Afghan war hurts domestic agenda, Mich. peace leader says

[IndianaGreen]

Afghan war hurts domestic agenda, Mich. peace leader says

DETROIT - "War is subverting the domestic agenda," Dr. Prasad Venugopal told peace activists here. "There is no room for despair in the peace movement because a lot of lives depend on it."

Venugopal is a leading member of the Detroit Area Peace and Justice Network, and served two terms on the national steering committee of United for Peace and Justice. He is an associate professor of physics at the University of Detroit Mercy.

Speaking at a People's World forum here, Venugopal said it is "very, very important to have two conversations. One, we do need long-term changes in U.S. foreign policy. At the same time, we need to win victories now. We have to find ways to broaden the conversation and link the fight for health care, the Employee Free Choice Act and jobs to the spending on war."

U.S. military action in Afghanistan is doomed from the get-go because of the ongoing corruption and economic crisis there and the instability in neighboring Pakistan, said Venugopal, who has written numerous articles and spoken widely on foreign policy issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan, India-Pakistan and global nuclearization. "Stability needs to come from surrounding neighbors, not U.S. troops," he said.

http://www.peoplesworld.org/afghan-war-hurts-domestic-agenda-mich-peace-leader-says/