End the War We were attacked on September 11 because the United States is responsible for Israel's ability to oppress and threaten Palestine and all Middle East Moslems. After the anger subsides look and you will find that we were not so very innocent. We were blithely ignoring our government's foreign policy.
Insist upon that which is with peace in my heart and smallness of self. Yet getting the facts right (that which is) from todays sources is impossible. So I witnesses then I take my best guess tainted with myself and my anger. I am not a purist.November 1, 2001
to read the background click here, U.S. politics, war 911, and forign policy.letter to the editor Express- times February 10, 2002
Dear editor,
Bush and Gebheart are "shoulder to shoulder" along with 80% of the United States voting population in support of the war on terrorism. Such is the state of the union.
OK clergy, do your job. Man the pulpits and say it’s wrong. It’s the job God gave you. It’s the job that wasn’t done in Germany before Germany attacked Poland. It’s the job the Pope recently apologized for not doing before World War II. No reporter or politician is willing to sacrifice his/her career and Edward R. Morrow is dead.
The murdering of masses in order to kill the few is already done. Now we’re going to invade sovereign nations selected for hating us and do some more mass murdering, but this time we’re going to do it first.
President Bush launched a " preemptive strike " against Iraq in his first two weeks in office. On January 31st Rumsfeld told the American public we might use "preemptive attacks" against other countries. Before 1947 when the War Department became the Defense Department and " politically correct" was born, it would have been called "start a war". With or without sufficient cause we just finished conquering Afghanistan. Let’s be done with selecting countries who hate us and we hate to purify of terrorists through mass murder. Use the CIA instead.
During the Clinton administration a union of terrorists declared war against Israel and the United States. If they are our specific enemy, then declare war on them through an act of Congress. It will take years instead of weeks to win for presently our CIA is third rate at intelligence gathering and disallows assassins (we fixed our war machine and we can fix our CIA). But by doing it the hard way we will be able to get out of the mass murder business. Above all we must get out of the mass murder business for the primary reason that it is immoral.
For those who believe that the end justifies the means this war does not make us safe. We are only buying time, for all countries will eventually have all technology and when they get it they will hate us all the more for mass murdering. To be safe we must work toward a lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and the United States not by forcing Israel’s view on Palestine but rather by softening our support of Israel. To do this , like the Pope, we will have to consider our past behavior, and judge it wrong. This is difficult in the light of September 11, but our nation has the spiritual strength, person by person even in our grief to see what is right, but not without our spiritual leadership. Come on clergy, bring it on!I was wrong. Molly Ivins is our Edward R. Murrow
letter to the Editor the Express Times submitted July 2, 2002 and not published
Dear editor,
Politically, there is Israel and the United States. Israel contains two fighting religious factions, Jews and Muslims. Jews who live there call themselves Israelis. Muslims who live there call themselves Palestinians. The Moslems in 1967 were re located by force of arms into a section presently called Palestine where they have been more oppressed than blacks in 1950’s Alabama. The United States has always been and continues to be the supplier of these arms.
On September 11 as a result of the oppression and after a declaration of war against the United States and Israel by Muslim extremists suicide bomber Muslims killed and destroyed. We defended our might. If we had considered our right we would have found ourselves wrong . The United States abandoned the Geneva Convention and its previous foreign policy of negotiating peace and went to war in Afghanistan. Israel copied the United States and attacked Palestine. India and Pakistan threaten to copy the United States and go to war.
Presently United States soldiers are killing civilians with stray bullets in sovereign nations where wars have not been declared and the world is copying us. Israel is leveling towns and killing civilians with stray bullets (paid for by the United States). At present Palestinians are more oppressed than blacks were oppressed in South Africa under apartheid and, lacking arms, are killing Jews with suicide bombers.
Israel state’s its intent to extend occupation of Palestine until suicide bombings stop.
Palestine condemns the suicide attacks but says "Israel’s occupation of Palestine land is the underlying cause of the violence".
In the United States no additional suicide bombings have occurred in ten months. In addition it has been made clear by someone who hates us that by substituting something deadly for anthrax they could devastate our population and so far choose not to. Yet the United States is making plans to start war against Iraq, opposes normalization with Cuba and is giving Israel $2.7 billion for arms. Bush demands Arafat’s removal and the establishment of a (puppet) government for Palestine via an election .
Rather than God Bless America, God forgive America. This forth of July it is time to divide against the evil that we are doing in the world in the name of vengeance.
We have the power to sue for peace and end this Holocaust of civilians by stopping buying bullets for Israel. Arming Israel was wrong .September 11 did not change that. Arming Israel is still wrong.Letter to the Editor Express-times August 16, 2002
Dear editor,
In my lifetime the only country that has used weapons of mass destruction is the United states. Now there is an abundance of countries with weapons of mass destruction who could deliver these weapons using suicide bombers. Hence dominating the world by force will no longer work.
General Bush must be stopped from starting a war with Iraq on his own. Demand due process. Demanded that he find cause and present his case first to the United States people and then to the United Nations. It is our right that he ask Congress for our permission to make a war. In addition to act without the approval of the United Nations would make us a world tyrant.
Presently there is little case for cause against Iraq. It is not enough to hate Saddam Hussein.
Our CIA admits it cannot connect the dots from September 11 to Iraq. We are asked instead to accept the word of General Bush who says that Saddam Hussein did it because he is "evil".
Then there's the case that Saddam Hussein has violated the desert storm treaty. Here there is a weak case but not strong enough for war and not without a stronger case against us. We
solicited the support of Saudi Arabia and Egypt by implying we would support pre 67 Israeli boundaries. It was essential for our victory. It established equal judgment for Israel and Iraq.
Israel renigged and we continued to aid them with arms which led to September 11. Presently Israel remains a threat to all the Muslim nations and Saudi Arabia demands compliance by Israel
To pre 67 boundaries before they will recognize the original treaty.
The solution to the immediate problem is reduced support to Israel because we've been wrong since 67, but that's another letterLetter to the Express-Times 9/23/2002
Dear editor,
From Bush's second week in office he has been making war in Iraq and calling them preemptive strikes. It appears he is attempting to provoke Iraq to fight back (probably thinking that since we bought and paid for them that they are obliged to be obedient). However, Iraq is a nation with a country to lose and Saddam Hussein is not suicidal. Rather he appears extremely pragmatic only launching wars when he has much to gain and suing for peace only when he must. Even when he took Kuwait he had reason to suspect we would support him, our ally at the time, much as we supported Israel's 67 acquisitions. We traded him off for Saudi Arabia(Saudi Arabia feared Israel and Iraq. We promised to defeat Iraq and implied we would force Israel to accept Palestine which we didn't do).
Yes, Saddam Hussein certainly is attempting to develop weapons in order to discourage the United States aggression much as Russia kept us in check for 50 years. Like Russia he is not going to use them against our homeland for we would devastate him in retribution. However the war making of Bush in the no-fly zone provoked Al-Qiada into destroying the twin towers(the Bin Loden tape made during Bush's Administration and before September 11 where it appears the final decision to strike was made).
The war against Al-Qaida is distinctly separate from the war against Iraq. The Al-Qaida is an extremist Islamic nation without a country using suicide bombers out of desperation and is associated with our position with Israel. They feel helpless, have vengeance to gain and no country to lose.
The dots from September 11 led to Al-Qiada in Saudi Arabia. Bush dared not attack Saudia Arabia and the American people wanted vengeance so he chose Afghanistan instead. After all the Taleban was bought and paid for by the United States and was the landlord to Ben Laden. Besides who would care about the worth of citizens of the poorest country in the world.
