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WAR
Herman
Goering's perspective: Why, of course the people
don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a
war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?
Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England,
nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the
leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter
to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship,
or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can
always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and
denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to
danger. It works the same in any country." Hermann
Goering during the Nuremberg Trials.
AND A MODERN BRITISH
PERSPECTIVE
9/22/04
Dear Mr. Bush,
I am so confused. Where exactly do you stand
on the issue of Iraq? You, your Dad, Rummy, Condi, Colin, and Wolfie -- you have
all changed your minds so many times, I am out of breath just trying to keep up
with you!
Which of these 10 positions that you, your
family and your cabinet have taken over the years represents your CURRENT
thinking:
1983-88: WE LOVE SADDAM. On December 19, 1983, Donald
Rumsfeld was sent by your dad and Mr. Reagan to go and have a friendly meeting
with Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq. Rummy looked so happy in the
picture. Just twelve days after this visit, Saddam gassed thousands of
Iranian troops. Your dad and Rummy seemed pretty happy with the results because
The Donald R. went back to have another chummy
hang-out with Saddams right-hand man, Tariq Aziz, just four months later.
All of this resulted in the U.S.
providing credits and loans to Iraq that enabled Saddam to buy billions of
dollars worth of weapons and chemical agents. The Washington Post reported that
your dad and Reagan let it be known to their Arab allies that the
Reagan/Bush administration wanted Iraq to win its war with Iran and anyone
who helped Saddam accomplish this was a friend of ours.
1990: WE HATE SADDAM. In 1990, when Saddam invaded
Kuwait, your dad and his defense secretary, Dick Cheney, decided they
didn't like Saddam anymore so they attacked Iraq and returned Kuwait to its
rightful dictators.
1991: WE WANT SADDAM TO LIVE. After the war, your dad
and Cheney and Colin Powell told the Shiites to rise up against Saddam and we
would support them. So they rose up. But then we changed our minds. When the
Shiites rose up against Saddam, the Bush inner circle changed its mind and
decided NOT to help the Shiites. Thus, they were massacred by Saddam.
1998: WE WANT SADDAM TO DIE. In 1998, Rumsfeld,
Wolfowitz and others, as part of the Project for the New American Century, wrote
an open
letter to President Clinton insisting he invade and topple Saddam Hussein.
2000: WE DON'T BELIEVE IN WAR AND NATION BUILDING. Just
three years later, during your debate with Al Gore in the 2000 election, when
asked by the moderator Jim Lehrer where you stood when it came to using force
for regime change, you turned out to be a downright pacifist:
I--I would take the use of force very
seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all
things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when
we commit our troops. The vice president [Al Gore] and I have a disagreement
about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I--I would be very
careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the
military is to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in
the first place. And so I take my--I take my--my responsibility seriously.
--October 3, 2000
2001 (early): WE DON'T BELIEVE SADDAM IS A THREAT. When
you took office in 2001, you sent your Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and
your National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, in front of the cameras to
assure the American people they need not worry about Saddam Hussein. Here is
what they said:
Powell: We should constantly be reviewing
our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they
have directed that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important now as it
was 10 years ago when we began it. And frankly, they have worked. He has not
developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass
destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.
--February 24, 2001
Rice: But in terms of Saddam Hussein being
there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not
control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him.
His military forces have not been rebuilt. --July 29, 2001
2001 (late): WE BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US!
Just a few months later, in the hours and days after the 9/11 tragedy, you had
no interest in going after Osama bin Laden. You wanted only to bomb
Iraq and kill Saddam and you then told all of America we were under imminent
threat because weapons of mass destruction were coming our way. You led the
American people to believe that Saddam had something to do with Osama and 9/11.
Without the UN's sanction, you broke international law and invaded Iraq.
2003: WE DONT BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US. After
no WMDs were found, you changed your mind about why you said we needed to
invade, coming up with a brand new after-the-fact reason -- we started this war
so we could have regime change, liberate Iraq and give the Iraqis democracy!
2003: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Yes, everyone saw you say
it -- in costume, no less!
