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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (5355)	2/4/2003 9:44:11 PM
From: Just_Observing	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Perle regularly vacations at his second home in Provence All about Perle from Gulufuture.com "It was only a matter of time before we could expect the events of last week.." Richard Perle, September 2001 chronicle.com Richard Perle had one big reason to let the Sep11th attack happen: A war against Iraq. The war against the Taliban was only a warmup to achieve this goal as it now seems to be. There has been no single day, when he didn't promote this anti-Iraq plan since Sept 11th, and he also used every possibility to promote his ideas long time before Sept 11th. Perle is currently Head of the Defense Policy Board, Department of Defense which advises the Pentagon. He was also promoting the famous axis of evil long time before Bush did: On August 6th, 2001 Perle said: "...We're concerned about Saddam Hussein, we're concerned about the North Koreans, about some future Iranian government that may have the weapon they're now trying so hard to acquire - we're in a unique position as the sole super power.." abc.net.au Richard Perle’s career started when at the age of 25, when he worked for Sen. Henry (Scoop) Jackson under Richard Nixon. Later he worked for the Israeli weapons firm Soltam. Perle is often manipulating the media and was one of the first, who supported the October Anthrax-Iraq theory. He learned his main skills as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. Richard Perle then became a represantative of the so called NeoCons. "...’Neoconservatives’ are mostly former leftists/liberals who converted to conservatism during the '70's and when Ronald Reagan became President. In domestic policy they tend to be moderate ‘welfare’ Republicans. However, their major concern is foreign policy. They strongly favor US military interventions overseas and becoming the world’s policeman. They promoted the first Iraq War and are constantly the instigators for more confrontation with Iraq, Iran, the Sudan, and other Moslem states. They were among the chief instigators of the Kosovo War. In Washington ‘neocon’ views dominate the major networks' Sunday talk shows.” iconservative.com They are specifically represented by Richard Perle, Bill Kristol & Richard Brooks (WEEKLY STANDARD), Paul Wolfowitz, Fred Barnes, Morton Kondracke, Charles Krauthammer, Frank Gaffney (former aid to Richard Perle and WASHINGTON TIMES columnist), Robert Kagan (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), columnist Cal Thomas, a dispensationalist, and many others. Neoconservatives are the dominant force over establishment Republicans in Congress. Their main base among think tanks is the AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE ( a policy paper in January, 2001, urged American attacks on Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Gaza. Others are the HERITAGE FOUNDATION , ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY CENTER, and BROOKINGS INSTITUTION..." Perle has always had complex interests. Perle is known as the "Prince of Darkness", a "master of disinformation who helped win the Cold War". In 1985 Perle and Paul Wolfowitz had been suspected of supporting the Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard selling documents to Russia. In 1995 Mr. Perle teamed with current undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith (former attorney with the Washington firm of Feith and Zell) to represent the Bosnian government. According to Richard Holbrooke, the principal U.S. negotiator at the 1995 Dayton peace talks, Mr. Perle and Mr. Feith worked for and advised the Bosnians during the talks. Perle is also Director of Hollinger Inc, a subsidiary of which Hollinger Digital also owns Onset Technology which cooperates with spy messenger software of Comverse and Odigo. Hollinger Inc. owns more than 400 newspapers worldwide and controls almost 50% of the Canadian press. They are the third largest newspaper chain in the Western world, after Gannett and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Chairman and CEO of Hollinger is Conrad Black who controls about 78% of Hollinger through a private holding company. Hollinger also owns the Sydney Morning Herald, the Chicago Sun Times and the Daily Telegraph. On the board of Daily Telegraph is Henry Kissinger, ex-CIA-Director James Woolsey, Newt Gingrich, former Admiral David Jeremiah, Dan Quayle, former US-ministers James Schlesinger and Harold Brown. On 26th of October Daily Telegraph tried to promote the Iraq-October-anthrax theory: telegraph.co.uk Hollinger and their board members, including Henry Kissinger, have connections to Sunday Times, Chase Manhattan Bank, AT&T, American Express, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Hasbro and Israeli Yellow Pages. Hollinger also owns the Jerusalem Post. It's very convenient to follow Richard Perle’s strategy, supported by his friends James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Armitage. Already on September 20th, four days after the attack Perle tried to blame the attack on Iraq. In a meeting with the Wolfowitz Cabal they discussed a strategy and finally sent a letter to Bush with 41 signatures to continue their strategy. 24.104.35.12 One of the supporters of this letter was Charles Krauthammer, who once did psychiatric research for the Carter Administration. He was also a speech writer to Vice President Walter Mondale 1980. Krauthammer once said: "...The end of the Cold War has brought about a new world order. The United States is the predominant power.." (7/5/01) pbs.org Already in 1998 a similar letter was addressed to President Clinton. Paul Wolfowitz was one of the signatories. The current secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, also signed the letter Perle’s biggest aim was always to get Saddam Hussein. "The only way to eliminate Saddam Hussein's governance is by organizing a coup d'etat against him..." fas.org (October 1998) "There can be no victory in the war against terrorism if, at the end of it, Saddam Hussein is still in power." pbs.org (November 2001) About ABM Treaty: "...ABM treaty. No - it's a relic of the cold war..." Cynically, Perle said after the Sep11th attack: "..I don't want to sound callous, because I was among those who thought we weren't doing enough and that it was only a matter of time before we could expect the events of last week.." chronicle.com It is very naive to think, that President Bush wants this war. In reality people behind him use him as a puppet and plot against people, who are not radical enough to follow their own strategy. Colin Powell might be one of them. How much influence did Perle really have before the attacks? Was he one of the few, who forced the Sep11th attack to let it happen? gulufuture.com