My nation under Bush and my country under God are in conflict and I pick God. I want the moral high ground even if it is necessary to take the first blow. In the land of the free and the home of the brave that is what it takes to remain brave and free. Besides I don't believe Iraq will launch an attack on the Continental United States because Saddam Hussein is not suicidal like Al-Qiada.
We are certainly not love mates of Iraq but escalating the war that Bush has already launched is immoral. Urge your congressman to oppose the invasion of Iraq.
My next letter will deal with the peace that can be negotiated, but that's my next letter.10/23/2002
Letter to the Editor
express-times.com
Dear editor,
Remember the Alamo. To remain the land of the free and the home of the brave we must
take the first blow.
The dots from September 11 led to Al-Qiada in Saudi Arabia not Afghanistan or Iraq. Desert Storm involved more than 100,000 killings in less than 100 days done from hiding. The continuing destruction between Palestine and Israel is horrible. It is not necessary to decide who is more evil or who is the greater coward.
War is preserved by the hate of sons over lost fathers.
Our president is impassioned with vengeance and hatred against a man who attempted to kill his father. We listen to his suggestions of the possibilities of disaster and become cowards. Rather we should look at the probabilities and negotiate peace.
Even I can come up with one possibility. Use the $2.7 billion presently given to Israel in support of an United States owned and operated free trade zone and military base located on
the Kuwait side of the Euphrates from Iraq to the Persian Gulf. Include treaties with Syria and Turkey for the use of the Euphrates river. Include a rentable pipeline for Iraqi oil owned by us. It will make cooperation with us more profitable for Iraq than war. It will neutralize Al-Qiada by defusing Israel. With luck the free trade zone will carry expenses. Most importantly it will keep control in our hands.
Learn from our past mistakes. We armed China against Japan and got Pearl Harbor. We armed Iraq to take vengeance against Iran. We armed the Taleban to stop Russia. For arming
Israel we got September 11. At Guantanamo we did for ourselves and have peace.
God Bless Jimmy Carter. God forgive America if we act as cowards and accelerate the war our president has already started against Iraq.11/25/2002
Dear editor,
On November 12 I heard George Bush (via CNN) tell the audience how grateful future generations are going to be to him. successful tyrants have always brought security, advancement and order to a chosen part of society . He's right in that the United States will be the chosen part of society and we have always been amazingly self-centered. after all fascism is the most efficient way to keep order. A fascist simply crushes the enemy.
Also read in the paper commentary implying that Saddam Hussein ruled without the will of the people. I don't doubt it. He does rule as a result of due process however.
If majority vote determines the will of the people and the will of the people determines the president than Al Gore would be president . Al Gore would not have attacked preemptivelly in the no-fly zone (taking out all the middle steps) and the twin towers would still be standing. But George Bush is president as a result of due process. So we respect their due process so that they respect ours. Mistake! I assumed we have no tyranny.
If I am forced to pick I am a citizen of the United Nations before I am a citizen of the United States. I have no intention of loving the United States government or leaving my country.
It's Thanksgiving and I am full of thanks. I must try to act with grace and pray for my enemies.
First there is George Bush. I pray that our President decides to disappoint the angry masses of the United states in order to preserve the United Nations as an instrument of peace. Like Gerald Ford who pardoned Nixon he will pay the price of denying the American masses their vengeance. But he will be a better man and the world will preserve the United Nations as an instrument of peace.
Second there is Ben Loden. I pray he is so engulfed by Allah until he sees that Allah is the compassionate, the merciful. And as his instrument shows mercy and retreats to safe haven.
Third there is Saddam Hussein. I pray that he opens his country to such an inspection that no one can doubt it. For this I pray that he puts his fear and pride aside for the sake of his people.
All I want is George Bush to give up vengeance, Ben Loden to show mercy and Saddam Hussein to get humble.
12/5/2002
Letter to the Editor express-times
Dear editor,
After World War II we established the United Nations in the hope of establishing an alternative to the Holy Roman Empire and all the tyrannical models which copied.
On November 12 I heard George Bush (via CNN) tell the audience how grateful future generations are going to be to him, and I know that this could happen. But if it happens it will be because we are the world tyrant who destroyed the United Nations authority by warring independent of it.
I believe that on a level playing field George Bush would be found guilty of crimes against humanity for his invasion of Afghanistan.
I believe that our foreign policy of arming Israel would be found criminal.
I consider myself ACLU.
This defines me as a whining liberal weeny as defined by Raymond Pavan in "letters to the Editor, December 4".
But this weeny agrees with Raymond that we need the Homestead Security Act. Our intelligence agencies have been third rate for years through lack of coordination. If they were any good we would not be in our present predicament. After all we knew the month, the target and a means of attack before September 11 but lacked the agency coordination to put it all together into intelligence.
So there Raymond! We have some common ground.
1/22/2003
Dear editor,
My Baptist grandchildren expressed disdain for Muslims. Upon investigation they didn’t know what a Muslim was. My son, their father, stated he wished his family to remain religiously tolerant. I told my grandchildren approximately the following brief history.
There was an Egyptian god, Ra. He was the one and only God mild mannered, loving and forgiving. The Ra worshiping Egyptians were quickly and easily conquered.
The slaves of Egypt, adapted from Ra the oneness of God and added law, justice and the concept of being chosen. They were Jews.
Jesus, a Jew, reestablished love and forgiveness. After his death the movement became popular. There was an abundance of writings about Christianity and Jesus, much of it conflicting.
At the seventh Council of Nicea in 302 AD a fragmenting Christian Church of gentiles reviewed all the writings. A selection was made which became the New Testament.
200 years later Mohammed wrote the Koran claiming it was the words of the Angel Gabriel. It promoted Jesus as a prophet. It added compassion and mercy to the one God called Allah.
I cannot stop President Bush from mass killings. I can only show my grandchildren (and your grandchildren through this letter) that Jews, Muslims and Christians are of the same clan. After the bloodshed peace will be harder.3/8/2003
Dear editor,
For the record and before the invasion of Iraq. If after the attack Iraq has not used weapons of mass destruction against our invading troops then Mr. Bush would have been wrong. Not only will he have been wrong but he will have known before the fact that he was wrong. By knowingly ordering the destruction of thousands of Iraqi citizens (when only Al-Qiada
was warring against us) in violation of the United Nations he will be a traitor to the United Nations.
This will give me a personal dilemma. I can either be loyal to the United Nations and a traitor to my country or loyal to my country and a traitor to the United Nations. Since God and humanity come before country I remain loyal to the United Nations. I am filled with anger and shame (and almost wish I were a Frenchman). Yet this is my country. I find I feel as a traitor yet I am innocent by reason of insanity for I find Mr. Bush insane.
I hope I am wrong. Let Mr. Bush be making a great bluff in order to force a compliance with what he knows to be the facts. Let this record be of great embarrassment to me.
Mr. Bush do not act without the support of the United Nations. War is bad and I oppose it, but that is political. War outside the sanction of the United Nations by the most powerful nation in the world is evil. You will turn my shame to guilt.
Sincerely,
April 11,2003
Dear editor,
The choices to effectively disarm Iraq were simple; 10,000 inspectors at peace under the United Nations for as long as it takes or 300,000 soldiers at war under the United States for as long as it takes.
After our victory over Iraq we need a plan than both begs the world’s forgiveness and disempowers the tyranny we have created. What to do.
Disallow capital investment in Iraq and the direct sale of goods to Iraq by coalition combatants for ten years.
Within six months of the victory turn control of the security and order of Iraq over to a United Nations administrative authority that has no former combatant members.
