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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (42403)	4/12/2004 3:45:11 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 89467

The Byrd Man of WVa... Follow the Exit Signs By Robert Byrd Friday, April 9, 2004; Page A19 Pictures from Iraq have been the stuff of nightmares. Daily we get new reminders of the cost of U.S. occupation of that country. More than 600 American troops have been killed there, and thousands more hurt. There is no safety in Iraq. The United States has invested $121 billion so far in the war and reconstruction of Iraq, but chaos reigns in the streets. Just 2,324 of the more than 78,000 Iraqi police on the beat are "fully qualified." Nearly 60,000 of those same police officers have had no formal training. The new Iraqi army has trained only 8 percent of the troops the administration has promised to field by this August. Continued reliance on U.S. troops and contractors means continuing violence and more hatred of the occupiers. Given the violence, a peaceful June 30 handoff of power from U.S. forces to the Iraqi people seems increasingly unlikely. In fact, that transfer remains one of the largest unanswered questions in this continued occupation: When do we return power to the Iraqi people -- and to whom will we return it? Whatever the answer, the White House has stunted progress in Iraq. America deposed a tyrant who relied on intimidation and control, who listened only to those who agreed with him. Today America is increasingly seen by the Iraqi people in the same light, relying on intimidation and control from our military and dismissing those who see events from a different perspective. Closing newspapers, even repugnant and violent ones, seems to put the lie to our claims of loving freedom. Perhaps Iraq is not yet ready for self-rule, but its people are certainly not learning the joys of democracy from the American occupation. The United States should get out of the business of running Iraq. Additional military force from the United States, which is now widely viewed as an international bully by those in the region, will not ease the transition to a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. A new approach is urgently needed. We should work with the community of nations. It is time to turn full authority over to the United Nations. As candidate George W. Bush said in 2000, our troops are not nation-builders. The face of the occupation should not be that of American tanks and armored vehicles. We should rely on the impartial service of a respected international body to quell the unrest that now consumes our soldiers and the people of Iraq. Clearly, the White House has lost control in Iraq. The situation worsens daily. It's time for Congress to reassert itself in foreign policy and find ways to prevent such perilous ventures in the future. The dangerous doctrine of preemptive war, which the president unveiled in September 2002, has failed. The president claims the power to send our country to war, whether or not we face an imminent threat. A foreign policy based upon striking first and asking questions later shreds the constitutional requirement that Congress, not the president, has the last word on questions of war and peace. Yet, in October 2002 Congress passed a blind and improvident authorization for war, buying into the preemptive war doctrine. This giveaway of the constitutional power to declare war should be reversed. Nearly 40 years ago I voted for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution -- the resolution that led to the war in Vietnam, the deaths of 58,000 Americans, massive protests and a deeply divided country. After all that carnage, we learned that we had based our votes on administration claims that simply were not true. But it was too late. The vote had been taken; the battles had been fought; the lives had been lost. It's clear that the war in Iraq should never have been fought. The administration's claims on which we went to war simply are not true. In seeking to stop Saddam Hussein, we have created a vortex of violence. In rushing to act without the strong support of the community of nations, America is isolated, and our few allies are targets. Instead of trying to reconstruct Iraq, we must reconstruct our strategy. It is not the time to vastly expand the American presence in Iraq; it is time to reduce it. Forty years ago, the United States inundated the Vietnam jungles with American soldiers. What we received in return was 58,000 caskets. The Bush administration must step back from its unilateral approach in Iraq and end the disastrous mistake of this highly visible, made-in-America occupation before it is too late. The writer is a Democratic senator from West Virginia and a member of the Armed Services Committee. washingtonpost.com

To: lurqer who wrote (42403)	4/12/2004 4:03:11 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

While most Americans were focused on Iraq and the 9-11 commission, events in the rest of the world didn't stop. In Hong Kong protest marked Beijing's "claification" of the agreement made on the return of HK. In another time, a visit by a US Vice President might be seen as a force towards more democracy. With Cheney ... Hong Kong press split on protest Newspapers in Hong Kong have expressed divergent views of Sunday's huge protest march in the territory. The protest was in reaction to Beijing's announcement last week that it would have the ultimate say on the process by which Hong Kong elects its leader and legislature Pro-Beijing outlets and those that traditionally take a more independent line disagree even about the turnout. In its report on the demonstration, the Hong Kong edition of Beijing's China Daily cites the police estimate that 9,000 took part - and suggests that even this might be an overstatement: "Another source close to the organiser said no more than 7,000 citizens joined the procession," it says. By contrast, the tabloid-style Apple Daily stresses the organisers' figure of 20,000 protesters. "Larger turnout than expected shows demand for democracy and strong opposition to interpretation of Basic Law - 20,000 take to the streets", declares its front-page headline. 'Frustration' The headline in the South China Morning Post similarly states: "Frustration over dashed hopes for democracy comes to a head". The paper avoids committing itself to an exact turnout figure, but its report highlights the demonstrators' mood. "Thousands of protesters took to the streets in a strong show of opposition to the Basic Law interpretation which critics fear will delay Hong Kong's progress to full democracy," it says. "Tempers flared as police tried to stop people from walking off a footpath 50 metres from the central government's liaison office." Editorial comment on the protest is similarly divided. 'Protest fatigue' Still focusing on the turnout, the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po believes it was "far lower than the organisers had declared in advance". "This shows that more and more residents are tired of and have abandoned the dispute and wish for rationality and harmony in society," it declares. "We must be especially vigilant against a tiny minority of people who are stirring up trouble to achieve their political objectives," it warns. The Apple Daily editorial, however, calls on both Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and Beijing to heed the protest. 'No barriers' "The Hong Kong people's demands for democracy expressed through these large rallies are extremely clear and strong," it believes. Both the local and central authorities "should earnestly and respectfully listen to such demands and take measures to let the Hong Kong people practise comprehensive democracy as soon as possible, and not set up barriers to comprehensive general elections", it concludes. The broadsheet Ming Pao takes a similar view. It foresees more petitions and rallies in the next few months and advises Mr Tung and the local police on how to deal with them. "When they are facing streams of demonstrators and different opinions, they should let them through rather than block their way, so as to avoid unnecessary friction and conflict," it says. news.bbc.co.uk lurqer