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (5355)	2/5/2003 2:16:07 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 25898

I heard retired Colonel David Hackworth* speak out against the war on CNBC's Hardball this evening... He feels that going to war in Iraq right now 'could become the greatest mistake this country has ever made.'...He does not see Iraq as A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO U.S. security at this point and time. Hack also said thousands of Gulf War I veterans are still sick or have died (that HAS NOT been explained and it could be much worse this time)....He also emphasized that some wars should never be fought and they don't make the country any 'safer' -- VietNam was a classic example and Hack feels this potential Iraq war could be in the same category. ____________________________________________________ *Colonel David H. Hackworth joined the Merchant Marines when he was 14 and the U.S. Army when he was 15. He was battlefield commissioned in Korea and became the youngest Captain and later the youngest Colonel in the Army. Colonel Hackworth was awarded 10 Silver Stars, 7 Bronze Stars for Valour, 8 Purple Hearts, 35 Air Medals and if I counted them correctly 48 additional personal and unit awards. He is the most decorated American hero alive today. _____________________________________________________ What the Hawks Aren’t Telling You By Clint Lacy jamesnall.com Numerous talk radio hosts and TV. News commentators are pushing for war in Iraq. Their attitude is "damn the consequences" and "to hell" with those of opposing views. I listened very intently recently as retired Col. David Hackworth appeared on a popular conservative radio talk show and warned the host that a land invasion of Iraq was a bad idea. It was at that point the host started to chastise Colonel Hackworth and gloated that we would topple Saddam in no time. Hackworth emphasized that he was not disputing the fact that it would be no problem defeating Iraq but was trying to warn of the consequences of such an invasion. For those readers who are supportive of a land invasion I would like to share some information I recently retrieved from the National Gulf War Resource Center. In Berea KY. Dr. James Stutts sits at home suffering from "limb spasms and seizures that made him fall down stairs" Other symptoms include, memory loss, especially peoples faces and names. Symptoms very similar to Lou Gehrig's disease and symptoms of early Alzheimer’s The illness that Doctor Stutts suffers from is why he currently doesn’t practice medicine, citing that it was " no longer safe" Dr. James Stutts was not always a civilian Doctor. He is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He often commanded medical staffs on military bases. Sometimes his work took him into combat zones to treat the wounded. It was during the Persian Gulf War that Dr. James Stutts believes he contracted Gulf War Syndrome. Dr. Stutts was an early skeptic of Gulf War Syndrome, that is until 1996 when the symptoms of the disease became so severe he could no longer ignore the possibility that he had contracted the disease. The Pentagon has admitted that in animal studies, low levels of the chemical sarin can cause brain damage and behavioral problems. Other researchers have found similarities in symptoms between victims of the 1995 Tokyo sarin subway attack and those who suffer from Gulf War Syndrome. Still government officials contend that "the long-term health problems from these levels of nerve agent are unlikely". They also dispute the similarities between Gulf War Syndrome and the victims of the 1995 Tokyo sarin attack. Francis L. O'Donnell, a Defense Department consultant calls the Tokyo research "fuzzy" stating that some of the victims were alcoholics and admitting that he doesn’t know if that factor is important or not. Meanwhile the administration "hawks" and political pundits keep reiterating their calls for war and the topple of Saddam. It’s easy for pundits and talk show hosts to "root for war", because they’re not going. Colonel Hackworth estimates that 160, 000 veterans are suffering from Gulf War Syndrome and an estimated 10,000 veterans have died from it. An estimated 130,000 troops were exposed to low levels of sarin when army engineers blew up an Iraqi weapons depot not knowing that it contained stockpiles of sarin. In Colonel Hackworth’s latest column he reports that, "A recent U.S. General Accounting Office report states "serious problems still persist" regarding the protective masks, suits and detection gear. And a December 2002 Army report states that more than half of its protective masks and nearly all of its chemical-weapons alarms are either "completely broken or not fully operational." Evidence is now building that Gulf War 1 was not such a clean-cut victory and in the long run Saddam did inflict heavy casualties upon our ground forces. With no substantial improvements made to the military’s chemical weapons gear and masks, and the hawks insistence for a land invasion, it is likely that Gulf War 2 will produce the same results as the first Gulf War. A quick decisive strategic victory, but heavy casualties over an extended period of time. But as I have said previously in this article, the hawks and pundits still hold the attitude of "damn the consequences" Information for this article was obtained from Col. David Hackworth’s latest article entitled " Who Cares", also from Richard Leiby of the Washington Post and from the National Gulf War Research Center. It's hard to not admire a man of this caliber.

