wuushew
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Sat Oct-09-04 05:41 PM
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My problems with the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 |
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Reviewing the vote record it strikes me as very alarming that so few politicians voted against the bill. Unopposed in the Senate and with only 39 nea's in the House. Many of those who denounced the current illegal war in Iraq are on record as supporting this bill which stated intent was the overthrow of the Iraqi government. Why are luminaries like Kennedy,Byrd and Kucinich on record as supporting this bill? Why did President Clinton sign it? In the battle to win undecided to the camp of the left how does reconcile insistent past behavior with stated intent?
The whole concept is predicated on the rather foolish notion of absolute morality. As an increasingly cynical nihilist I believe all societies are simply collections of individuals with varying personal opinions of what is right or wrong. When we denounce the brutality of so called "rogue states" how does our opinion carry more weight than those of the other country or the rest of the world?
We sought the assassination of Saddam Hussein yet if he was to attempt the killing of George H.W. Bush it is a crime. The hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy is insulting to those like myself seek a consistent and impartial legalistic framework in which we act in the world. During the Cold-war we never sought to destroy North Korea or North Vietnam in regards to their physical existence as sovereign states. The obvious and unspoken reason was to prevent nuclear escalation. Ostensibly we limited our actions to satisfy the demands of international law and the U.N. charter.
Clearly without the monolithic boogie man of the Soviet Union the U.S. is now free to impose economic and cultural hegemony across the globe. If the Bush doctrine was in effect immediately following WWII then in order to act consistently we would have nuked Russia before they the bomb in 1949 and China before they developed theirs in the late 1950's. When and where the U.S. chooses to exercise its power is utterly subjective, biased and at the mercy of political whims and economic interests.
War is illegal because the complete international agreement that no nation itself would ever forfeit its' own sovereignty. These few universal concepts or golden rules are the only ones that should be binding. Far too many differences exist within the prism of religion, culture and tradition for one people to judge another.
This above reason should clearly the conservative viewpoint. Unfortunately many on the right are probably blinded by what I will term "benevolent authoritarianism" which combines elements of Judeo-Christian morality/white-man's burden and belief in free markets. Would any true and selfish libertarian believe in this so called American altruism?
Conversely on the left, why are we not hearing more from the cultural relativists and the opponents of war/governmental overthrow as agents of instability?
H R 4655 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 5-Oct-1998 7:32 PM QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended BILL TITLE: Establishing a Program to Support a Transition to Democracy in Iraq
Yeas Nays PRES NV Republican 202 9 16 Democratic 157 29 20 Independent 1 TOTALS 360 38 36
---- YEAS 360 ---
Ackerman Aderholt Allen Andrews Archer Armey Bachus Baesler Baker Baldacci Ballenger Barcia Barr Barrett (NE) Barrett (WI) Barton Bass Bateman Bentsen Bereuter Berman Berry Bilbray Bilirakis Blagojevich Bliley Blumenauer Blunt Boehner Bonilla Bonior Bono Borski Boswell Boucher Boyd Brady (PA) Brady (TX) Brown (FL) Brown (OH) Bryant Bunning Burr Burton Buyer Callahan Camp Campbell Canady Cannon Capps Cardin Castle Chabot Chambliss Christensen Clayton Clement Clyburn Coble Coburn Collins Combest Condit Cook Cooksey Costello Cox Coyne Cramer Crane Crapo Cubin Cummings Cunningham Danner Davis (FL) Davis (VA) Deal DeFazio DeGette Delahunt DeLauro DeLay Deutsch Diaz-Balart Dickey Dicks Dingell Dooley Doolittle Doyle Dreier Duncan Dunn Edwards Ehlers Ehrlich Emerson Engel English Ensign Eshoo Etheridge Evans Farr Fattah Fawell Fazio Filner Foley Forbes Fossella Fowler Fox Frank (MA) Franks (NJ) Frelinghuysen Gallegly Ganske Gejdenson Gekas Gephardt Gibbons Gilchrest Gillmor Gilman Gonzalez Goode Goodlatte Goodling Gordon Goss Graham Green Gutierrez Gutknecht Hall (OH) Hall (TX) Hamilton Hastert Hastings (WA) Hayworth Hefley Hefner Herger Hill Hilleary Hinchey Hobson Hoekstra Holden Hooley Horn Houghton Hoyer Hulshof Hunter Hutchinson Hyde Inglis Istook Jackson-Lee (TX) Jenkins John Johnson (CT) Johnson (WI) Johnson, E. B. Johnson, Sam Jones Kanjorski Kaptur Kasich Kelly Kennedy (MA) Kennedy (RI) Kildee Kilpatrick Kim Kind (WI) King (NY) Kingston Kleczka Klink Klug Knollenberg Kolbe Kucinich LaFalce Lampson Lantos Largent Latham LaTourette Lazio Leach Levin Lewis (CA) Lewis (KY) Linder Lipinski Livingston LoBiondo Lofgren Lowey Lucas Luther Maloney (CT) Maloney (NY) Manton Manzullo Markey Martinez Mascara Matsui McCarthy (MO) McCarthy (NY) McCollum McCrery McDermott McHale McHugh McInnis McIntosh McIntyre McKeon McNulty Meehan Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Menendez Metcalf Mica Miller (FL) Minge Mollohan Moran (KS) Moran (VA) Morella Myrick Nadler Nethercutt Neumann Ney Northup Nussle Oberstar Obey Olver Ortiz Oxley Packard Pallone Pappas Parker Pascrell Pastor Paxon Pease Peterson (MN) Peterson (PA) Petri Pickering Pickett Pitts Pomeroy Porter Portman Price (NC) Quinn Radanovich Rahall Ramstad Rangel Redmond Regula Reyes Riley Rodriguez Roemer Rogan Rohrabacher Rothman Roukema Royce Ryun Salmon Sanchez Sanders Sandlin Sawyer Saxton Scarborough Schaffer, Bob Schumer Scott Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Shaw Shays Sherman Shimkus Sisisky Skeen Slaughter Smith (MI) Smith (NJ) Smith (OR) Smith (TX) Smith, Adam Smith, Linda Snowbarger Snyder Solomon Souder Spence Stabenow Stearns Stenholm Strickland Stump Sununu Talent Tanner Tauscher Taylor (MS) Taylor (NC) Thomas Thompson Thornberry Thune Thurman Tiahrt Tierney Torres Traficant Turner Upton Velazquez Visclosky Wamp Watkins Watt (NC) Watts (OK) Waxman Weldon (FL) Weldon (PA) Weller Wexler Weygand White Whitfield Wicker Wilson Wise Wolf Woolsey Wynn Young (AK)
---- NAYS 38 ---
Abercrombie Bartlett Brown (CA) Carson Chenoweth Clay Conyers Davis (IL) Doggett Everett Ewing Ford Furse Hastings (FL) Hilliard Hostettler Jackson (IL) Jefferson LaHood Lee Lewis (GA) McKinney Miller (CA) Mink Paul Payne Pombo Rivers Rush Sabo Serrano Skaggs Skelton Stark Towns Vento Walsh Waters
---- NOT VOTING 36 ---
Becerra Bishop Boehlert Calvert Dixon Frost Granger Greenwood Hansen Harman Hinojosa Kennelly McDade McGovern Millender-McDonald Moakley Murtha Neal Norwood Owens Pelosi Poshard Pryce (OH) Riggs Rogers Ros-Lehtinen Roybal-Allard Sanford Schaefer, Dan Shuster Spratt Stokes Stupak Tauzin Yates Young (FL)
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