SECTION SIXTEEN
EMAIL PAGE ONE
sm
COLUMN
SEVENTY-EIGHT, NOVEMBER 1, 2002
(Copyright © 2002 The Blacklisted Journalist)
QUESTIONS DUMB DUMBYA WON'T ANSWER
Subject:
Questions about waging war with Iraq
Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2002 10:56:46 EDT
From: BretthA@aol.com
To: info@blacklistedjournalist.com
Dear
Friends---I normally refrain from sending bulk mailings, but I think this one
deserves your attention.
Peace,
Brett
---
Statement
by Dr. Ron Paul, a Republican member of Congress from
"Soon
we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned there are
some questions that won't be asked---and maybe will not even be allowed to be
asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by those who are urging us
to start this war:
"1.
Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the height of
the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?
'2.
Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we
"3.
Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we cannot be sure
that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that we can be more
sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?
"4.
Is it not true that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency was able to
complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with Iraqi
cooperation?
"5.
Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to develop a case
tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the attacks on the United
States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from
Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?
"6.
Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when he
recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq's links to terrorism?
"7.
Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a
"8.
Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed al-Qaeda
were hiding out, is in the control of our "allies," the Kurds?
"9.
Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped appear to
have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called allies?
"10.
Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total chaos, with
bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and that according to a
recent UN report the al-Qaeda "is, by all accounts, alive and well and
poised to strike again, how, when, and where it chooses."
"11.
Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away from
tracking down those who did attack the United States---and who may again attack
the United States---and using them to invade countries that have not attacked
the United States?
"12.
Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world's worst suspicions about
the USA?" and isn't this what bin Laden wanted?
"13.
How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air force, and now
has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then proved totally
inept at defending the country?
"14.
Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is exclusively that
of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the Constitution, allow Congress
to concur only when pressured by public opinion? Are presidents permitted to
rely on the UN for permission to go to war?
"15.
Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of
"16.
Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers have
suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and that
thousands may have died?
Thousands of American casualties in a war against a country that can't attack us?
"17.
Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war against a
country that does not have the capacity to attack the United
"18.
Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war against
Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky
American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation of Iraq that some
have deemed necessary to "build democracy" there?
"19.
Iraq's alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to initiate an
attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions have been ignored by
various countries without penalty?
"20.
Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the reason he
could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack assert that it is
the very reason we can march into Baghdad?
"21.
Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were set up by
Britain and the United States without specific approval from the
"22.
If we claim membership in the international community and conform to its rules
only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our position,
directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?
"23.
How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable when we
prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military tyrants like
Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically elected president?
"24.
Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S. knowingly
supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the
"25.
Did we not assist Saddam Hussein's rise to power by supporting and encouraging
his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for his invasion of
Iran, which at the time we actively supported?
"26.
Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of aggression, and
has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?
"27.
Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is not the
real reason we plan to take over Iraq?
"28.
Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that they won't
have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war than our
generals?
"29.
What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not initiated
aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?
"30.
Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any reason other
than self-defense?
"31.
Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the
time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries should
never go into another for the purpose of regime change?
"32.
Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely
disagreements will be settled by war?
"33.
Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war and---not
coincidentally---we have not since then had a clear-cut victory?
"34.
Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence services, was
an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?
"35.
Why don't those who want war bring a formal declaration of war resolution to the
floor of Congress??
##
*
* *
CLICK HERE TO GET TO INDEX OF COLUMN SEVENTY-EIGHT
CLICK HERE TO GET TO INDEX
OF COLUMNS
The
Blacklisted Journalist can be contacted at P.O.Box 964, Elizabeth, NJ 07208-0964
The Blacklisted Journalist's E-Mail Address:
info@blacklistedjournalist.com
THE BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST IS A SERVICE MARK OF AL ARONOWITZ