When the folks at Antiwar.com asked me to write a note to help them raise funds I immediately accepted for several reasons.
First of all, because I’m a longtime reader, almost since the beginning (1995!). Their news section is indispensable. Jason Ditz’s news briefs keep me up to the minute. Their editorial content is varied, non-partisan, and often challenging. And I mean that in the best way. Of course I don’t always agree with Justin Raimondo – actually, I almost always do! – but he’s always interesting and principled. And he’s a terrific writer!
Secondly, it’s important that Antiwar.com exists – because all the worst people would be ecstatic if it didn’t. As war clouds loom on the horizon, this high-traffic high-quality site is more important than ever.
And one more reason: Antiwar.com has been consistently right about the major foreign policy issues of the day. They’ve had the courage to challenge what "everybody knows" – and were vindicated when the conventional wisdom was finally overturned.
Turn on your television set, or look at the op-ed page of your paper: there you’ll see the "experts" who have been wrong about everything. These people were wrong about Iraq, wrong about Afghanistan, wrong about Libya, etc. ad nauseam. Yet they’re still collecting paychecks, still basking in the spotlight.
Isn’t it about time we rewarded truth-telling instead of error?
Love,
Dan Ellsberg
Nicely said.
Glad to see you, whom I respect, feel the same way about Antiwar.com!
I approached Daniel Ellsberg in 1999 on the UC Berkeley campus to ask him if he would join or voice support for the Antiwar.com demonstration against the bombing of Yugoslavia. He refused, saying in reference to Antiwar.com that “I know who they are”.
Has he had a change of heart since then?