2004: OOPS. MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED! Now you call the
Iraq invasion a "catastrophic
success." That's what you called it this month. Over a thousand U.S.
soldiers have died, Iraq is in a state of total chaos where no one is safe, and
you have no clue how to get us out of there.
Mr. Bush, please tell us -- when will you change your
mind again?
I know you hate the words "flip" and
"flop," so I won't use them both on you. In fact, I'll use just one:
Flop. That is what you are. A huge, colossal flop. The war is a flop, your
advisors and the "intelligence" they gave you is a flop, and now we
are all a flop to the rest of the world. Flop. Flop. Flop.
And you have the audacity to criticize John Kerry with
what you call the "many positions" he has taken on Iraq. By my count,
he has taken only one: He believed you. That was his position. You told him and
the rest of congress that Saddam had WMDs. So he -- and the vast majority of
Americans, even those who didn't vote for you -- believed you. You see,
Americans, like John Kerry, want to live in a country where they can believe
their president.
That was the one, single position John Kerry took. He
didn't support the war, he supported YOU. And YOU let him and this great country
down. And that is why tens of millions can't wait to get to the polls on
Election Day -- to remove a major, catastrophic flop from our dear, beloved
White House -- to stop all the flipping you and your men have done, flipping us
and the rest of the world off.
We can't take another minute of it.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Rich Man’s War - Steve Earle
Jimmy joined the army ‘cause he had no place to go,
There ain’t nobody hirin’ ‘round here since all the jobs went down to Mexico.
Reckoned that he’d learn himself a trade maybe see the world,
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl.
Somebody somewhere had another plan,
Now he’s got a rifle in his hand,
Rollin’ into Baghdad wonderin’ how he got this far,
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war.
Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm,
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar,
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl ,
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world .
Been a year now and he’s still there,
Chasin’ ghosts in the thin dry air,
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car,
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war.
When will we ever learn,
When will we ever see,
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free.
Ali was the second son of a second son,
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come,
Ain’t nothin’ else to do around here just a game children play,
Somethin’ ‘bout livin’ in fear all your life makes you hard that way.
He answered when he got the call,
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah.
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door,
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war.
and a
Father and Son Conversation (U.S.)
Q: Daddy, why did we have to attack Iraq?
A: Because they had weapons of mass destruction.
Q: But the inspectors didn't find any weapons of mass destruction.
A: That's because the Iraqis were hiding them.
Q: And that's why we invaded Iraq?
A: Yep. Invasions always work better than inspections.
Q: But after we invaded them, we STILL didn't find any weapons of mass
destruction, did we?
A: That's because the weapons are so well hidden. Don't worry, we'll find
something, probably right before the 2004 election.
Q: Why did Iraq want all those weapons of mass destruction?
A: To use them in a war, silly.
Q: I'm confused. If they had all those weapons that they planned to use in a
war, then why didn't they use any of those weapons when we went to war with
them?
A: Well, obviously they didn't want anyone to know they had those weapons, so
they chose to die by the thousands rather than defend themselves.
Q: That doesn't make sense. Why would they choose to die if they had all those
big weapons with which they could have fought back?
A: It's a different culture. It's not supposed to make sense.
Q: I don't know about you, but I don't think they had any of those weapons our
government said they did.
A: Well, you know, it doesn't matter whether or not they had those weapons. We
had another good reason to invade them anyway.
Q: And what was that?
A: Even if Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein was a
cruel dictator, which is another good reason to invade another country.
Q: Why? What does a cruel dictator do that makes it OK to invade his country?
A: Well, for one thing, he tortured his own people.
Q: Kind of like what they do in China?
A: Don't go comparing China to Iraq. China is a good economic competitor, where
millions of people work for slave wages in sweatshops to make U.S. corporations
richer.
Q: So if a country lets its people be exploited for American corporate gain,
it's a good country, even if that country tortures people?
A: Right.
Q: Why were people in Iraq being tortured?
A: For political crimes, mostly, like criticizing the government.
People who criticized the government in Iraq were sent to prison and tortured.
Q: Isn't that exactly what happens in China?
A: I told you, China is different.
Q: What's the difference between China and Iraq?
A: Well, for one thing, Iraq was ruled by the Ba'ath party, while China is
Communist.
