- For about a year, we've been hearing how intensely George
W. Bush wants to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Mr. Bush has made all
sorts of accusations against Hussein, but offered no public evidence to
support his assertions.
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- Finally, this past Monday evening, we were to hear the
full case for going to war against Iraq.
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- Unfortunately, all we heard Monday were more assertions
ñ with no offer to make public any "evidence" the Bush
administration claims to have.
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- I don't expect George Bush to bore a room full of sycophants
with photos and forensic evidence. But this long-awaited speech could have
at least pointed to places where the administration's evidence is available
for inspection. Instead, it was simply the same old tired litany of horror
stories.
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- And until George Bush presents some hard evidence to
back up his lurid tales, no one should take him seriously. After all, the
man is a politician, for crying out loud! Are we just supposed to accept
his word for anything he tells us?
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- The president gave us the same old song and dance: "The
Iraqi regime has violated all [its] obligations. It possesses and produces
chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. It has
given shelter and support to terrorism, and practices terror against its
own people."
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- Evidence? No, just take his word for it. He spoke of
"surveillance photos," but didn't offer to show us any. He mentioned
"intelligence" discoveries, but provided no details or proof.
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- Terrorist boogie-man
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- Naturally, he invoked Sept. 11 ñ the always-handy
justification for anything he wants.
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- Worst of all, he trotted out the already discredited
charge of "Hussein's links to international terrorist groups."
Even the CIA has refuted that one.
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- Last month, presidential adviser Condoleezza Rice said,
"There clearly are contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq that can be
documented; there clearly is testimony that some of the contacts have been
important contacts and that there's a relationship here." But don't
hold your breath waiting to see any of this documentation ñ it's
available only to the true believers inside the administration.
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- In fact, Hussein is actually a secular nationalist and
socialist ñ and an enemy of the kind of religious fundamentalism
represented by al-Qaida. Whatever ogre Saddam Hussein might be, he has
nothing to do with the so-called War on Terrorism.
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- And to call Hussein's support for Palestine an excuse
for attacking innocent people in Iraq is to say that the U.S. should bomb
every Muslim country ñ including Pakistan, whose dictator has George
Bush's full support.
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- So Bush is forced to support the "terrorist"
excuse by saying, "We know that Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist network
share a common enemy ñ the United States of America." Yeah,
and so do a few billion other people around the world ñ people who
are sick and tired of watching American presidents bully other countries,
people who are scared to death of the terrible consequences George Bush's
reckless plans could unleash.
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- Who's the threat?
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- In truth, every one of the assertions made against Saddam
Hussein could easily be made against U.S. foreign policy. And, unlike George
Bush, you or I could easily come up with evidence to support such charges
against American presidents ñ who have invaded other countries without
provocation, undermined foreign governments, blocked the delivery of food
and medicines to people in need, and even gassed innocent civilians at
Waco in 1993.
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- If we're supposed to stop predators before they go too
far (advice we hear over and over), why not start with the predators in
Washington?
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- Those who know
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- During the Gulf War, RAF pilot John Nichol was shot down,
captured and tortured in an Iraqi prison. Two weeks ago, Newsweek published
an interview with him in which he pointed out that the Bush administration
is jumping around from one argument to another, trying to find a reason
for war that resonates. As he said, "Iraq is a war waiting for a pretext."
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- He called attention to the U.S. government's complicity
in Hussein's infamous "gassing of his own people," about which
the war-mongers never tire of reminding us. And there's much more in that
interview. I suggest you read it.
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- Perhaps his most important statement was:
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- I suppose what the Gulf War showed me ñ as it
was my first war ñ was the brutal reality of war. That doesn't mean
war isn't sometimes necessary, but when you see it at first hand, you view
with suspicion politicians who are so ready to wield the military stick.
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- Consequences
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- George Bush pointedly ignores the consequences of attacking
Iraq ñ trying instead to stampede you by saying, "Facing clear
evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof ñ the smoking
gun ñ that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." But
that "mushroom cloud" might come only if the U.S. attacks Iraq.
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- Even the CIA director has said that if Hussein really
has dangerous weapons, he has no reason to use them unless he's attacked
by the U.S.
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- If George Bush truly believed that Saddam Hussein could
harm the American people, he would be negotiating with him ñ just
as U.S. presidents negotiated with the Soviet leaders who were in a position
to destroy America with nuclear weapons. In the past 55 years, the American
military hasn't attacked a single country that had the capability of inflicting
any damage on America.
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- Fasten your seat belt and stiffen your self-respect
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- Bush says he'll leave Hussein alone if he complies with
all the U.S. demands. But Bush has said over and over "Saddam must
go" ñ and the White House is already drawing up a list of "war
criminals" for prosecution. You can't have war criminals until you've
had a war ñ the war that's currently searching for a pretext.
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- Some Democrats have spoken up against the madness that
will mean the death of hundreds (or even thousands) of Americans ñ
and the death of thousands (or even tens of thousands) of Iraqis. But one
by one, those Democrats are caving. After all, they're politicians, too.
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- You may not be able to stop this out-of-control freight
train. But at least you can preserve your self-respect by not supporting
the mass destruction that a megalomaniac in the White House is so determined
to impose.
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- Harry Browne is the director of public policy at the
American Liberty Foundation. You can read more of his articles and find
out about his network radio show at HarryBrowne.org.
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