Defeat the re-election of Mr. Bush.
Under an amendment to the United Nations Charter establish a constitution for a sovereign empire that has the same rights as member nations.
The United Nations administrative authority will write constitutions for Iraq and Kurdish Iraq. The people of Iraq can either remain under the United Nations administrative authority without sovereignty or accept their constitutions as states of the new empire.
It is hoped that every time some powerful nation conquerors a weaker nation this process will deny the conqueror the spoils of war. At the same time it will empower an empire that will grow in size through countries surrendering their sovereignty as a default of war or through volunteerism.
Sincerely,
9/10/03
Dear editor,
"For the record and before the invasion of Iraq, if after the attack Iraq has not used weapons of mass destructionagainst our invading troops then Mr. Bush would have been wrong. Not only will he have been wrong but he will have knownbefore the fact that he was wrong." I said this and you published it.
The simple solution is to turn the whole monster mess over to the United Nations. We don’t even have to admit we were wrong. Instead Mr. Bush is asking congress to spend $87 billion a year.
Here’s what he’s doing. $35 billion to pay for a half million professional soldiers (which will absorb part of the 2.7 million increase in unemployment). $10 billion overhead money. $42 billion to contracts for reconstruction of Iraq paid to American companies many of which were Bush Cheney interests before they became elected officials.
Who pays? Not Bush’s rich friends who already got their money back through that tax deal that paid you $300.00. Rather it’s borrowed from social security.
It certainly will stimulate our economy until pensioners need their social security.
Excepting a few hundred dead American soldiers, more than a few hundred Iraqi soldiers and quite a few thousand non-combatant Iraqis an insane person might think it’s a good deal.9-26-03
Dear editor,
From Bush's September 23, 2003 speech to the United Nations with clarification shown in parentheses;
Bush asks nations to pick "Between those who seek order and those who spread chaos(there
was order in Iraq and now there is chaos); between those who worked for peaceful change(UN weapons inspectors), and those who adopted the methods of gangsters(declare war based on
fraudulent evidence); between those who honor the rights of man( dis-honoring the wishes of the United Nations because we had the power ), and those who deliberately take the lives of men and women and children without mercy or shame(bombing civilian Baghdad in order to surprise Saddam Hussein or gassing civilians in order to gas Kurdish soldiers)."
Americans wake up! He wants you to remain blind to the obvious .
The truth is that Iraq has not surrendered. Saddam Hussein has not surrendered. George Bush declaring the war over doesn't make it so. The war doesn't end until Saddam Hussein or someone else in his stead surrenders or we get out. And if we stay it will cost much time, much money and much death.
It's like the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. As long as people are killing or being killed the war continues.
We need to increase our troops to 300,000 strong and place them in Kuwait as a contingency against the re-emergence of Saddam Hussein. We need to add a higher tax bracket so only the very richest of us pay thereby saving social security. We need to turn Iraq over to 150,000 United Nations controllers. We need not to force nations to pick who was right or wrong.11/22/2003
Dear editor,
If I wanted to get the attention of the world I would strap a bomb to myself with a dead man's switch, get near powerful people and demand that television broadcast my statement. Then I would let go the switch and nothing would happen .
Well I'm a harmless old man not willing to die to make a point. I am willing to beg the American people to pay attention to the point these suicide bombers are trying to make.
They say what we are doing is morally wrong.
The last time(and the only time) I read a non combatant Iraqi death toll, it was 3000. It was a week or two into the invasion and our loss was 50. Dead civilians make suicide bombers. There are more of them all the time.
There's operation iron hammer. This is where you justify killing civilians as a casualty of war even after declaring the war over.
Mr. Bush said we would only go to war as a last resort. He started two and threatens three more. It appears threatening and making war is Mr. Bush's foreign policy rather than his last
resort.
The side effect of this foreign policy is a bill for $87 billion, a wiped out social Security Fund and he still hasn't gotten the guy that threatened his daddy.12/20/2003
Dear Editor,
How George Bush can win in 2004!
Spread the message that the truth is a liberal interpretation by a liberal press. Conceal that the old liberal press has been predominately sold to conservative ownership. Spread the message that the press lies so much that you cannot know the truth. Spend money promoting comfortable platitudes. Show George Bush as the common person he is. Give taxpayers $300.
The cure! See the problems George Bush and the Republican Congress have made rather than "the pretty boy" on television. This pretty boy tells lies and conceals truth and does it with such finesse within platitudes to make it comfortably invisible that we have started two wars, destroyed the security of social security, destroyed Clinton's treaty with North Korea, destroyed environmental
protection and corporate regulation and most recently paid off drug companies so that some seniors will be able to get drugs through Medicare at Canadian drug prices (AARP should be ashamed!)
This man and this Congress have screwed us over. We need to do the extraordinary in order to fix what has been destroyed. What must we do?
Now I'm a Democrat. Unlike Republicans who vote the party line, I, like most Democrats, generally vote for the candidate first. Not this year! Because of the purposeful lying to conceal the truth which has led to the destruction of our country's moral fiber I will be voting for all Democrats. It is that important to stop the madness.1/14/2004
Dear Editor;
From the beginning George Bush premeditated a plan to put Iraqi oil under Halliburton control.
He told Americans lies about Saddam Hussein being a threat and mixed it with the truth about his evil past to justify conquering Iraq. Now he is establishing Cheney’s company, Halliburton, in control of Iraqi oil. He is protecting Halliburton with the American military.
Here is what George Bush is going to do next.
Between now and August there will be a public display of work toward establishing Iraqi as a sovereign nation. In the meantime Halliburton will quietly be developed to control Iraqi oil. The emphasis of US military will slowly shift from order in the country to protecting Halliburton facilities.
George Bush will declare our military presence ended (as he declared the war over) while maintaining an undisclosed military presence to "protect American interests", which is Halliburton. The news of what is going on around Halliburton facilities, including the size of our military presence, will become matters of national security and undisclosed. Following the model in Afghanistan, civil Iraq will no longer be our business.
We will have simply and directly robbed a sovereign nation of what we wanted, their oil. In the process we will leave Iraq without order and devastated.
Each of us shapes our own morality. We are responsible to shape our country’s morality by our vote.
Let the world see us stop our own immorality. Unseat George Bush in November.4/17/04
Dear editor;
Life has dealt me a problem. The moral need to withdraw from the war in Iraq has become a non-issue. Both Bush and Kerry think we should fight it through so I have to put off morality until another election. Who should lead our nation at war?
Before George W. we had problems with terrorists. Though Saddam Hussein hated Israel and us he also hated Iran. As a result of losing the desert storm war and the UN boycott his power was diminishing. To keep control he became a tyrant against his own countrymen. As a result the Iraqi people hated Saddam Hussein for his tyranny and the US for desert storm and the boycott. However, being a thorn in Iran’s side alienated Al-Qiada against Iraq and helped to stabilize the Middle East. As a result Clinton and Saudi Arabia were successfully talking of forming an Israeli-Palestinian peace and terrorist recruiting was diminishing. George Bush had not the brain to understand this.
George became president and started bombing the no-fly zone. Israel followed suit and increased their Palestine acquisitioning.
Osama Bin Lodin seized the opportunity and (if the translation of the tapes given to the American people as " proof " on television showing Bin Lodin ordering the attack on the towers is correct) made the decision to attack the towers two weeks before September 11. (An aside; did George Bush have those tapes before September 11?)
September 11 happened. George started a war against Afghanistan. This war is still going.
Israel followed suit and leveled some towns in Palestine. Muslim terrorist recruiting picked up. Suicide bombing increased in Israel.
