Code Yellow

The selling-out of the antiwar movement

Right on time  for the somber eighth anniversary of the Afghanistan war and occupation, Code Pink founder and primary spokeswoman Medea Benjamin has announced that her organization – which made so many headlines and newscasts protesting “Bush’s war” – is now “rethinking” their position on Afghanistan. A piece in the Christian Science Monitor, which Code Pink is now strenuously trying to spin, reports that the famous antiwar group is seriously amending their position after listening to the views of Afghan women. On a recent trip to Afghanistan, the leaders of Code Pink met Afghan women who opposed the idea of a US withdrawal, and this somehow forced them into a reevaluation of their views. As the Monitor reports:

“When Medea Benjamin stood up in a Kabul meeting hall this weekend to ask Masooda Jalal if she would prefer more international troops or more development funds, the cofounder of US antiwar group Code Pink was hoping her fellow activist would support her call for US troop withdrawal.

“She was disappointed.

“Ms. Jalal, the former Afghan minister of women, bluntly told her both were needed. ‘It is good for Afghanistan to have more troops – more troops committed with the aim of building peace and against war, terrorism, and security – along with other resources,’ she answered. ‘Coming together they will help with better reconstruction.’”

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