Q: Didn't you once tell me Communists were bad?
A: No, just Cuban Communists are bad.
Q: How are the Cuban Communists bad?
A: Well, for one thing, people who criticize the government in Cuba are sent to
prison and tortured.
Q: Like in Iraq?
A: Exactly.
Q: And like in China, too?
A: I told you, China's a good economic competitor. Cuba, on the other hand, is
not.
Q: How come Cuba isn't a good economic competitor?
A: Well, you see, back in the early 1960s, our government passed some laws that
made it illegal for Americans to trade or do any business with Cuba until they
stopped being Communists and started being capitalists like us.
Q: But if we got rid of those laws, opened up trade with Cuba, and started doing
business with them, wouldn't that help the Cubans become capitalists?
A: Don't be a smart-ass.
Q: I didn't think I was being one.
A: Well, anyway, they also don't have freedom of religion in Cuba.
Q: Kind of like China and the Falun Gong movement?
A: I told you, stop saying bad things about China. Anyway, Saddam Hussein came
to power through a military coup, so he's not really a legitimate leader anyway.
Q: What's a military coup?
A: That's when a military general takes over the government of a country by
force, instead of holding free elections like we do in the United States.
Q: Didn't the ruler of Pakistan come to power by a military coup?
A: You mean General Pervez Musharraf? Uh, yeah, he did, but Pakistan is our
friend.
Q: Why is Pakistan our friend if their leader is illegitimate?
A: I never said Pervez Musharraf was illegitimate.
Q: Didn't you just say a military general who comes to power by forcibly
overthrowing the legitimate government of a nation is an illegitimate leader?
A: Only Saddam Hussein. Pervez Musharraf is our friend, because he helped us
invade Afghanistan.
Q: Why did we invade Afghanistan?
A: Because of what they did to us on September 11th.
Q: What did Afghanistan do to us on September 11th?
A: Well, on September 11th, nineteen men - fifteen of them Saudi Arabians - hi-jacked
four airplanes and flew three of them into buildings, killing over 3,000
Americans.
Q: So how did Afghanistan figure into all that?
A: Afghanistan was where those bad men trained, under the oppressive rule of the
Taliban.
Q: Aren't the Taliban those bad radical Islamics who chopped off people's heads
and hands?
A: Yes, that's exactly who they were. Not only did they chop off people's heads
and hands, but they oppressed women, too.
Q: Didn't the Bush administration give the Taliban 43 million dollars back in
May of 2001?
A: Yes, but that money was a reward because they did such a good job fighting
drugs.
Q: Fighting drugs?
A: Yes, the Taliban were very helpful in stopping people from growing opium
poppies.
Q: How did they do such a good job?
A: Simple. If people were caught growing opium poppies, the Taliban would have
their hands and heads cut off.
Q: So, when the Taliban cut off people's heads and hands for growing flowers,
that was OK, but not if they cut people's heads and hands off for other reasons?
A: Yes. It's OK with us if radical Islamic fundamentalists cut off people's
hands for growing flowers, but it's cruel if they cut off people's hands for
stealing bread.
Q: Don't they also cut off people's hands and heads in Saudi Arabia?
A: That's different. Afghanistan was ruled by a tyrannical patriarchy that
oppressed women and forced them to wear burqas whenever they were in public,
with death by stoning as the penalty for women who did not comply.
Q: Don't Saudi women have to wear burqas in public, too?
A: No, Saudi women merely wear a traditional Islamic body covering.
Q: What's the difference?
A: The traditional Islamic covering worn by Saudi women is a modest yet
fashionable garment that covers all of a woman's body except for her eyes and
fingers. The burqa, on the other hand, is an evil tool of patriarchal oppression
that covers all of a woman's body except for her eyes and fingers.
Q: It sounds like the same thing with a different name.
A: Now, don't go comparing Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are our
friends.
Q: But I thought you said 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11th were from
Saudi Arabia.
A: Yes, but they trained in Afghanistan.
Q: Who trained them?
A: A very bad man named Osama bin Laden.
Q: Was he from Afghanistan?