George funded Israel with money saying " tisk tisk stop your bombing" to Israel while to Palestine he said remove your leader and give us a new constitution. Muslim terrorist recruiting picked up.
Next he called the UN inspectors liars and invaded Iraq.
With Saddam Hussein gone the Muslim extremists previously controlled by him are taking over the spiritual leadership of a country who can count their hatred by counting their dead sister’s, brothers and children who have died from American bullets. It leaves no room for understanding.
How bad is it? From CNN news. More Americans have been killed in the first 2 weeks of April than in the 1st month Iraqi was invaded. (Remember how Vietnam progressed?)
A quotation buried on page 2 of the express times 04/13/2004 "In an effort to toughen the Iraqi forces Abizaid said the US military will reach out to former senior members of Saddam Hussein’s disbanded army --a reverse in strategy. "
Most recently George endorsed Israel’s plan to keep many of its settlements in exchange for withdrawal from others. This is a reversal of the Clinton Saudi Arabia talks that called for Israel to go back to its 1967 borders .At this point world terrorism probably cannot any longer be solved by fixing the Israeli Palestinian problem.
However we can get a new try with a new president, not one dumb like us but smart like a president ought to be.
Kerry knows about war as a veteran and voted to give Bush a war option as a last resort. Bush’s first hand knowledge about war is as a seldom show (at the time) drunken Texas militia officer who presently uses war as a tool of foreign policy rather than as a last resort. After Bush had declared two wars as a first resort, Kerry voted against funding these wars. That’s good decision-making, not waffling.05/01/2004
Dear editor;
Who should lead our nation at war?
My last letter dealt with how George W. screwed up Iraq. This letter deals with his ineptitude toward terrorism.
George Bush Senior stopped short of annihilating Iraq thereby establishing respect for the United States in its treatment of Middle Eastern Muslim nations. Al-Qiada countered by declaring war against the United States and Israel. Clinton and Saudi Arabia started talking of forming an Israeli-Palestinian peace knowing that this could neutralize terrorist recruiting. We needed a diplomatic president.
George became president and started bombing Iraq’s no-fly zone. Israel followed suit and increased their Palestine acquisitioning.
Osama Bin Lodin seized the opportunity and (if the translation of the tapes given to the American people as " proof " on television showing Bin Lodin ordering the attack on the towers is correct) made the decision to attack the towers two weeks before September 11. (An aside; did George have those tapes before September 11?)
September 11 happened. George started a war in Afghanistan (still going).
Israel followed suit and leveled some towns in Palestine. Muslim terrorist recruiting picked up. Suicide bombing increased in Israel.
How bad is it? After George endorsed Israel's plan to keep many of its settlements in exchange for withdrawal from the Gaza Strip Israel removed its offer. At this point world terrorism probably cannot any longer be solved by fixing the Israeli Palestinian problem.
Kerry knows about war as a veteran with 3 purple hearts with the voting record that shows his reluctance toward war. Bush's first hand knowledge about war is as a seldom show Texas militia officer who has started two inadaquitly planned wars as a tool of foreign policy rather than as a last resort.
6/16/2004
Dear editor,
"Our CIA is third rate at intelligence gathering... and will take years to fix". I said that in a letter to the Editor dated February 2002. Now that the government has investigated 9-11 intelligence, its official that our intelligence agencies need fixing.
The important positive part of the Patriot Act attempts to fix all our intelligence agencies by forcing them to share information with each other. This was so important that no matter what other things might be attached, it needed doing. John Kerry was for it. I was for it. I said so in a letter to the Editor dated December 2002.
The administration attached some surveillance, some questionable security, some sensible security and an inept, fear inspired exception to due process for suspects just like the Gestapo laws of Nazi Germany (frankly I thought our Supreme Court would have knocked this down by now).
This is a huge mistake whereby you can be secretly imprisoned if someone in the government secretly tells a secret judge they have reason to believe you are a terrorist. And further they cannot share the reasons with the judge because it would violate national security.
I want the Patriot Act, but I want it fixed by reinstating due process. So does John Kerry. That ‘s good waffling. It beats stonewalling where you insist that bad is good and tell it loudly and often as advocated by Hitler in his book, "Mein Kompf".7/10/2004
Dear editor;
The 911 Intelligence Committee stated no significant evidence of connection between Al Qiada‘ s 911 attack and Saddam Hussein. They further implied that they were not friends.
On July 9, 2004 the news broke that the CIA was grossly negligent if they implied that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Bush ’s reaction on July 9 as reported on channel 6 news was to say that even if our CIA was wrong he was right to invade Iraq and that the United States is safer now than then.
Taking Bush at his word George says if our CIA was wrong and the 911 Intelligence Committee was right, he was right to invade Iraq. That is, knowing that Iraq was not a threat to the United states, had not attacked us and had not conspired with a group that had attacked us, he was right to invade Iraq.Was it that he wanted to make war because Saddam Hussein is a SOB?
Concerning his claim that we are safer now. Given present intelligence, Iraq was no threat to us. Internationally, we were united with the Middle East and a majority of the world against Al Qiada.
Now, terrorism has grown in the Middle East (as documented according to Powell’s apology) and a majority of the world opposes us with the same rigor that they oppose terrorism. Our soldiers are dying in a war that didn’t exist and they are forced to kill the innocent with the guilty as they fight for their lives. And George says we are better off.9/5/2004
Dear editor,
George Bush is a bad boy who kicks butt. He has begun us on the road to world domination. He is the fuher of the American third Reich where rather than Aryan superiority it is American superiority. He is the devil incarnate.
His record is clear. His foreign policy is to force conformity to our will by war wherever it is economically profitable to US oil interests . The increased price of crude oil has made him richer than he has ever been.
Let me quote from George at the Republican National Convention; “extend the frontiers of freedom ... whatever it takes... we must confront the threat to America before it is too late ... promoting liberty abroad “. If George Bush is elected president we will be invading Iran. If you vote for him, take responsibility for this.
And how about this other stuff; “ the pro growth system of reduced regulation (for the next Enron and the environment), a nest egg you can call your own and government cannot take away (which is what George just did to your social security)”
The facts are in and Cheney lied at the convention when he said Iraq was a threat. They had no weapons of mass destruction. The facts are in and Cheney lied when he said that world terrorism is down. Powel apologized for that false report. The war we did start is strengthening the enemy in the war we didn’t start and Bush and Cheney are to blame.10-3-04
Dear editor;
At Thursday’s presidential debate the president was asked if he had made a colossal mistake in invading Iraq. He could have answered “yes I made a mistake”.
He could have answered as he did on July 9 in response to the CBS news when it was clear that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. At that time he said he was right to invade Iraq anyhow.
What he did say was you must send “consistent sound messages to our troops” and “you cannot lead if you send mixed messages”.
This does not answer the question “did you make a colossal mistake? ”. This answers the question “ why do you refuse to acknowledge your mistake? “ .
Our people are entitled to hear the truth and our troops can still fight knowing the truth. The truth is it was a giant mistake to invade Iraq. The truth is the Iraq war is going badly. The truth is both candidates think we should fix the mess we made before we get out. The truth is the Iraq war is fueling terrorism against us. The truth is world terrorism is statistically up not down as Bush would have you believe. The truth is it happened on Bush’s watch as a result of Bush’s decisions and the buck stops with Bush.
The president did make one point clear. He’s going to take the flight to them. We are going to invade Iran, a country united in their hatred of us but so religiously devout that it would never strike preemptively.
12/21/04
Dear editor,As we celebrate the Prince of Peace, a soldier will accidentally kill a child in Iraq. The soldier kills for us for we have voted for this. Not politics, just plain ugly facts.
