issue.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: It seems that almost on a weekly basis or at least monthly basis we are hearing about more Afghan civilians being killed and then of course we always have the situation of the Afghan officials, some of the Afghan officials saying that they are not going to allow it to happen again and that they are going to put more pressure on Washington but then we see a repeat of this story.

Why are we seeing this re-occur and why cannot the actual Afghan government stand up for its people?

Fetzer: Those are excellent questions and I think the fact of the matter is that the Afghan government has very, very limited control over the American military that there is a process that is going on here of depersonalization and training the young men and women to serve in the American armed forces and that because recruiters have been under such tremendous pressure with these ongoing wars.

It seems to be interminable. They are becoming more and more resourceful at recruiting young men and women who in the past would not have been eligible for military service because they do not have either the education or background or they have some criminal record or for whatever reason.

But in the end I am sorry to say it appears to me that there has just been a tremendous loss of respect by the American military for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq and it is a disgrace and seems even to be rooted in some kinds of training they are been given where they supposed to believe that Muslims are out to kill them when nothing could be further from the truth.

Press TV: Well professor Fetzer, where does that leave the situation more than 10 years almost 11 years now after the invasion of Afghanistan and as you’re saying continued disrespect for the natives? What will it take now for basically the Afghan people to get the Americans and those who are also there supporting it out of this country?

We know that now recently there has been a new pact that was signed between Washington and Kabul. What has to be done in your perspective in order for the US-led forces to leave?

Fetzer: I think President Karzai has to take a more firm stand that he has to draw a line not in the sand but in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan that says you must leave now.

I predict and I have said this before that we are there to mine the vast deposit of lithium that has been discovered perhaps the world’s largest deposit and to protect the poppy crops because the CIA has become the world’s largest drug dealer.

I am terribly sorry to say but this is the disgraceful state to which the United States and its military have sunk at this point in time.

[Thoth II]

"

Prof. Fetzer:   Well you know, Meria, Ed has done so much good in supporting the labor movement when we were having all of the protests here in the Capitol and coincidentally today is the day we have the primary to decide who’s going to run against Scott Walker in our recall election a few weeks hence.  He was here to cover it.  He  was the only major media figure to do that.  I’ve only had very positive feelings toward Ed Schultz.

But for him to cover up, you know, on events like this — in fact, a friend I know here who runs a restaurant, a wonderful restaurant called The Weary Traveler right here in Madison, told me that when Ed Schultz had come to Madison – before he had a conversation with his producer, and his producer explained to him that they weren’t in town to cover what he called “New World Order issues,” including 9/11."

we have to ask if this doesn't show a hopeless situation.  The biggest names in the left media are avoiding the new world order issues, which means they are ignoring the truth about our history and current world situation.  And the media is the blind leading the blind, and so it multiplies.  This is big.