A: Uh, no, he was from Saudi Arabia too. But he was a bad man, a very bad man.
Q: I seem to recall he was our friend once.
A: Only when we helped him and the Mujahadeen repel the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan back in the 1980s.
Q: Who are the Soviets? Was that the Evil Communist Empire Ronald Reagan talked
about?
A: There are no more Soviets. The Soviet Union broke up in 1990 or thereabouts,
and now they have elections and capitalism like us. We call them Russians now.
Q: So the Soviets - I mean, the Russians - are now our friends?
A: Well, not really. You see, they were our friends for many years after they
stopped being Soviets, but then they decided not to support our invasion of
Iraq, so we're mad at them now. We're also mad at the French and the Germans
because they didn't help us invade Iraq either.
Q: So the French and Germans are evil, too?
A: Not exactly evil, but just bad enough that we had to rename French fries and
French toast to Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast.
Q: Do we always rename foods whenever another country doesn't do what we want
them to do?
A: No, we just do that to our friends. Our enemies, we invade.
Q: But wasn't Iraq one of our friends back in the 1980s?
A: Well, yeah. For a while.
Q: Was Saddam Hussein ruler of Iraq back then?
A: Yes, but at the time he was fighting against Iran, which made him our friend,
temporarily.
Q: Why did that make him our friend?
A: Because at that time, Iran was our enemy.
Q: Isn't that when he gassed the Kurds?
A: Yeah, but since he was fighting against Iran at the time, we looked the other
way, to show him we were his friend.
Q: So anyone who fights against one of our enemies automatically becomes our
friend?
A: Most of the time, yes.
Q: And anyone who fights against one of our friends is automatically an enemy?
A: Sometimes that's true, too. However, if American corporations can profit by
selling weapons to both sides at the same time, all the better.
Q: Why?
A: Because war is good for the economy, which means war is good for America.
Also, since God is on America's side, anyone who opposes war is a godless
un-American Communist. Do you understand now why we attacked Iraq?
Q: I think so. We attacked them because God wanted us to, right?
A: Yes.
Q: But how did we know God wanted us to attack Iraq?
A: Well, you see, God personally speaks to George W. Bush and tells him what to
do.
Q: So basically, what you're saying is that we attacked Iraq because George W.
Bush hears voices in his head?
A. Yes! You finally understand how the world works. Now close your eyes, make
yourself comfortable, and go to sleep.
Good night.
Since the
Second World War,
the United
States Government has bombed 21 countries:
China
1945-46, 1950-53
Korea 1950-53
Guatemala 1954, 60, 67-69
Indonesia 1958
Cuba 1959-61
Congo 1964
Peru 1965
Laos 1964-73
Vietnam 1961-73
Cambodia 1969-70
Lebanon 1983-84
Grenada 1983
Libya 1986
El Salvador 1980s
Nicaragua 1980s
Panama 1989
Bosnia 1985
Sudan 1998
Former Yugoslavia 1999
Iraq 1991-2004
Afghanistan 1998, 2001-02
FAMILIES UNITED IN GRIEF AND BITTERNESS
Christine Morgan, mother of Private Marc
Ferns, 21, of The Black Watch "How many more? It is 64 who have
died now. I do not want that number to go higher. Get the soldiers home. He
loved the life and had brilliant friends in the regiment, it was what he wanted
to do and he gave his life for what he wanted to do."
Ann Fury, 20, partner of Private Ferns
and mother of his daughter, Amy "I want them to come home. How long
is it going to take [politicians] to realise it is not doing any good? It is
going to be too late by the time they are all dead and the Government are going
to realise it was wrong. They should have them home."
Margaret Evans, 51, aunt of Private Lee
O'Callaghan, 20, of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment "Lee only
ever wanted to go into the Army and serve his country - and then he died. It's a
useless war. If I had a choice right now I'd pull them all out. We can't
guarantee their safety ... My message to Tony Blair is: Why are we in Iraq? Get
the rest of the kids out."
Kathleen Southgate, 74, grandmother of
Private O'Callaghan "We shouldn't have gone there in the first
place - it was nothing to do with us. It's all about the Government wanting to
act big - they don't care if boys like Lee die."
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