Obama continues lurch to the right on Iraq war and militarism

Appearing Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Obama delivered a speech on national service, which hailed the US military and vowed to swell its ranks.

While proposing the expansion of Americorps, the Peace Corps and other civilian entities, Obama made it clear that the main service to which he intended to call young Americans was the military.

He began by invoking the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington and lamenting the failure of the Bush administration to issue a call to service and a call for shared sacrifice.

There is no challenge greater than the defense of our nation and our values, he continued, praising the actions of US troops fighting a resurgent Taliban and persevering in the deserts and cities of Iraq.

What values are embodied in the systematic destruction of the Afghan and Iraqi societies and the killing and maiming of millions of civilians in the attempt to impose US hegemony over oil-rich regions of the planet, the Democratic candidate did not spell out.