I will pray for peace. Please pray with me.
I will pray for peace every day. I will say, "please God give us peace on earth".
How about you? It's only ten seconds a day.1/24/2005
Dear editor,Toward a national moral inventory I offer something for the uninformed who think September 11 was something other than retaliation for something we had not already done, the slaughter of the innocent.
In the far past the carpet bombing of German towns and the use of atom bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been war crimes had we lost world war two.
In the Middle East the Ayatollah Khamenei took Iran from our ally, the Shaw of Iran. They demanded his money. The United States prevented them from getting it. The Khamenei took American hostages. We paid a ransom equivalent to the Shaw’s money and they returned the hostages. That was supposed to be the end of it but Ronald Reagan cheated.
Reagan armed Saddam Hussein to fight Iran. Ronnie gave Saddam Saran gas, a weapon of mass destruction. He used it against Iran in our behalf before he used it against the Kurds. There is no way of using gas in a war selectively. That’s why the Geneva Conference outlawed it after World War I.
In the eyes of most of the world that makes Ronald Reagan and Saddam Hussein co-conspirators in the slaughter of innocent civilian Iranians. We made a small objection called Iran contra. No one was punished. No one apologized. Frankly, most Americans including myself didn’t even notice.
“ These are the times that try men’s souls “. Put aside judging good and evil for we are guilty as sin. Pray for peace on earth daily.2/1/05
Dear editor,
The purpose of government is order without war, not an American selection of “inalienable” rights.
We are attempting to force our ways upon people who do not necessarily want them. First, elections.
You may not know a Muslim Iraqi but you probably know and like a Catholic. Ask yourself how that Catholic would feel if President Bush struck down the Pope and ordered Catholics to elect one.
Election is an American judgment rather than an absolute preference. Many an ally is a monarchy (and an objective view of whom we elect blackens the eye).
Second, the predominate mid eastern Muslim view of women. They view our women as naked, an affront to God.
Finally, and probably as consequence of the second, we are frequently viewed as violent adulterous drinking drugging hedonists living in violation of the Koran and they want no part of our way.
Now I’m a dues paying member of ACLU so I wouldn’t object if Catholics elected their Pope and women got completely naked. I favor women’s equal rights though I concede that a few more clothes would increase fidelity and embrace a more realistic view of what a man is. And if Catholics want to obey their Pope so be it.
Our country is attempting to force the American way upon others through warfare. Do not join the American Army as they are not defending our nation but aggressing against others. Those poor souls who joined thinking our army would only act in defense of our country still deserve our support. Not so with new joiners.
Pray for peace on earth daily.
5-18-05
Dear Editor ,
What’s happenen‘?
Bush proposes a record setting deficit spending budget. Greenspan says we cannot continue to borrow and spend.
The United States has raised its ceiling on the national debt to prevent bankruptcy (first time since Ronald Reagan). Our national debt is no longer owed to social security as a first creditor but now to Japan and China.
China has a favorable balance of trade by exporting to us more than they import for themselves even though for the first time they have surpassed us in imports. For the first time ever they buy more from South America than we do. They have struck a trade agreement with ten Asian countries. Bush says China “may” be using monetary policies to unfairly affect trade. Actually they’re trading us to economic death as we drain ourselves (and, as a result, the value of our dollar) to make war.
The number of acts of terrorism in the world is increasing. There is “spiraling violence” in Iraq.
It is rumored that European nations are striking a separate treaty with Iran.
The first South American Arab summit endorses “the right to resist foreign occupation”. They’re going “to study” terrorism and to “define the terrorist crime”.
Demonstrations against the United States for demeaning the Koran have begun in Afghanistan.
Have you had enough yet?
Pray for peace on earth daily. Syria has withdrawn from Lebanon. Give thanks for Syria’s withdrawal. Israel is pledged to withdraw from Gaza. Pray that Israel withdraws as peacefully.9/12/05
Dear editor,
1945. Truman has the atomic bomb in his arsenal. He could drop it in Japan’s countryside and show Emperor Hirohito its destruction or he could drop it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to prove his willingness to kill civilians. At the first sign of criticism he says “the buck stops here”.
The recent past. President Bush orders an investigation to find out who should be blamed for the intelligence blunders surrounding 9/11.
President Bush invades Iraq. He gives a justification that they have weapons of mass destruction as proved by documentation he knows to be false. As the truth unfolds he creates replacement truth and orders an investigation to find who is to blame for the intelligence blunders.
Katrina . President Bush acknowledges that the government response is late and promises to investigate who is to blame. The buck doesn’t stop with George Bush. It stops with whom he blames.
By now most of us know what a horrible mistake we made when we re-elected George W. Bush President. If the impeachment process were not crippled by partisan politics George Bush would no longer be president.
Don’t compound the error. In the 2006 congressional election vote against all those incumbents who have maintained blind loyalty to the Cheney/Bush Administration. Garrett is one of them.
Pray for peace on earth daily.10/5/05
Dear editor,
Have you heard the lie, “our soldiers are fighting for American Freedom”? It is the same lie that rationalized Vietnam.
We lost the Vietnam War. After three years the Pentagon knew we had lost. Thirteen years later we “ withdrew honorably” but not without an effect from the cost of it.
It caused the runaway inflation under Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan cured it by borrowing a trillion dollars from our future and spending it on a war machine. Not until Bill Clinton did we establish and stabilize a peacetime economy with the hope of repaying the money that Ronald Reagan borrowed. President Bush ruined that before 9/11.
Our soldiers are not fighting for American Freedom in Iraq. At best we are fighting for the freedom of Kurds and Shiites. (We are probably fighting for American greed and vengeance). Whether it is noble or not to fight for their freedom, our freedom was never threatened by Saddam Hussein.
Just like Vietnam the writing is on the wall. We have lost the Iraq war. If we stay the guilty and innocent alike are killed. If we stay we strengthen the Al Qiada cause. If we stay we give a battleground capable of driving us into economic chaos.
We cannot win their civil war. We cannot make their civil peace. They must do it with their own blood. We should have learned this in Vietnam. Whether Iraq votes down or passes their new constitution it will be time for another “ honorable withdrawal“.
Pray for peace on earth daily.12/18/05
dear editor,
According to George Bush words spoken on December 14,2005 toppling Saddam Hussein was the “ right decision” independent of whether he had or did not have weapons of mass destruction. George Bush is steadfast in backing his war crime.
As far as the war goes we’re in trouble whether we “stay the course” or pull out tomorrow, but that’s not what this letter is about.
The facts become clearer each day. President Bush first bombed Iraq his second week in office. He violated the whole idea of the United States of America by starting a war because he wanted to take revenge against a man who had threatened his father. I believe when the record is in we will find that Cheney was the source and Bush was the instigator of the lies presented to the United Nations and the Congress of the United States.
We can show the world that the American President is not above the American people. Not only must we impeach our president and vice president but also we must convict them and punish them with a prison term.
The only way this will happen is to replace our partisan Republican Congress with a Congress of Democrats and Republicans who can put partisan politics aside in order to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crime. This crime is not about a lie to conceal sex with a woman. This crime is about a well-organized premeditated war-starting structure of lies resulting in thousands of deaths.
Pray for peace on earth daily.1/17/06
Dear editor,
Scream no to everyone you know! Demand that Bush not invade Iran without asking Congress for permission, a permission that Congress will almost certainly deny.
First, neither the United States nor Iran signed the non-nuclear proliferation treaty. Therefore we have no right to demand that they conform, and they have no obligation to honor a treaty they have not signed.
