The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] TransAfrica Forum News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Statement Regarding the US Attack on Iraq By Bill Fletcher, Jr., President of TransAfrica Forum Many of us have friends and family serving in the Persian Gulf. Some of those individuals are in direct combat. To them we offer our prayers, hoping for their safe return. Were it not for the recklessness of the Bush administration, and the arrogance of its new National Security Doctrine, we would not be in a situation of desperate hope for the safe return of our loved ones. The Bush administration has brazenly decided upon a course of action that breaks international law by adopting a perverse notion of preemptive war. The notion of a preemptive assault as applied by this administration in a situation where there has been no evidence of a threat to the United States or to Iraq’s neighbors is aggressive and dangerous. It places the United States on a collision course with most of the rest of the world. Instead of political analysis, the Bush administration is advancing fortune-telling, that is, predicting what a certain leader might do in the future if they obtain certai! n weapons. Using that ‘logic’ this planet could annihilate itself in a never-ending search for potential threats. It is critical to recognize that the African world faces grave threats as a result of this war. The Bush administration attempted to bully various countries—such as Angola, the Cameroon and Guinea—into supporting it in the United Nations (UN), and it is now being reported that the USA is taking a similar tack concerning upcoming UN discussions which might result in a condemnation of the US aggression. This attitude of contempt for the rest of the world can be understood from any reading of the National Security Doctrine. The aim of the Bush administration is to consolidate and dominate a global capitalist empire. Anyone opposing this march to barbarism is, in the words of today’s press, decapitated. It is critical that African Americans speak up against this gross and immoral war. Opposing the war privately does not support our troops. It certainly does not help the Iraqi civilians who have been suffering for 12 years, and will continue to suffer with this war. Opposing the war privately will not stop the Bush administration as it attempts to condemn opponents as unpatriotic. The dangerous agenda of the Bush administration will be stopped only through public outrage and activism. We, people of conscience, must step forward and insist that we will not be a party to aggression; we will not be a party to breaking international law. We want security but we realize that security does not come as a result of empire building and naked aggression. It results from building cooperation between the nations and peoples of this planet. It begins, indeed, with mutual respect, a concept that seems quite alien to the Bush administration. #30# _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk