Wednesday, May 21, 2003
The Truth will Emerge
By US Senator Robert Byrd
Senate Floor Remarks - May 21, 2003
“Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again,—
The eternal years of God are hers;
But Error, wounded, writhes in pain,
And dies among his worshippers.”
Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it.
Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually.
But the danger is that at some point it may no longer matter. The danger is that damage is done before the truth is widely realized. The reality is that, sometimes, it is easier to ignore uncomfortable facts and go along with whatever distortion is currently in vogue. We see a lot of this today in politics. I see a lot of it—more than I would ever have believed—right on this Senate Floor.
Regarding the situation in Iraq, it appears to this Senator that the American people may have been lured into accepting the unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation, in violation of long-standing International law, under false premises. There is ample evidence that the horrific events of September 11 have been carefully manipulated to switch public focus from
Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda who masterminded the September 11th attacks, to Saddam Hussein who did not. The run up to our invasion of Iraq featured the President and members of his cabinet invoking every frightening image they could conjure, from mushroom clouds, to buried caches of germ warfare, to drones poised to deliver germ laden death in our major cities. We were treated to a heavy dose of overstatement concerning Saddam Hussein’s direct threat to our freedoms. The tactic was guaranteed to provoke a sure reaction from a nation still suffering from a combination of post traumatic stress and justifiable anger after the attacks of 911. It was the exploitation of fear. It was a placebo for the anger.
Since the war’s end, every subsequent revelation which has seemed to refute the previous dire claims of the Bush Administration has been brushed aside. Instead of addressing the contradictory evidence, the White House deftly changes the subject. No weapons of mass destruction have yet turned up, but we are told that they will in time. Perhaps they yet will. But, our costly and destructive bunker busting attack on Iraq seems to have proven, in the main, precisely the opposite of what we were told was the urgent reason to go in. It seems also to have, for the present, verified the assertions of Hans Blix and the inspection team he led, which President Bush and company so derided. As Blix always said, a lot of time will be needed to find such weapons, if they do, indeed, exist. Meanwhile Bin Laden is still on the loose and Saddam Hussein has come up missing.
The Administration assured the U.S. public and the world, over and over again, that an attack was necessary to protect our people and the world from terrorism. It assiduously worked to alarm the public and blur the faces of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden until they virtually became one.
What has become painfully clear in the aftermath of war is that Iraq was no immediate threat to the U.S. Ravaged by years of sanctions, Iraq did not even lift an airplane against us. Iraq’s threatening death-dealing fleet of unmanned drones about which we heard so much morphed into one prototype made of plywood and string. Their missiles proved to be outdated and of limited range. Their army was quickly overwhelmed by our technology and our well trained troops.
Presently our loyal military personnel continue their mission of diligently searching for WMD. They have so far turned up only fertilizer, vacuum cleaners, conventional weapons, and the occasional buried swimming pool.
They are misused on such a mission and they continue to be at grave risk. But, the Bush team’s extensive hype of WMD in Iraq as justification for a preemptive invasion has become more than embarrassing. It has raised serious questions about prevarication and the reckless use of power. Were our troops needlessly put at risk? Were countless Iraqi civilians killed and maimed when war was not really necessary? Was the American public deliberately misled? Was the world?
What makes me cringe even more is the continued claim that we are “liberators.” The facts don’t seem to support the label we have so euphemistically attached to ourselves. True, we have unseated a brutal, despicable despot, but “liberation” implies the follow up of freedom, self-determination and a better life for the common people. In fact, if the situation in Iraq is the result of “liberation,” we may have set the cause of freedom back 200 years.
Despite our high-blown claims of a better life for the Iraqi people, water is scarce, and often foul, electricity is a sometime thing, food is in short supply, hospitals are stacked with the wounded and maimed, historic treasures of the region and of the Iraqi people have been looted, and nuclear material may have been disseminated to heaven knows where, while U.S. troops, on orders, looked on and guarded the oil supply.
Meanwhile, lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure and refurbish its oil industry are awarded to Administration cronies, without benefit of competitive bidding, and the U.S. steadfastly resists offers of U.N. assistance to participate. Is there any wonder that the real motives of the U.S. government are the subject of worldwide speculation and mistrust?
And in what may be the most damaging development, the U.S. appears to be pushing off Iraq’s clamor for self-government. Jay Garner has been summarily replaced, and it is becoming all too clear that the smiling face of the U.S. as liberator is quickly assuming the scowl of an occupier. The image of the boot on the throat has replaced the beckoning hand of freedom. Chaos and rioting only exacerbate that image, as U.S. soldiers try to sustain order in a land ravaged by poverty and disease. “Regime change” in Iraq has so far meant anarchy, curbed only by an occupying military force and a U.S. administrative presence that is evasive about if and when it intends to depart.
Democracy and Freedom cannot be force fed at the point of an occupier’s gun. To think otherwise is folly. One has to stop and ponder. How could we have been so impossibly naive? How could we expect to easily plant a clone of U.S. culture, values, and government in a country so riven with religious, territorial, and tribal rivalries, so suspicious of U.S. motives, and so at odds with the galloping materialism which drives the western-style economies?
As so many warned this Administration before it launched its misguided war on Iraq, there is evidence that our crack down in Iraq is likely to convince 1,000 new Bin Ladens to plan other horrors of the type we have seen in the past several days. Instead of damaging the terrorists, we have given them new fuel for their fury. We did not complete our mission in Afghanistan because we were so eager to attack Iraq. Now it appears that Al Queda is back with a vengeance. We have returned to orange alert in the U.S., and we may well have destabilized the Mideast region, a region we have never fully understood. We have alienated friends around the globe with our dissembling and our haughty insistence on punishing former friends who may not see things quite our way.
The path of diplomacy and reason have gone out the window to be replaced by force, unilateralism, and punishment for transgressions. I read most recently with amazement our harsh castigation of Turkey, our longtime friend and strategic ally. It is astonishing that our government is berating the new Turkish government for conducting its affairs in accordance with its own Constitution and its democratic institutions.
Indeed, we may have sparked a new international arms race as countries move ahead to develop WMD as a last ditch attempt to ward off a possible preemptive strike from a newly belligerent U.S. which claims the right to hit where it wants. In fact, there is little to constrain this President. Congress, in what will go down in history as its most unfortunate act, handed away its power to declare war for the foreseeable future and empowered this President to wage war at will.
As if that were not bad enough, members of Congress are reluctant to ask questions which are begging to be asked. How long will we occupy Iraq? We have already heard disputes on the numbers of troops which will be needed to retain order. What is the truth? How costly will the occupation and rebuilding be? No one has given a straight answer. How will we afford this long-term massive commitment, fight terrorism at home, address a serious crisis in domestic healthcare, afford behemoth military spending and give away billions in tax cuts amidst a deficit which has climbed to over $340 billion for this year alone? If the President’s tax cut passes it will be $400 billion. We cower in the shadows while false statements proliferate. We accept soft answers and shaky explanations because to demand the truth is hard, or unpopular, or may be politically costly.
But, I contend that, through it all, the people know. The American people unfortunately are used to political shading, spin, and the usual chicanery they hear from public officials. They patiently tolerate it up to a point. But there is a line. It may seem to be drawn in invisible ink for a time, but eventually it will appear in dark colors, tinged with anger. When it comes to shedding American blood—when it comes to wreaking havoc on civilians, on innocent men, women, and children, callous dissembling is not acceptable. Nothing is worth that kind of lie—not oil, not revenge, not reelection, not somebody’s grand pipedream of a democratic domino theory.
And mark my words, the calculated intimidation which we see so often of late by the “powers that be” will only keep the loyal opposition quiet for just so long. Because eventually, like it always does, the truth will emerge. And when it does, this house of cards, built of deceit, will fall.
Monday, May 12, 2003
Dr. Seuss meets George Bush
Author unknown
The Whos down in Whoville liked this country a lot,
But the Grinch in the White House, he really did not.
He didn’t arrive by the will of the Whos,
But stole the election he really did lose.
Vowed to “rule from the middle,” then installed his regime.
(Did this really happen or is it a bad dream?)
Didn’t listen to voters, just friends he was pleasin’
Now, please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason.
It could be his heart wasn’t working just right.
It could be, perhaps, that he wasn’t too bright.
But no doubt the most likely reason of all,
Is that both brain and heart were two sizes too small.
In times of great turmoil, this was the bad news,
To have a big gummint that ignores its Whos.
But the Whos shrugged their shoulders, went on with their work,
Their duties as citizens so casually did shirk.
They shopped at the mall and the watched their T.V.
They drove their gas guzzling big S.U.V.
Oblivious to what had gone down in D.C.
Ignoring the threats to their democracy.
They read the same papers that ran the same leads,
Reporting what only served corporate needs.
(For the policies affecting the lives of all nations
Were made by the giant U.S. Corporations.)
Big business grew fatter, fed by its own greed,
And by people who shopped for the things they don’t need.
But amidst all the apathy came some unrest,
The Whos came to see we were fouling our nest.
And those who cared for the ideals of this nation
Began to discuss and exchange information.
Things missing in all of the corporate-owned news
Of FTAA meetings and CIA coups.
Of drilling for oil and restricting their rights.
They published some books and created Websites
Began to write letters and use their e-mail
(Though Homeland Security might send them to jail!)
What began as a whisper soon grew to a roar,
These things going on they just couldn’t ignore.
They started to rise up and fight City Hall,
Let their voices be heard, as they rose to the call,
To vote, to petition, to gather, dissent,
To question the policies of the “president.”
As greed gained in power and power knew no shame
The Whos came together, sang “Not in our name!”
One by one from their sleep and their slumber they woke
The old and the young, and all kinds of good folk,
The black, brown and white, the gay, bi- and straight,
All united to sing, “Feed our hope, not our hate!
Stop stockpiling weapons and aiming for war!
Stop feeding the rich, start feeding the poor!
Stop storming the deserts to fuel SUV’s!
Stop telling us lies on our mainstream TV’s!
Stop treating our children as a market to sack!