As a devout Muslim nation Iran will not attack us first because it violates the Koran. However, the Koran also says that if they are attacked they are obliged to fight the infidel until death. Guess who they consider infidels?
Second, Iran is not Iraq. While Iraq was an outcast Muslim nation, Iran is a united Muslim nation with the respect of all the Muslim nations.
Most mid Eastern Muslims consider themselves members of the Muslim nation above citizens in their sovereign nation. Hence mid eastern Muslims feel that if Iran is attacked then they are attacked. If we invade Iraq the strength of Al Qiada will increase 100 fold.
Nietzsche said, “If you have the power, then you have the right”. For those few who believe this, we do not have that much power. We cannot win and if we persevere in a 30-year war we will end up bankrupt. We will end as the USSR ended (and Osama Bin Ladin planned); an economic disaster.
The only gainers will be the American oil companies. They will reach previously unheard of profits no matter who ends up owning the nation.
Pray for peace on earth daily.2/1/06
dear editor,
In the state of the union address Bush said we should “ take our enemies declared intentions seriously.” Bin Loden has declared he wishes a truce. Bush and the Congress of the United States have refused to take the declaration seriously.
Bush does not want us to take our enemies declared intentions seriously. Rather he wishes us to ignore their declarations. Bush lies, but we all knew that already.
So who is a terrorist? After September 11 George Bush coined the term “terrorist” for our enemy in order to disenfranchise them from legitimacy. Without legitimacy they were criminals rather than enemies of the state.
Are they legitimate? Before they attacked us on September 11 they declared war on Israel and us. They have no state but they have membership, organization and leadership. The most powerful argument for legitimacy is that we gave them legitimacy when Congress declared war on them.
The head of our enemy is Bin Loden who has attempted to open dialogue.
Both of our own terrorists, Vice-president Cheney and President Bush, and our Congress have refused to listen. And sadly, they are backed by an American people who as yet have not deduced the alternative to not listening.
Vietnam and Korea would still be going if nobody agreed to talk.
Pray for peace on earth daily.
4/19/06
Dear editor,
In a contest of evil Bush and Cheney have topped the devil. Our local Congressman is the Devils pawn. It’s time to vote the pawns out of office.
Bush and Cheney fabricated a pack of lies and launched us into war. This, combined with a tax reform that lowered the tax rate for the rich below the middle class, resulted in the greatest profits ever for their families and oily friends.
When Bush and Cheney invade Iran we are going to be abhorred by the death toll of the Mideast war, the increase in the United States deficit and the record profits for American oil companies.
Rather than collecting the taxes from the people who profit from the war we will borrow more from China.
We pay our bills presently because China buys a billion dollars worth of US securities daily. When China ceases to buy US securities because they are no longer worth the paper they’re written on a Republican congress will cancel Social Security and Medicare to avoid bankruptcy (rather than reform taxes).
In Iraq we cannot win but we can withdraw on our terms. This would make us moral and solvent. We could save Social Security and Medicare by a tax reform that no longer excludes the rich from paying their fair share.
The Mideast war will involve the world. Once we start it we will not have the power to stop it. Vote accordingly.
Pray for peace on earth daily.5/1/06
dear editor,
I wish the president of the United States to maintain his right to engage in war. The fact that we have a president and vice president who have corrupted the system by the use of fraud makes a simple decision difficult.
I favor legislation that would force our president to immediately remove our troops to the nine permanent forts we have already built in Iraq, to sit and wait. The new Iraqi nation can sink or swim on its own.
I favor beginning the impeachment process against Bush and Cheney as co-conspirators in a fraud that led our nation to engage in crimes against humanity.
I oppose all action not sanctioned by the United Nations. This will stop us from invading Iran (or anyone else) on our own.
As corrupt as it might be the United Nations by preserving the sovereignty of nations is our greatest hope for peace on earth. In addition as ineffectual as the United Nations has been in dealing with the coexistence of sovereignty and genocide, they are still our most pragmatic influence toward world civil liberties.
By working with the United Nations rather than above it we will form alliances with allies. We can then act in harmony with other nations against genocide without taint.
Come November vote Bush’s Fifth District crony out of Congress. Pray for peace on earth daily.6/18/2006
dear editor,
For the last six years we have had a Republican Congress and the Republican Administration. They’ve taken the opportunity to fulfill a long term Republican dream.They have changed our tax structure so that we must go bankrupt, reform our tax structure or cash in Social Security and Medicare.
The rich don’t need or want social security. So when the Republican government must choose between tax reform or balancing the books by canceling social security, social security will be gone and you and your children will work until you die just like it was before social security.
If you want to know just how bad it is listen to all the people who say there just won’t be social security. That’s the first step in getting you to accept something you do not have to accept. You can do something about it.
Because George Bush and Dick Cheney have been downright criminal in their behavior we have become distracted from the fact that the Republican Congress is well on the way to destroying social security. Locally vote your choice but in the national congressional election vote against Republican incumbents. That or plan on working until you die. Pray for peace on earth daily.
7/16/2006
Dear editor,
A Republican president and Republican Congress have reformed our tax structure into hell for the working person.The basic deal was that we workers get a pension and you entrepreneurs get the end of debtors’ prison through limited liability of corporations.
For the limited liability corporations paid income tax. Republicans ignored limited liability, screamed double taxation and reformed the tax law so stockholders only have to pay 5-15% income tax. Our social Security tax (from our part of the corporate profit) is 15% of gross pay when you include the directly paid corporate portion of the tax. Then we pay income tax on top of that. So who is paying the double tax? The worker.
Workers had some kind of a pension. In 1979 pensions were protected by laws so that corporations couldn’t use bankruptcy protection to bankrupt pension funds. That’s been changed also. To see how it works just refer to the Enron pension fund.
Then there’s the government pension called Social Security. Well it’s soon gone. The above cited dividend tax reform and bankruptcy reform plus that tax reform where we got $300.00 and the rich got $30,000.00 coupled with borrowing a billion dollars a day and spending it on war leaves us without the ability to continue social security.
We must reform the reform or work until we die. Vote against Republican Congressional incumbents. Pray for peace on earth daily.
8/2/2006
Dear editor,
There was a Polish skirmish inside Germany. Hitler’s response was World War II. That sounds like Israel in Lebanon.Take a good look at Israel. When you think of a bomb blowing up in a coffeehouse compare it to a tank leveling a city block of occupied houses. Since 1948 when Harry Truman saved their butt by recognizing them as a country they have out killed their neighboring countrymen ten to one.
The solution to the impossible task of the Mideast for America is to divorce ourselves from Israel, withdraw from Iraq and let them all at it.
Basically we must copy China’s international policy. They are stuck with their “ally ” of North Korea. We will be stuck with our “ally” of Israel. But there will be no more American blood or money.
What will happen in the Middle East if we go? The Shiites and Sunni will kill each other in Iraq until one of them wins their civil war. Though Israel has the superior military their tanks burn fuel. They will either revert to diplomacy or be overrun. We will sit and watch like the Chinese.
In the meantime we haven’t lost so much we cannot rebuild ourselves. But if we persevere in our insanity pouring good blood after bad, we will exhaust our governments wealth and with it the ability to defend our homeland in our homeland. We have already exhausted our reputation in most of the world.
9/28/2006
Dear editor,
President Clinton had warranted the killing of Bin Loden. At one point he had him located but did not strike because it involved a danger to children. Al Qiada was a specific and defined criminal organization and we were the good guys in the world.9/ 11 was easy because Bush stopped reading the CIA daily reports about Al Qiada.
