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March
19, 2003
Dear
Mr. Bush,
As I
am writing this, the first bombing runs have begun over Iraq. Within
hours, no doubt, the full-scale invasion will begin, and it is only
a matter of time before Baghdad falls to the Americans. Congratulations,
sir, you finally have your war.
But never
forget that this victory will have come at a heavy cost. The many
claims for justifying this war have been debunked, disproven, and
exposed as outright lies. This has nothing whatsoever to do with
September 11. Saddam had no part in the terrorist attacks on our
soil; none of the 19 hijackers came from Iraq. There has never been
any connection, because there simply isn't any.
You and
your administration know this, but you continue to feed the fear
and anxiety of the American people, scaring them with visions of
Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction. Scare them with visions
of a terrorist apocalypse, scare them with color bars, scare them
with duct tape; as long as people are too frightened to ask any
difficult questions, like "what has Iraq done to us?"
and "what happened to my 401k?"
The simple
truth is that Iraq poses a threat to no one, especially the United
States. Our sovereignty and safety are not being threatened, and
never have been threatened. There are no nuclear weapons, there
are no "unmanned drones," and there is likely no "weapons
of mass destruction." Iraq is not about to sweep across the
Middle East like Hitler.
Perhaps
the problem is that you are simply uninformed. It is well known
that you don't like to read daily briefings, preferring to have
aides read them to you. You haven't read many books, or traveled
widely, or shown any interest in the nuances of world affairs. It
makes sense to you that Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein would
conspire together; after all, they are both bad men who hate America.
Isn't that enough?
Obviously,
in the court of world opinion, it is not. Again, congratulations
are in order. After 9/11, you had the overwhelming sympathy of the
whole world. In only 18 months, that support has not only disintegrated,
it has drained away any previous support of the United States. America
is now seen as an imperialist empire, and you are now seen as a
greater threat to the world than Saddam! How do you do it? That
is a remarkable accomplishment.
Perhaps
you should have a talk with your father. Ask him this question:
why did the United States prop up and support Saddam's regime during
the 1980s? This is during the time that he used chemical weapons
against the Iranians, and later the Kurds. When these atrocities
were revealed, the Reagan administration rewarded Saddam; rewarded
with weapons, aid, and political support. Why did they do that?
Because Iraq was a secular regime, a balance against the Islamic
Fundamentalist regime in Iran, and terrorists like, oh, Osama bin
Laden.
Maybe
you just need some better advisors. You're obviously being given
poor facts if you think Iraq is an immediate threat to world peace.
The Iraqi army is only one-third the size is was at the time of
the Gulf War. The majority of Iraqi citizens are children; 70% are
under the age of 15. The crippling economic sanctions have resulted
in the deaths of 500,000 children under the age of five, and US
and British planes have been regularly bombing targets in the No-Fly
Zone every week since 1991. Tell me, does this sound like an imminent
threat to you?
Are you
aware that much of your administration's rhetoric is nothing new?
An invasion of Iraq has been the dream of Neocons for years. Back
in 1992, Paul Wolfowitz presented his version of a post-Cold War
world, a world dominated by the United States, to your father's
administration. It was quickly rejected, but it did not stop them.
Ever heard of the Project for a New American Century? You should,
since its members include Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz,
Donald Rumsfeld, Gary Bauer, Dan Quayle (!), Elliott Abrams, William
Kristol, and William J. Bennett, among others. Their manifestos
since 1997 call for the emergence of a "global Pax Americana"
that exerts its dominance over the world. Taking Iraq is essential
to American military control over the region.
Of course,
this ideology of unilateral, preemptive war has been enshrined as
official US policy. The hawk's distaste for global treaties and
the UN is obvious; America should be free to literally do whatever
the hell it wants, and if anyone objects, well, tough. Of course,
I'm sure you know all about this, don't you?
It doesn't
matter now; the Hawks are getting their empire at the cost of the
EU, NATO, and the UN. But who needs them? Pat Robertson thinks the
UN is just a cover for the Anti-Christ, anyway.
But maybe
I'm getting a little paranoid. I mean, just because the very people
who run our government have dreamed of empire for years, and wrote
numerous papers through various think-tanks, that don't mean they
would actually carry it out. Right?
While
you're at it, sir, may I suggest you have a little talk with Tony
Blair? The poor fellow is under the impression that Iraq's oil reserves
will be placed in trust for the Iraqi people. You really should
get on the phone and let him in on Dick Cheney's plans to give all
the plum post-war contracts to American corporations. Who better
to be in charge of the oil than Halliburton; maybe that's just because
Cheney still receives $1 million a year salary from his former company.
Maybe I'm just being suspicious again.
Thank
goodness the days of lying and deceit under the Clinton White House
are long over. Yessiree, nobody is cheating on their wives, and
that makes me feel all the more safer.
That's
not important, anyway; the important thing now is for Americans
to support their sons and daughters in uniform. And I intend to
do my part. Tomorrow I will be marching in anti-war protests and
candlelight vigils, and I will continue to resist a war that I feel
is unjust and unnecessary. You may consider that to be "unpatriotic;"
I call it "being informed." I don't want our soldiers
to be caught in the middle of a fractured civil war, with targets
on their backs because they are seen as infidel crusaders. And I
don't want blood spilt for oil and empire.
Anyway,
you're no doubt very busy, and I don't wish to keep you. Feel free
to visit my website anytime you're in the mood for some artwork
or advice on which movies to rent. I also have some extra Bibles
lying around, in case you needed to read one.
Best
wishes for the USA,
Daniel
Thomas
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