Stop feeding them Barney, Barbie and Big Mac!
Stop trying to addict them to lifelong consuming,
In a time when severe global warming is looming!
Stop sanctions! They’re killing the kids in Iraq!
Start dealing with ours who are strung out on crack!”
A mighty sound started to rise and to grow,
“The old way of thinking, it simply must go!
No more God versus Allah, Muslim against Jew
With what lies ahead, well, it simply won’t do!
No American dream that cares only for wealth
Ignoring the need for community health.
The rivers and forests are demanding their pay,
If we’re to survive, we must walk a new way.
No more excessive and mindless consumption
Let’s sharpen our minds up, and garner our gumption.
For ideas are simple, but practice is hard,
And not to be won by a poem on a card.
It needs the ideas and the acts of each Who,
So let’s get together and plan what to do!”
And so they all gathered from all ‘round the Earth
And from it all came a miraculous birth.
The hearts and the minds of the Whos they did grow,
Three sizes to fit what they feel and they know.
While the Grinches all shrank from their hate and their greed,
From bearing the weight of their every foul deed.
So from that day onward the standard of wealth,
Was whatever fed the Whos’ spiritual health.
They gathered together to revel and feast,
And thanked all who pitched in to conquer their beast.
For although our story pits Grinches ‘gainst Whos,
The true battle lies in what we daily choose.
For inside each Grinch is a tiny small Who,
And inside each Who is a tiny Grinch too.
One thrives on love and one thrives on greed.
Who will win out? It depends who you feed!
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
US: 'Saddam Had No Weapons of Mass Destruction'
by Neil Mackay
The Bush administration has admitted that Saddam Hussein probably had no weapons of mass destruction.
Senior officials in the Bush administration have admitted that they would be ‘amazed’ if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq.
According to administration sources, Saddam shut down and destroyed large parts of his WMD programs before the invasion of Iraq.
Ironically, the claims came as US President George Bush yesterday repeatedly justified the war as necessary to remove Iraq’s chemical and biological arms which posed a direct threat to America.
Bush claimed: ‘Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We will find them.’
The comments from within the administration will add further weight to attacks on the Blair government by Labour backbenchers that there is no ‘smoking gun’ and that the war against Iraq—which centered on claims that Saddam was a risk to Britain, America and the Middle East because of unconventional weapons—was unjustified.
The senior US official added that America never expected to find a huge arsenal, arguing that the administration was more concerned about the ability of Saddam’s scientists—which he labeled the ‘nuclear mujahidin’—to develop WMDs when the crisis passed.
This represents a clearly dramatic shift in the definition of the Bush doctrine’s central tenet—the pre-emptive strike. Previously, according to Washington, a pre-emptive war could be waged against a hostile country with WMDs in order to protect American security.
Now, however, according to the US official, pre-emptive action is justified against a nation which simply has the ability to develop unconventional weapons.
Thursday, May 01, 2003
May Day, Again
The Portland Police were at it again today, arresting and beating up bicyclists at the Critical Mass ride. There have been reports of them arresting bicycle commuters for no apparent reason lately, as well. Just one more reason to watch out for the police, now that they’re little more than political enforcers.
Didn’t Portland get designated as the “Most Bicycle-Friendly City” a couple years ago? Now it seems that bike riding is becoming the latest form of prohibited political speech.
Which leads to…
On Political Speech
Since a seemingly innocent act as riding a bike or stepping off a curb is now political speech, it’s time to think about what you are saying. You say something everytime you buy or do something.
You make choices.
They have consequences.
I ride a bike to work as often as I can, so as to not drive the car. It’s good for my health and for the health of the planet. Every day I ride, it’s that much less greenhouse gases dumped into the air we all breathe. It’s using that much less gasoline that the assholes who took over the government of this country feel compelled to go to war for. I average 12000 miles a year on the car, well under the national average of 17,000+ miles a year.
Go take the “Ecological Footprint” test and see how you do, compared to the average American family. It measures how much you consume, measured in terms of how many acres of land it takes to support your lifestyle. We “use” 17.3 acres a year, versus the American 25.2 average. Sounded good, until I saw that the world average is 5.6.
Which leads to…
Inequity and Inequality
The richest fifth of the world’s people consumes 86 percent of all goods and services while the poorest fifth consumes just 1.3 percent. Indeed, the richest fifth consumes 45 percent of all meat and fish, 58 percent of all energy used and 84 percent of all paper, has 74 percent of all telephone lines and owns 87 percent of all vehicles.
The three richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined gross domestic product of the 48 least developed countries.
The world’s 225 richest individuals, of whom 60 are Americans with total assets of $311 billion, have a combined wealth of over $1 trillion—equal to the annual income of the poorest 47 percent of the entire world’s population.
It is estimated that the additional cost of achieving and maintaining universal access to basic education for all, basic health care for all, reproductive health care for all women, adequate food for all and clean water and safe sewers for all is roughly $40 billion a year—or less than 4 percent of the combined wealth of the 225 richest people in the world. (source, United Nations)
So next time you think you “need” that new SUV, remember - you make choices, they have consequences…