First a Republican congress made Al Qiada legitimate by declaring war against terrorism as if it were a sovereign nation. All terrorists became our enemy.
Next Bush badmouthed the “axis of evil” so that we can have even more enemies. Then Bush defied the United Nations and committed troops to war in Iraq.
You cannot win a war against a nation that has no country and is entrenched within the civilian population by using an assault army. It’s the wrong tool. You kill the innocent and strengthen the enemy.
The right tools are great intelligence, assassins and an occasional precise air strike.
Announce to the world we are changing course by getting rid of our inane Republican Congress that put us here. Of our 138,000 troops in Iraq transfer 20,000 to Afghanistan for 30 days to burn the poppy fields, retrain 40,000 as US cargo inspectors and border patrolers, retrain 30,000 as CIA (spies and assassins) and put them in our embassies and discharge 48,000 troops.
It’s not cut and run. Its retreat from Iraq, attack Al Qiada with the right tools, and protect our borders. Pray for peace on earth daily.
10/15/2006
Dear editor,
The truth is hard to know. As reported in the express times on October 12, 2006, the Iraqi Ministry of Health in conjunction with public health experts from John’s Hopkins University claimed that 650,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the US invasion. That’s Hiroshima two times over. That’s a family of four per US soldier. They claimed to have used Iraqi hospital records.When asked President Bush dismissed this as “ not credible”. General Casey, our top general in Iraq, said he has not seen a number higher than 50,000. Casey cited no source of information nor did he imply that he had tried to gather such information.
The truth is hard to know. President Bush reports that the economy is in healthy growth. Contrasting explanations point out that we borrow $750 million a day and spend it on war. Half of his money goes to the upper 20% of the population who buy stock increasing the Dow Jones. The other half goes to the lower 80% of the population who fall short of keeping up by 1%. When the USSR couldn’t pay what they borrowed they went bankrupt. The truth is hard to know.
Today’s politics is simpler. If you wish to continue the war in Iraq and want social security to end, vote for Republican congressmen and senators. If you wish to end the war in Iraq and want social security to continue, then vote for Democratic congressmen and senators. In state, county and local elections vote your mind. Pray for peace on earth daily.
11/1/2006
Dear editor,
Chavez’s “ Bush is the Devil” and Bush’s “ axis of evil “ are a matched pair. The hyperboles of hate serve war mongering.There is more hatred of us than ever. Because a madman leads us we are a genuine threat to world peace. Realistically if we give George Bush a Republican controlled Congress we will be invading Iran and probably North Korea. We don’t have the money. We don’t have the (volunteer) soldiers. And you can kiss social security goodbye.
650,000 Iraqi civilians dead (2% of their population) is not collateral damage. Rather it’s genocide (three times as much as Darfor). I want the moral high ground back. Pray for peace on earth daily and vote for it on Election Day .
12/13/2006
dear editor,Snow says Bush is considering all suggestions.
In his retirement speech UN Secretary General Annan criticized Bush by noting that security is built by trusting each other rather than by “ going it alone “ (not reported in the associated press article that appeared in the Express Times).
Kerry says it’s time for diplomacy.
Carter points out that we have not looked truthfully at the Palestine Israel conflict. He notes the possibility of a treaty that gives something for every country in the Middle East.
Our own military report from Iraq says we’re losing.
The bipartisan congressional committee thinks the goal should be one stable country (they’re wrong about this. There was one stable country under Saddam Hussein. It required tyranny to maintain. Look to Irish history and don’t repeat those mistakes).
Bush is not considering. He merely nods politely.
We need a buffer between this madman and the United Nations. George W. Bush should appoint his father, George Bush senior, representative to the United Nations. Maybe Jr. will let Sr. talk directly to Shiite Iraq, Sunni Iraq, Kurdish Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Kuwait and Turkey.
We must talk without preconditions, with the recognition that fighting this war weakens our own security and with the further recognition that winning will not give us an exit plan.
1/17/2007
Dear editor,
In Baghdad we support a predominantly Shiite police force as unjust as its Sunni opposition. To establish democracy would require that we become the police force in Baghdad as peacekeepers.Phillipsburg has 36 policemen for approximately 11,000 people. At 11 million people Baghdad is 1000 times more populous.
They are also fighting a revolution. To keep order in the midst of a revolution would probably take a tenfold force. 360,000 (36x10x1000) American policemen would be needed in Baghdad.
Next, although an additional 20,000 US troops could effectively close the Iran and Syrian borders, it is clearly Bush’s intent to cross these borders as evidenced by his comment in his speech about pursuit where we have not pursued before. This of course will precipitate a Middle East/North Korean War that will spill over into the United States homeland (but that’s for another letter).
Let’s give George the benefit of the doubt and assume we never cross into Iran. Then a US presence of a half a million troops for ten years might establish a working democracy in Iraq. Estimated cost to us, 20,000 American soldiers dead. Social security gone.
Estimated cost to Iraq ....Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia(on the web) estimated that the population of Iraq in 2004 was 28.7 million. The CIA web site presently estimates the population at 26 million . It appears that 2.7 million people, 10% of their population, have either died or emigrated . (I could not find a web site that quoted both old and present populations )
Sadly, there is a peace that could be negotiated, but that’s for another letter. Pray for peace on earth daily.
2/22/2007
dear editor,
Sometimes the facts are hard. Those that have lost loved ones know how we at first deny the truth.
Blind belief that we can establish an independent government agreeable to us with a measly 20,000 troop surge in Iraq does not make it true. It would take two trillion dollars, a half million troops, and ten years for us to establish a government that we would have to maintain. And there’s a better chance that it would fail by degenerating into a Middle East war.
The hardest fact we must face (and it only gets worse with time) is that when we leave Iraq, Al Qiada will decry that we were unable to defeat them when we were merely unable to reverse the disorder we created. This matter of face will help their recruitment. They will be encouraged to strike at other locations.
On the other hand if we face the truth, and move our forces from Iraq to foreign embassies and our borders we will not be using up our strength in Iraq. We will be able to strengthen our own borders. We will be able to put strength into our friendly embassies to combat Al Qiada before they ever get a foothold in new locations.
Diplomacy is the answer. As far as diplomacy goes, Bush/Cheney make ultimatums not negotiations. They’re not trusted by other countries because they are not trustworthy. They no longer represent the people. Impeach them as co-conspirators.Let the Kurds have northern Iraq. This will make them an oil-rich ally of ours. The Kurds intend to leave the Iraqi Government as soon as the Constitution allows anyhow.
3-26-07
Pull our troops from central Iraq to southern Iraq and encourage Iran and Syria to help the new central government of Iraq. The present Iraqi Government has already begun negotiations with Iran toward this end anyhow. In exchange they must recognize Israel’s right to exist, and the United States continuing effort to establish a small democracy in southern Iraq. This will save our face and keep Iran very busy trying to do what we failed to do, namely make peace in Baghdad.
Some more pieces of the United Nations negotiated peace could include, Hamas and Hezbollah recognizing Israel’s right to exist in exchange for a sovereign Palestine, Lebanon’s rebordering with Syria, a period of free emigration into the various regions, the United States accepting Iran’s right to self-defense, Iran’s acceptance of a permanent United States military base in Southern Iraq or Kuwait much like Quantanamo in Cuba (in case we fail to establish even a small democracy).
Whoops! I forgot we’re fighting and not talking. One little two little three dead soldiers... Impeach Bush and Cheney.
4-26-07
On April 23 George Bush said that “ the security of our country depends on...” his policy in Iraq. As long as his policies persist, the policy of making war, the world will correctly view us as warmongers. In 2008 we will need to convince the world that we are no longer the country of the egocentric tyrants who had led us, but that we once again value peace and justice. Our country’s security will depend on this.
