“Assata Shakur could well end up dead at Obama’s hands like Anwar al-Awlakki and his sixteen year old son. Cuba may be attacked on the pretext of capturing Shakur. No president since John F. Kennedy has attempted an actual military assault on Cuban soil. Obama is known for his ability to go where other presidents have dared not. He killed Gaddafi and overthrew the Libyan government. Why wouldn’t he try the same with Cuba?”
In this week’s issue of Black Agenda Report we provide comprehensive coverage of the Obama administration’s declaration that Assata Shakur is a domestic terrorist. Bruce Dixon, Glen Ford, Raymond Nat Turner and yours truly all comment on the latest effort to solidify America’s plunge into fascism.
Barack Obama is the master of his own shock and awe. In one fell swoop he killed off memory of the black liberation struggle, declared war on Cuba and found a way to silence thousands of critics. Lest we forget, Shakur supporters can now be charged with giving “material support to terror”, which means anything the president says it means.
Today the Black is Back Coalition hosted a rally in Harlem, Hands Off Assata Shakur. Glen Ford and I spoke. These are my comments.
“When the 1% chose this president, and they always do, they committed the perfect crime. They had a president who would do all their dirty work, presidents always do, without being subject to the scrutiny that a republican or a white democrat would face.
Only Nixon could go to China and only Obama could kill Gaddafi. Bush may have claimed the right to detain anyone he wanted for any reason he chose, but Obama claims the right to actually kill anyone he wants.
Now that he, and make no mistake, it is Obama, has labeled Assata Shakur a terrorist, he can kill her, detain her or do anything else he wants. Supporters of Assata Shakur can be charged with giving material aid to a terrorist and for any reason the government makes up.
Obama can use Assata Shakur as pretext for attacking Cuba, just as he and NATO attacked Libya and now Syria. This terror designation covers a multitude of sins, and Barack Obama is the #1 sinner.
We are told that democrats are the lesser of two evils. This expression is partly true, this system can never benefit humanity, but the question isn’t who is the lesser evil, but which side can get away with its evil doing more easily. The 1% determined, correctly, that in 2008 and again in 2012 that person was Barack Obama.
The ironically named justice department upped the ante last week when they called Shakur a terrorist. We must do the same on our end. Those of us who gather here today cannot be shy when we talk about this case or any of the other outrages being perpetrated by our government. And we can’t be shy when we talk about the president. I’m proud to be part of the Black Agenda Report team for many reasons, but today I’m most pleased to say that we had Obama’s number all along. We told you so.
Power to the people! Thank you.”
