Progressives and Obama: Another Take

As part of our efforts to identify effective strategies to advance a progressive women's human rights agenda with the new US administration, we're keeping an eye out for debates emerging on this issue. Here is a video from the Real News Network, in which Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina Vanden Heuvel is interviewed by Paul Jay.

While Katrina focuses on the openings for progressive action and on the way in which Obama's campaign was able to "oxygenate the grassroots," Paul Jay seems more skeptical. He calls attention to the disturbing plans to escalate the US military presence in Afghanistan. The conversation leaves off somewhat abruptly, without talking about how progressives can organize to counter bad policies in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Perhaps there is another segment to the video--if you're able to find it, please post in comments.

What are your thoughts on the conversation in the video?

Comments

[Paul Siemering]

ok I did not watch the whole thing cause i got so annoyed when she tried to tell us he's ok cause he's a community organizer.
that is no excuse to be intensifying the brutal massacre of Afghanistan, for sending drones to bomb Pushtunistan, for encouraging Israel in it's inhuman assault upon Gaza, and sending them ever more lethal weapons like DIMES and white phosphorous.

[Yifat Susskind]

I agree with you, Paul, that Obama's positions on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel need to change. MADRE has always demanded US foreign policy that advances, rather than violates, human rights. That's not going to change. If anything, we need to push harder than ever now that we have an administration that is more predisposed than the last one to multilateralism and diplomacy. That predisposition can be leverage for us, but it is no guarantee of compliance with human rights. MADRE opposes the escalation of the war against Afghanistan and I'll be writing a longer piece about why that is and what we propose instead in our April newsletter. I hope you'll read it and let us know what you think.