Our constitution does not forbid a former president from holding a cabinet position. We have two great former presidents that we need desperately.
Bill Clinton for Secretary of State. A genius at international relations, at the conclusion of his term he had ready for signing a Middle East peace accord agreeable to all the Middle East constituents with the exception of Al Qiada, a recognized outcast terrorist enemy. There was a treaty in place with North Korea whereby we gave them oil and they did not make atomic bombs. Iran didn’t like us but they didn’t fear us so they allowed inspections.
Jimmy Carter to represent us at the United Nations. He served justice above pride by returning the Shaw of Iran’s money to Iran (it was their money) in exchange for 54 Americans. People didn’t die on his watch. He has expressed an accurate view of Israel. The world sees him as a peacemaker. His appointment might overcome Bush/Cheney ’s demeaning of the United Nations.
8/21/2007
Dear editor,
Our continued immoral presence in Iraq is causing a reasonable and justified fear of the United States that overshadows the growth of Al Qiada as a threat to our long-term security. Below is a list of things that would not be happening if we simply had worked within the United Nations rather than starting war without their approval.Venezuela’s Chavez is making a tour of Latin American countries to solicit support against the United States. He is made welcome.
Pakistan is closing down the country. The people are likely to vote the pro US President out.
The Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds refuse to agree on the distribution of oil rights which gives only 20% of the revenue to Iraq and leaves 80% for the “developers”.
Iraq is meeting independently with Iran in an attempt to stage a separate peace.
Russia and China are now conducting joint war games. This is the first time in ten years the Russians have flown their warplanes. It also ends the rift between them.
Hamas won the public election in Palestine.
It appears that Hezbollah will win a majority in Lebonon.
Tony Blair has resigned because the English do not want to continue war.
We are providing Al Qiada with a place to train and grow (Iraq).
The world has always allied against tyrants. It’s time that we stopped being one. It’s time to reduce our enemies to one, Al Qiada.
9-11-07
Dear editor,
General Petreaus has spoken. Militarily he said we could succeed, not that we will. He said that the number of Al Qiada controlled areas has decreased. Recall that before George Bush decided to start this war Al Qiada had no control and no presence in Iraq.Politically we are hated and feared as never before as a result of the Bush War and Bush attitude. So it is in Iraq.
He mentioned that the civilian death toll remains unacceptable. This is tenfold more important than any other Iraqi observation.
The Nazi Party was founded on Nietzsche ’s idea that “if you have the power you have the right”. This was the justification for a Holocaust of 8,000,000 civilian dead. What Holocaust have we reaped? More than 100,000 Iraqi civilian dead and counting.
Americans too often respond to success rather than morality. We were wrong to invade Iraq but the American people were not against it until we were losing. We were wrong to invade Afghanistan and since it is not clear that we have lost Americans still favor the military solution.
Colin Powell said yesterday (it’s too bad he’s kept his mouth shut so long) our strategy should be to limit our strikes to known Al Qiada that are not embedded in civilians. Hillary Clinton says if elected president she will take an entourage of respected Democrats and Republicans around the world proclaiming a new beginning.
We need to do both.
10-30-07
Dear editor,
A dollar donation to a lobby group probably has a greater influence than your vote. Examples to follow;
Two months ago China correctly pointed out that if the world would follow their example of forced abortion, then hunger, poverty and global warming would be eliminated by population control. The ACLU (of which I am a member) and the Christian Conservatives have stopped this.
Every president of the United States since the six-day war has condemned Israel’s homesteading of conquered land. Yet because of the pro-Israeli lobby we have continuously supplied them with arms, the root cause of why Al Qiada declared war on us.
There is enough falling water in the United States to supply our car, truck, train and home heat needs with hydrogen fuel eliminating global warming. The constant sun of the Mojave Desert is great enough to supply us with electricity. The technology exists and is being used in Germany. The environmentalist lobby protects the environment. The agricultural lobby opts for ethanol for profit. The crude oil lobby ... the only thing you would need fuel oil for would be plastic.
The trouble is, if we stop lobbyists from free speech, then I couldn’t write this letter. Our government functions no better or worse than any of the other governments in the world. The sooner we learn this the better.11-28-07
Dear editor,
The point of this letter is that the autonomy of sovereign nations is essential to peace on earth.
China is going to build six dams on the Mekong River. They’re probably going to manufacture hydrogen for automobile fuel. There are no civil liberties and hence no individuals or lobbyists to stop them. They have already wiped out starvation in their country by forced abortion because there are no lobbyists or individuals to stop them. They have the most improved quality of life in the world today.
We on the other hand have one hydrogen station for cars in Washington DC. It services four hydrogen-powered cars (subsidized by Shell Oil Company). Our women have a right to choose whether to abort or carry their fetus. Debatably, we have the best quality of life in the world today. Personally, I love our civil liberties.
Alexander the Great knew what was best for the world. So did the Roman Empire, Ghengus Kahn, the Crusaders, Napoleon, the British Empire, the third Reich and now George W. Bush. They all attempted to force the issue thinking, “after we conquer them they will see it our way”.
If we all agreed on everything... but we don’t. Second best is to protect the autonomy of sovereign governments. The existing tool, however good or bad you judge it, is the United Nations.12-16-07
Dear editor,
This letter is about an American attitude that must change.
Last week Jack Caferty on CNN criticized Al Gore for blaming the United States referring to an old adage “stopping at the water’s edge”. This attitude is the problem.
The origins of the attitude go back to the pre Republic time of the “ Bhagavad Gita “ (1000BC?). The protagonist, a warrior talking with God’s arc Angel, concedes it is a matter of duty and honor to obey his uncle and go to war against his cousins. From it evolved obedience to your father, the rulers and the church. Out of respect for duty and honor evolved loyalty, fidelity, Semper Fi.
God’s arc Angel and the warrior never argued against the righteousness of the leadership which was sacrosanct...but not forever. With the questioning of the sanctity of the leadership came the first Republics, civil disobedience, activism; that is politics in the general population.
Now this general population is not restricted to the United States. We are no longer an isolated, conservative, separate country. Rather we are part of the world. Our commerce does not stop at the water’s edge, or our politics or our physical presence in the rest of the world.
“Know thy self... and the truth shall make you free”. If we want our freedom back we better start telling and seeing the truth of our country. Jack Caferty and the rest of us better change our attitude from a duty to condoning lies by silence to the honor of telling the truth.dear editor; 3-12-08
Workers unite! You have nothing to lose but your... ah... homes. The war against Al Qiada goes badly.
The Al Qiada plan was simple. Attack us at home and have us strike back on their turf. The cost to us to run a remote war would slowly erode our economy while the cost to them was negligible; it being a local guerrilla war embedded in civilian populations. The scenario Al Qiada could expect would be for us to attack training bases from a United States base in Kuwait. Hopefully civilian casualties would strengthen their recruiting. It was expected because it was the United States best strategic choice.
Bush surprised Al Qiada with an unbelievable gift! Two invasions resulting in deficit spending of 1/4 trillion dollars a year with masses of civilian deaths and ongoing!
To understand look at the economic stimulus package. It will generate 1/4 the deficit (one time only). With luck it will kick start some business. We all hope it works.
The cost of the package is that there are 60 billion more dollars backed by no increase in value. The American dollar is deflated against the world currencies. That is, you need more money to keep your house because your money is worth less.
The war in Iraq does it four times faster with no chance to stimulate the economy. Al Qiada is celebrating and hoping we stay in Iraq.sincerely, Joseph Meyner