Hey Laz : A lawyer ran this ad in newspapers across the nation, did you see it ? Its not quite as lengthy as that great work our congress pumps out,but 1700 words none-the-less.
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At the Crossroads: Showdown with Iraq
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America rightfully demanded that Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda henchmen be brought to justice. With Osama still in hiding, President Bush has skillfully redirected that demand into support for the imminent first-strike attack upon Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Many question this decision. Every American must now make a judgment on war with Iraq according to the dictates of our conscience.
In order to reach a reasoned judgment, I believe that we should first stop hurling insults. Accusing our leadership of trading blood for oil is just as wrong as insinuating that those who protest aren’t loyal patriots. I cast no such aspersions.
Nevertheless, America must face a hard reality. We are totally dependent upon oil for survival. Think of the myriad trucks, trains, ships, and planes it takes to feed this country on a daily basis. If all the oil in the world suddenly disappeared, most people in New York City wouldn’t make it out alive. Only a few with real know-how and the right supplies could survive the first winter.
We cannot tolerate any threat to our lifeline to oil. However, no amount of military power changes the fact that our supply is rapidly running out. If the entire world consumed energy at our rate, it wouldn’t last more than a few decades. It is virtually impossible for the rest of the world to join the ranks of industrialized nations.
Instead, we have a world where the top 12.5% consumes over 51% of all primary energy while nearly one billion people do not even have adequate food. (U.S. DOE and U.N. FAO) Many are denied basic human rights. The world is polarized into haves and have nots – the primary basis of nearly all conflict.
Oil belongs in a museum, hydrogen is here
We are at a crucial crossroads in history. We can choose to waste our resources in an ever more costly effort to secure our access to oil. On the other hand, we could use our money to launch a massive new program to develop alternative energy; freeing us from oil.
The good news is that alternative energy is within our grasp. Major auto manufacturers all have working hydrogen fuel cell models. As President Bush recently proclaimed, "Hydrogen fuel cells represent one of the most encouraging, innovative technologies of our era. And if you're interested in our environment and if you're interested in doing what's right for the American people, if you're tired of the same old endless struggles that seem to produce nothing but noise and high bills, let us promote hydrogen fuel cells as a way to advance into the 21st century." (Whitehouse website) It will, however, require a concerted national effort to build the necessary infrastructure to separate, contain and distribute hydrogen.
Unfortunately, the President’s proposed budget is woefully inadequate. If only he were leading us in a major effort in this direction, we could gather our best scientists and provide the means to develop an alternative energy program based on abundant, relatively cheap and environmentally safe sources of energy.
Otherwise, America will not escape the most basic law of economics. With the oil supply constantly dwindling and demand ever-increasing, our cost of living will inevitably rise. We will inescapably face escalating violence and the loss of many of our precious rights in exchange for maintaining our security.
We must also ask ourselves how an attack upon Iraq without U.N. backing will be viewed upon the world stage. If we alienate important allies and significantly intensify anti-Americanism in the world, are we more, or less likely to suffer future terrorist attacks?
We need to understand why they hate us
Many Americans don’t understand why so much of the world sees us as ignorant, arrogant and impatient. We Americans do need to ask ourselves why millions of people in the Muslim world cheer the murderous Osama bin Laden, while still others who condemn him will not support an attack upon Iraq.
One overriding fact pervading the last 500 years is Europeans got the guns first. So armed, they set about brutally subjugating the rest of the world. Virtually no place on earth was spared the extreme cruelties of European colonialization. Just as Native Americans felt toward the U.S. cavalry, much of the world sees the industrialized nations as exploiters rather than liberators.
Bishop Bartholomé de Las Casas, the subject of a Brumidi lunette above the door to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, recorded a poignant example. As the Spanish prepared to burn the rebel chief Hatüey at the stake, a priest pleaded for time to save the savage’s soul. Given 15 minutes by the Captain, the priest hurriedly told all he could about salvation in Christ. The chief inquired whether his captors would be going to heaven. The priest told the Indian that the true believers would make it. With that, the chief abruptly ended the conversation: "No thanks, Padre, I’d rather burn in Hell than spend eternity with Conquistadors!"