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (5355)	2/5/2003 4:43:38 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 25898

War Is Not Inevitable Phil Berrigan's Dream by FAREED MARJAEE CounterPunch February 4, 2003 counterpunch.org "Violence is, was, and always will be bankrupt, anti-human, criminal--always." Philip Berrigan, 1923--2002 With support for war waning down internationally and domestically, war does not seem so inevitable, despite troop assemblies. The European countries which insist the UN inspection process take hold, such as France and Germany, seem to reflect the public opinion of their respected societies. Countries such as Italy and the United Kingdom that stand behind the Bush Administration's preemptive/unilateral approach don't seem to mirror the consensus of their citizens. Last Wednesday, the bishops of the Church of England expressed their strongest criticism yet of Blair's policy on Iraq. On this issue, Blair does not seem to have the full support of everyone even in his own party. That leaves Poland and Saint Lucia. Turkey, Iran and other governments in the region have not uttered any support for this war, although they have expressed support for the UN objective to disarm Saddam. Where as they see Saddam as a destabilizing element in the region, war at their borders seem to be more of a de-stabilizer. The new Turkish government /parliament has a difficult task to balance a 4 billion dollars loan incentive against a population constituency that has just voted them into office. The Non-proliferation Project at the "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace" has just released a 42-page report titled "Iraq: what is next?" assessing the weapons inspection regime. On the strategy of Iraq disarmament, the document is critical of Bush's approach to the Iraq situation. Presentation of this document and its recommendations on disarmament de-legitimizes the Administration's needed support for war preparation. Senior Senators Lugar and Biden of the Foreign Relations Committee, have expressed their doubts on this question, and while committed to disarming Iraq--if, in fact, there are any WMD -- are not convinced and to date have not fully endorsed President Bush's war plans. On a recent Public Broadcasting Television interview, Senator Biden was asked if the Administration had any evidence of WMD and if so, had it been presented him? He smiled, looked at Senator Lugar and said ! "I hope so." Retired General Wesley K. Clark, a former NATO commander, has joined other top military professional men such as Gen. Brent Scowcroft (National Security Advisor to Pres. Bush senior), General Norman Schwarzkopf, (the Desert Storm commander), Anthony Zinni (former commander of the armed forces in the Persian Gulf) and John Shalikashvili (former chief of staff) in expressing his opposition and doubts about the war. Uneasiness about the war is not limited to the retirees (officers who are free to speak); journalists maintain that there is a schism between the professional military and the Pentagon civilian leadership--the political appointees. Many of the present senior generals, were field lieutenants during the Vietnam War, and are very wary of a military campaign that does not have full support back home. In an interview with National Public Radio, Ken Adelman, a member of the Defense Policy Board, explicitly acknowledge this rift. His response to that was, that is why we have civilian leadership of the military. Analysts have observed that the recent Bush Administration's opposition to the International Criminal Court [ICC] would tend to protect any future American unilateral campaign and pre-emptive military operations. There are voices that advance a human rights perspective and caution the world and American public opinion against a military invasion and long-term military occupation. A noticeable segment of the public does not seem to be embracing the nexus of the WTC tragedy, and the invasion of Iraq. More significantly, this uneasiness is also about the loss of innocent lives. Best-selling spy novelist John Le Carre is one of the many voices concerned about the possibility of war. In an opinion piece for the Times of London (January 16, 2003), he adamantly opposes the war on Iraq and believes that potentially it is more disastrous than the Vietnam War. On Thursday January 30th, an article, in The New York Times featured two cadets who have not been deployed yet, but had participated in an anti-war protest. If war is not perceived as inevitable, then, is there a place for resignation? In loving memory of Father Philip Berrigan, anti-war activist for over 35 years. Fareed Marjaee can be reached at: Meezan_2@yahoo.ca.