Our newly stated reasoning for invading Iraq is untenable

[Debs]

It is NOT about democracy and only those who really want to believe it is do. The US has a history of past imperialist actions that run from the Philippians through, Iran, Guatemala, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic, Brazil, Chile and probably Indonesia. The world cannot be blamed for thinking it now runs through Iraq. I think it does.

If an embezzler runs a charity event he cannot commingle funds then if caught expect people to believe he never had the intentions of stealing the money, even if he didn't. He must avoid all appearances of theft. The same goes with us. IF democracy really were the motive for invading Iraq, THAT is what we should have said upfront. Not WMDs, ooops, 9/11, oooops, al Queda, then when all those excuses disappeared into the fairy dust from whence they came, claim it was always about democracy.

One of the strongest indications that Iraq is NOT about democracy is Guatemala. They have periodic elections but are run by their military. Even elected Guatemalan presidents admit this, publicly. Union organizers and political opponents are routinely murdered and nothing like freedom exists there. We would not have to invade Guatemala to change this, they are a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. IF we told the Generals to back off they would. When Raygun told butcher Rios Montt he had to step down, because the stench of his atrocities had become too much for Congress to endure. He stepped down. Right after Raygun gave him the medal of freedom. Why DON'T we do that if we are really concerned about democracy and people suffering?

None of this is our dirty little secret, the world knows very well about our past, about the dynamics at play in Guatemala and Columbia. IF we are serious about democracy before we invade other countries we have to unveil a plan whereby Guatemala, and Columbia where things are every bit as bad as they had been in Iraq. The Sudan, and the Congo where they are much worse must be dealt with. Until we take steps to do this, no one anywhere including me is going to believe that an invasion of an oil rich country that we used to support when they were committing their worst atrocities is anything but an excuse for imperialism.

We must stop supporting despots because its convenient then invading them when they stop doing what we tell them. If we ever want to regain the respect the world rightfully had for us we MUST STOP THIS SORT OF HYPOCRISY. Freedom and democracy must be more than words we trot out to excuse doing what we want to do for strategic reasons. It must be the core value of our foreign policy. They must be concepts we wield with integrity. We aren't doing this and if you think we are you are fooling yourself.

[saltpoint]

1. The initial ones weren't worth a damn either.

Some of us are fighting the good fight, Debs -- you for instance know your stuff and state it forcefully as a summons to clarity and dignity of purpose.

Then, there are those who decidedly are not helping, and in fact are making things worse: Zell Miller, FOX News, Ken Tomlinson -- just to single out a handful.

I think sometimes of the Buddhist monks who set themselves aflame as an expression of horror and justice over the carpetbombing of Southest Asia by American airplanes. In some circles, they were ridiculed as "do-nothings" but as I keep returning to those accounts, I believe their sacrifice is just as forceful, or more, than anything I've done with my letter-writing and canvassing and envelope-stuffing.

Appreciated your post tonight very much. Thank you.