Our critical mistake in Vietnam was Truman’s decision to support the French attempt to re-establish their colony at the close of World War II. The Vietnamese hated the French. It was an incredibly ignorant blunder to step into France’s shoes. The Vietnam War should have taught us one great lesson. While unleashing our military gives us the power to occupy any given spot on earth, G.I.’s do not make effective goodwill ambassadors to win the friendship and loyalty of people in other nations.
People have been fighting for control of the Middle East from time immemorial. According to the Biblical account of the battle of Jericho, Joshua followed God’s orders to kill every Canaanite man, woman, and child save one harlot who had harbored Jewish spies. God even ordered the slaying of every ox, sheep and ass.
Israelites and Palestinians are locked in a war that has no apparent end. Our support of Israel causes many in the Muslim world to interpret our actions as not only based upon our greed for oil, but as an attack on Islam itself. The ugly fact is that the terrorist bin Laden is considered a hero by many in the Muslim world.
We must also never lose sight of the cost of war in terms of human lives and suffering. Having witnessed the ravages of war during the 1970 Cambodian invasion while serving as an advisor with the Vietnamese Rangers, my conscience dictates that I must always bear witness to war’s insanity. It is not some glorified video game to be viewed on TV.
I am convinced that those who have never experienced war cannot fully appreciate its horrors. Media portrayals of war impart only a vicarious perception. The terrifying reality is humans reduced to vicious animals desperately struggling to survive in the flashes of light, explosive blasts, screams of pain and the stench of death. Battle scarred veterans, along with widows and orphans bear lifelong witness that we remain savages despite our claims to civilization. Tragically, these sacrifices are often rendered meaningless by a never-ending cycle of violence.
“They’ve had wonderful ideas of all the things we should do as long as they weren’t the people being shot at.” -General Norman Swarzkopf-
I admit that I am angered when I hear some armchair warrior invoking God’s blessing - while beating the drums of war – knowing that others will do the fighting for him.
Finally, let us examine our leadership’s arguments for going to war. Secretary of State Powell made a highly effective presentation to the U.N. Security Council in an attempt to prove that Iraq is essentially playing a game of "hide and seek" with the weapons inspectors. President Bush says the game is over - even without U.N. support, we will disarm Saddam Hussein.
Despite my anti-war bias, I am not a complete pacifist. I am persuaded that Saddam is lying – that he is hiding banned weapons. Under no circumstances do I defend this monstrous dictator. I could even support a first strike on Iraq if convinced that Saddam is about to take offensive action and when all other means to stop him have been exhausted.
However, the administration has offered no proof that an attack by Iraq is imminent. President Bush basically conceded this in his State of the Union address when he dismissed such proof as a requirement under his policy.
The attempt to link Saddam to the Al Qaeda remains unconvincing. There is no proof that Saddam was involved in 9/11 or that he is providing weapons to Al Qaeda. Even bin Laden’s recent call for Muslim solidarity against U.S. aggression continued to express the deep ideological differences between their separate factions.
The U.N. weapons inspectors report that although Iraq’s cooperation needs improvement, genuine progress is being made. Hans Blix went so far as to expressly undercut some of the photographic evidence supplied by U.S. intelligence.
Many of our allies insist that the inspection process should continue. They question our lack of patience and do not see an imminent threat justifying war. We will surely want them on board to help defray the costs of a post-war occupation for many years to come. The administration has not articulated any comprehensive plan for rebuilding Iraq.
We also cannot ignore North Korea’s Kim, Jong-il who looms ever more menacingly on our horizon. Are we going to launch preemptive strikes on other countries?
