name: Yuram Abdullah Weiler
Comments and thoughts of an American Muslim on US Foreign policy in the Middle East and the so-called War on Terror,examining the contradictions from a perspective of justice, fairness and human rights.
An Open Letter to President Bush
17 January, 2007
President Bush, you have informed the American people that you intend to send more troops into Iraq, which will no doubt, increase violence and further aggravate the volatile situation there. It is clear to most rational beings that the US invasion of Iraq and subsequent dissolution of the former Iraqi army have caused the bloody civil war and security chaos that now exists there.
I have opposed the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and now, I must object to your decision to escalate this war. I am convinced that the only path to peace and stability in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, is through a regional peace conference which must include Iran and Syria, and the immediate and complete withdrawal of US forces.
Mr. President, you said that the United States had to invade Iraq because it posed an imminent threat resulting from Weapons of Mass Destruction that Saddam Hussein was intending to put in the hands of Al Qaeda. In order to gain public support for the invasion, you alleged that there were connections between the former Iraqi government and Al Qaeda. The following excerpts are from a speech that you gave in October 2002.
“The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi regime's own actions…
“It possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. It has given shelter and support to terrorism ...”
“We know that Iraq and al Qaeda have had high-level contacts that go back a decade.”
“Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists.” [1]After the US invasion, when all of these allegations turned out to be false, you asserted that America had invaded Iraq to liberate the Iraqi people from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. Here are some of your remarks from April 2003.
“America pledged to rid Iraq of an oppressive regime, and we kept our word.”
“America has no intention of imposing our form of government or our culture.”“Day by day, hour by hour, life in Iraq is getting better for the citizens.”[2]
You failed to mention that the United States, through former President Reagan and your former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, had played a crucial role in the support of Saddam Hussein in his vicious 8 year war with Iran.[3] Also absent from your comments is any reference to America’s role in the devastating sanctions that Iraqis had to cope with for 12 years prior to the invasion.[4]
President Bush, you said that America and its allies had prevailed and liberated Iraq. On 30 April 2003, you told the American people with much fanfare, that
“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”
“The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror.”
” The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide.”[5]
Mr. President, if America and her “allies” have already prevailed in the Battle of Iraq, why do you need to send in more troops? Indeed, why were troops not withdrawn after the end of “major combat operations” beginning in May of 2003?
Indeed the tide has turned, President Bush, and now 72% of Americans disapprove of your handling of the war in Iraq.[6] The Iraqis themselves, after almost 4 years of American occupation and the loss of over 650,000 of their fellow citizens, would also like to see the troops leave. A recent poll by Al Jazeera indicated that 66% of Iraqis believed that violence would decrease if US troops left the country.[7]
In your recent speech Mr. President, you have informed us that
“Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror…”
“The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits.”
“Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people.” [8]
If you, Mr. President, were so concerned about “Radical Islamic extremists,” then why did you order the overthrow the former secular regime in Iraq?
And why, Mr. President, do you keep mentioning Iran, which may have enriched a few micro grams of Uranium 235, but what has this to do with security in Iraq? Are we to believe that Iran would want to de-stabilize its neighbor? And why have you ordered the kidnapping of 5 Iranian diplomats from their embassy in Irbil?[9]
Mr. President, further on in your speech you say, referring to the war in Iraq,
“It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life.”[10]
I notice that democracy is not mentioned here. Another President, Lyndon B. Johnson, said about another war in another time,
“We are also there to strengthen world order. Around the globe, from Berlin to Thailand, are people whose well-being rests, in part, on the belief that they can count on us if they are attacked. To leave Viet-Nam to its fate would shake the confidence of all these people in the value of an American commitment and in the value of America's word. The result would be increased unrest and instability, and even wider war.”[11]
Mr. President, does the theme sound familiar? The same President, Lyndon B. Johnson, declared in his State of the Union address in 1969,
“Americans, I believe, are united in the hope that the Paris talks will bring an early peace to Vietnam. And if our hopes for an early settlement of the war are realized, then our military expenditures can be reduced and very substantial savings can be made to be used for other desirable purposes, as the Congress may determine.”[12]
How can we waste any more lives and resources, Mr. President? Military expenditures in Iraq must be reduced and the very substantial savings should be used for other more desirable purposes, such as health care and education. Funding for the war must be immediately stopped, and the troops brought home. Not next year; not next month; Now.
Yuram
2007-16-01
[1] Office of the Press Secretary, White House Press Release, October 7, 2002, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html (Accessed 16 Jan 2007)
[2] Remarks by the President on Operation Iraqi Freedom, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, 28 April 2003,http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[3] Agence France Presse, Reagan Played Decisive Role in Saddam Hussein's Survival in Iran-Iraq War, 9 June 2004, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0609-01.htm (Accessed 16 Jan 2007)
[4] Joy Gordon, Cool War - Economic sanctions as a weapon of mass destruction, Harper's Magazine, November 2002 http://www.harpers.org/CoolWar.html (Accessed 16 Jan 2007)
[5] Text Of Bush Speech, President Declares End To Major Combat In Iraq, 1 May 2003
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/01/iraq/main551946.shtml (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[6] PollingReport.com, USA Today/Gallup Poll. Jan. 5-7, 2007. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[7] IraqAnalysis.org, Poll by Al Jazeera, 14 December 2006, http://www.iraqanalysis.org/info/55 (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[8] Full Transcript Of Bush's Iraq Speech, CBS News, 10 January 2007, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/10/iraq/main2349882_page2.shtml (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[9] Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Iraqi Officials: 6 Iranian Workers Held, Guardian Unlimited, 11January 2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6338337,00.html , (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[10] Op. Cit. Bush’s Iraq Speech
[11] President Lyndon B. Johnson, Address at Johns Hopkins University:"Peace Without Conquest"
April 7, 1965, http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/650407.asp (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
[12] Lyndon B. Johnson, State of the Union Address, 14 January 1969 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29333 (Accessed 11 Jan 2007)
Comments
President Bush is just a talking head. A ventriloquist's dummy. Don't talk to the dummy.
Look for the people pulling his strings. They're the ones you really want to write a letter to.
x
xexon | 20/01/2007, 19:26
Thank you for your comments. Munaeem, I looked at your blog and I liked your informative articles. Your post "Why the US is not leaving Iraq" sums it up.
Beyond just the oil, the agenda for the backers of this administration, which includes weapons manufacturers (such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing), multinational oil companies (BP-Amoco), agricultural (Monsanto), banks and pharmaceutical companies, is total economic domination by US companies. It is the mirror image of socialism in the sense that, instead of the government owning the means of production, the means of production own the government by means of campaign financing, lobbying, etc.
exon, I liked your article "The Crucifiction Of Jimmy Carter." Have you seen Amazon.com's treatment of his book? No doubt you have looked at Mearsheimer and Walt's paper, "The Israel Lobby" http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011
I have yet to get anything published in the local newspaper. Do you have any suggestions of names and email addresses of "stringpullers"?
Yuram | 22/01/2007, 11:44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w77sLtz754
Captain Spaulding | 07/02/2007, 12:43
There are here for oil, and they will try their best to remain.
www.munaeem.org
munaeem | 18/01/2007, 13:31 [ Reply ]