Replies to post #24665 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Rick Faurot]

Trouble Brewing

Published on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 by the Baltimore Sun

by Robert C. Byrd

IN THIS STEAMY, stormy Washington summer, while the United States continues to focus its attention on the postwar turmoil in Iraq, I worry that other storms, capable of wreaking devastating damage to international stability, are brewing.

The forces in play are the escalating nuclear threat from North Korea, the possible emergence of Iran as a nuclear threat, the desperate and chaotic situation in Liberia, the near-forgotten war in Afghanistan, the violence-racked Middle East peace process and the unrelenting threat of international terrorism.

The president cannot afford merely to plot the course of the elements preparing to converge into a perfect storm. He must turn his attention to these far-flung countries and work with the international community to defuse the emerging crises. Half-hearted gestures will not suffice.

It is encouraging that North Korea -- surely the most serious threat to international stability on today's horizon -- will engage in multilateral negotiations over its nuclear program. But the presence of other countries at the table does not give the United States license to abdicate its leadership role at the talks.

Moreover, the president must understand that any nuclear policy agreement with North Korea is not something that can be sealed with a simple handshake. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has suggested that Congress could endorse some kind of written security assurances to North Korea without the process of ratifying a treaty. That's not good enough.

All of the ingredients that would be required for a comprehensive agreement with North Korea appear to meet the criteria traditionally used to determine whether an agreement rises to the level of a treaty requiring Senate approval.

Under the Constitution, the Senate has a unique role to play in helping to frame the contours and context of international agreements. Any nuclear pact with North Korea will be critical to the national security of the United States, and as such should be subject to the treaty "advice and consent" provision found in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

Beyond North Korea is the looming question of Iran's nuclear intentions. It is more than troubling that while the United States was focused on eliminating the apparently nonexistent nuclear threat from Iraq, both Iran and North Korea were secretly pursuing their own nuclear programs. I do not believe it is coincidental that North Korea and Iran accelerated their quests for nuclear weapons at precisely the moment that the president invoked his new doctrine of pre-emption to attack Iraq before that nation could develop nuclear capability.

The actions of North Korea and Iran expose the essential danger of the doctrine of pre-emption. Iraq could be attacked at will because it did not have nuclear capability -- despite administration hype to the contrary. The situation in North Korea called for restraint because that country did have (and continues to have) a nuclear weapons program. Iran was a question mark.

Predictably, both North Korea and Iran, seeing the writing on the wall, began to scramble to accelerate their efforts. In retrospect, the doctrine of pre-emption is beginning to look increasingly like a doctrine of provocation.

The situation in Liberia raises a different, but no less volatile, set of issues. The humanitarian crisis calls out for relief, but the danger of ensnaring U.S. troops in an intractable civil war is not to be underestimated -- particularly at a time when American forces are already stretched thin by open-ended commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the moment, the situation is still unstable in Liberia. The president is wise to exercise restraint before deploying large numbers of American military personnel into the country, but the United States cannot sit on the sidelines forever. The president needs to determine a course of action, in consultation with Congress and the United Nations, and he needs to explain his reasoning and his strategy to the American people.

Meanwhile, in this summer of great peril, the president is back at the ranch in Texas, meeting sporadically with his advisers and launching his re-election campaign. One wonders who's minding the White House.

A rare combination of volatile and dangerous international developments is gathering in the far corners of the world. In large part, it is a storm of this administration's own making, fueled by the fear, confusion and instability caused by the ill-advised and dangerous doctrine of pre-emption.

One may only hope that the president and his advisers can summon the skill, the wit and the leadership to engage and attempt to tame the elements of international turmoil before it is too late and we are swept into the vortexes of the brewing storms.


Robert C. Byrd is the senior Democratic senator from West Virginia. This article is based on remarks he delivered on the floor of the Senate on Aug. 1.

Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun

[Rick Faurot]

A Savage Lie
______________________________________
By John Cory

t r u t h o u t / Perspective

Friday 22 August 2003

This war is a lie, a savage and brutal lie, but a lie nonetheless. Each day of loss and devastation forces the liars to revise the words of their deceit. And each destructive day forces a supportive supine press corps to find new ways to avert their eyes from the truth.

Pre-emptive policy is an unholy alliance having its own ‘axis of evil’ – greed, arrogance, and deception.

Vacations are not to be interrupted for this dime-store president and his nickel-plated cadre of fundraisers. The image of a leader heading to the White House and working in the name of peace and international stability is not as important as the drive for campaign money and supporting the theft of democracy in California and Texas and elsewhere in America. And it is that attitude that explains what is going wrong in Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and throughout the Middle East.

The bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad was a message that is falling on deaf ears. The attack was not entirely about the UN but more to warn the world that if you ally with Bush Incorporated, they cannot keep you safe. It is dangerous company to keep.

It must be clear by now that the Bush administration had little if any real plans for dealing with post-war Iraq other than to seize the oil fields and begin pumping cash to pay for their folly. The thought of resistance and rebellion does not seem to have occurred to these brilliant strategists. The steady drip-drip-drip of dead American soldiers is simply valued as the cost of doing business. The bottom line can be splattered with blood, just not red ink.

Iraq is becoming the new Vietnam for American imperialism. US troops cannot guard the borders, search and destroy the resistance, shuffle through their deck of most-wanted cards, train militia and police, provide security for humanitarian organizations and keep the Bush priority of securing the oil industry infrastructure. Oh yes, and staying alive so they can return to their families. Even Karl Rove admits the military is stretched thin according to an interview with The News Herald on Aug 13th and reported by Associated Press titled: Karl Rove Says Florida Will Be 'ground Zero' in 2004 Election

Rove said the Bush administration understands the frustrations of military families who are anxious for the return of their loved ones in Iraq. But he said the protracted stays of many service members are a result of a military "stretched thin." "Our military, when it gets into Afghanistan and Iraq, is taxed," he said.

America’s crooked-puppet Chalabi says a statue will be built in Iraq to honor Sergio Vieira del Mello. Bush says the war must go on. Soldiers say, ‘what the hell is going on?’

The lazy media is making the bombing story into an accusation that the UN failed to take adequate security measures. No questions regarding the lies that started this ungodly and growing field of death.

In Saudi Arabia the government is cracking down on suspected terrorists and terrorism sympathizers. There have been near weekly shootouts between police and suspected terrorist cells here. The results appear to be working. Some intelligence sources say that as many as 3000 Saudi young men have fled the country – for Iraq where they can readily implement their aggressions with willing support and encouragement.

There is an old saw: The good die young. But this aphorism is usually voiced by older men in leather chairs, safe and distant from the ravages of war or more often, by weeping mothers clutching snapshots tinted in youthful promise of their now dead sons.

Pardon my French but, son-of-a-bitch! Will someone please wake up the real America?

Does it not bother anyone that this White House wants to cut the hazardous duty pay for the very troops they claim will win the war? Or that this gang of unctuous thieves, want to cut veterans medical benefits for soldiers who have faithfully served their country? You know how old soldiers are; they survive wars just so they can sponge off the government for the rest of their lives.

Doesn’t it bother anyone that for every dollar America spends on education it spends almost eight dollars on defense contracts and weaponry? Or that the lowest priority of this administration is any healthcare program that does not profit the drug companies and HMOs? You can be poor and you can be old as long as you have your health.

And someone please, please tell me what happened to the free press? Oh I know jokes abound about the American press corps being embedded on golden kneepads in the Oval Office. But let’s face facts; these guys are flat on their backs like a cheap convention hooker.

Hunter S. Thompson said “Big Dark Coming Soon.” He was wrong. Big dark is here.

It is about time that this dime-store president whose lies are cheaper by the dozen be held accountable. If not, ‘America home of the brave and land of the free’ becomes nothing but a savage lie.

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http://truthout.org/docs_03/082203B.shtml