A vacillating majority of Americans appear to support an attack on Iraq if done within a U.N. framework. At the same time, we have also begun to see millions of people here and abroad, marching in peace protests. Personally, I am not satisfied that all that can be done, has been done to avoid war.
War is not inevitable
I still harbor the hope that we may yet successfully avoid war. We reach an agreement with our allies to continue inspections for an agreed time in exchange for their solid commitment to support the military solution thereafter. The world closes ranks behind us. Saddam backs down and finally rids Iraq of the banned weapons. Victory without firing a shot. Hundreds of thousands of victims spared. Billions saved. The oil flows. We continue the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda henchmen. If we then seriously commit to alternative energy, it’s perfect. President Bush is applauded by all quarters in this country - including me.
Under the current circumstances, my conscience won’t allow me to support a preemptive attack upon Iraq. Rather, I believe that America will be much safer if we commit ourselves to building a healthier, more equitable world where all human beings have the freedom and opportunities we enjoy. I join in the protest.
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After attending the advisors course at the JFK Special Warfare Center, Charles Herrmann served as an advisor with the 5th Vietnamese Ranger Group in 1970. He left the army a Captain.
In 1992, he returned to Viet Nam as a Special Advisor on Vietnamese Affairs to the Governor during America’s first official trade mission since the end of the war.
Following the 1990 Mayan indigenous revolt in Chiapas, Mexico he served as an official observer of the peace talks between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas. He later flew into the Lacondona Jungle to serve as an international monitor for the Mexican national elections.
Herrmann gained an international reputation for his part in the lawsuit following the controversial shoot down of Korean Air Lines flight “007” by the Soviet Union over Sakhalin Island in 1983. After secret and lengthy negotiations in Korea, he was able to secure the testimony of another Korean Air Lines 747 pilot - that literally cracked the case. His role was portrayed in the HBO movie Tailspin, and is a subject of the newly published book, Death of Flight 007 by Richard Sypher.
The Herrmann Law Firm successfully recovered 82 million dollars for the victims of the crash of another Korean Air Lines’ flight near the Guam airport in 1997. The firm currently represents the families of 142 victims of last year’s midair disintegration of a China Airlines Boeing 747 over the Strait of Taiwan and the Air China crash at Busan, Korea.
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komotv.com
'This Is Now Going To Be A Dialogue And A Debate'
February 28, 2003
By John Sharify
SEATTLE - You can't miss it -- the anti-war advertisements on Seattle buses, and paid for by the Greater Seattle Church Council.
There's more. A Web site and a number to call.
John Carlson won't be calling. The KVI-570 AM radio host says he's tired of hearing only the other side.
"The demonstrators, Jim McDermott going to Baghdad, Senator Murray's comments about Osama Bin Laden," says Carlson.
And to counter what Carlson says are all the pro peace commercials featuring Hollywood stars, John Carlson and KVI Radio raised $130,000 from listeners for an "Anti Saddam" TV ad campaign which began Friday. (See links below to view the ad.)
"I believe John Carlson has every much a right to express his view as much as I do," says Vietnam veteran Charles Herrmann.
Herrmann has put up $30,000 of his own money to put an 'anti-war' ad in local newspapers.
"I feel that's what my moral obligation to the victims of all wars is, but especially because of the experience I had in Vietnam," says Herrmann.
Herrmann, who is also a Seattle attorney, believes war should be a last resort and that the U.S. doesn't have enough international support yet.
Both Herrmann and Carlson agree that the media play a vital role in shaping public opinion. So now as the countdown to a possible war begins, the fierce battle to capture the hearts and minds of Americans intensifies.
"This is now going to be a dialogue and a debate. Not a monologue," says Carlson.
"The great debate is healthy for our society," says Herrmann.
A debate that will get more heated if and when we go to war.
Download The KVI Advertisement:
You can download the 4.7 mb Quicktime Movie file at this link.
Or, if you have broadband Internet access, you can get the streamed version at this link
From The Other Side
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