23 September 2002
Grenoble, France
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Below is another article forwarded to the Center for the Advanced Study
of
American Institutions and Social Movements, from our research associate,
Professor Edward Herman (U. of Pennsylvania).
For a variety of reasons, the Cheney/Bush pro-war policy in the Middle
East
is being challenged in the United States. This particular challenge
comes
from inside the Republican Party, itself, from Texas Republican Dr.
Ron Paul.
It is assumed by many that existing media censorship will not permit
this
article to be published and circulated widely in American newspapers.
Sincerely,
Francis Feeley
Director of Research
=================================================
From: "Ed Herman" <hermane@wharton.upenn.edu>
Subject: Fw: Questions On Iraq From A GOP Congressman
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 15:53:14 -0400
Francis,
Can the media evade this bombshell coming from a Texas congressman?
Don't
underestimate their propaganda service capabilities!
Ed Herman
_____________________________________
Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 1:46 AM
Subject: Questions On Iraq From A GOP Congressman
Is It Not True? Questions On Iraq From A GOP Congressman
(Ron Paul is an M.D. and a Republican Member of Congress from Texas)
Editor's Note: Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul read the following to
the
House of Representatives, September 10, 2002.
"Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. 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
know it cannot retaliate -- which just confirms that there is no real
threat?
3. Is it not true that there are those who argue that even with
inspections we cannot be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons,
and at
the same time imply that we can be more sure that weapons exist in
the
absenc! e of inspections?
4. Is it not true that the U.N.'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
Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took
place?
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 m! ajority 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 U.N. 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 United States? 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 one-fifth the size of 12 years ago, which
even
th! en 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 United Nations for
permission to go to war?
15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands
of
Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive
evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city
involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more
likely
controlled by Iran not Iraq?
16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 U.S. soldiers
have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War,
and
that thousands may have died?
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
States?
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 U.N. resolutions are given as reason
to
initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of U.N. resolutions
have been ignored by various countries without penalty?
20. Did former President Bush not cite the U.N. 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
United Nations?
22. If we claim membership in the intern! ational 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
United States. knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials
to
Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992 -- including after
the
alleged Iraqi gas attack on a Kurdish village?
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 U.S.
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? "