Thanks for your note, Gordon.
I appreciate your confidence in the power of international voices of
dissent, but I don't share it. As the only superpower, the U.S. is fast
becoming a swaggering bully upon the international stage. What's important
to remember about President George W. Bush's policy toward Iraq is that it
isn't foreign policy, at all. It's domestic policy. To the extent he
succeeds in appearing successful in the eyes of the American public, he
will have laid a blueprint for electoral success at home. Sure, ideals of
international cooperation will continue to be spouted as part of our
political rhetoric. But the successful candidate will be the one who
swaggers most brazenly upon the international stage--a downward spiral into
international coercion and destruction. There is no world power left to
check the untamed imagination of the American public as to its moral,
intellectual, and spiritual superiority over the rest of the world.
...Would it weren't so.
David Kirshner
Gordon Wells
<gwells who-is-at cats.ucs To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
c.edu> cc: (bcc: David H Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU)
Subject: Re: An Open Letter to George W. Bush
03/18/2003 10:55
AM
Please respond
to xmca
David,
I, like many others, agree with your assessment of the reckless policy and
immoral and unjustified actions of George W. Bush and, equally, of Tony
Blair's involvement of British troops in the impending invasion of Iraq.
However, we must not underestimate the voices of dissent, from the many
individuals who have shown their protest to the substantial number of
governments in Europe and elsewhere who continue to stand firm against the
war on Iraq. It is heartening, for example, to see that three members of
the British (Labor) Government have resigned in protest. In particular,
see Robin Cook's speech of resignation yesterday in the British House of
Commons: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm
Although there are always vested interests as well as ideals behind
political actions, we should continue to stand up for the United Nations as
the forum in which international relations should be debated and decided.
Gordon Wells
Please distribute:
March 18, 2003
Dear George W. Bush,
You are a man of conviction. Singly-handedly you are creating a new
world
order based upon the U.S. view of what is right and what is
necessary.
Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world. But an even greater shadow
looms
large upon the dawning of the new millennium: A rogue superpower that
imposes its will upon the world community--that robs the peoples of
world
of the possibility of directing their mutual destiny through the
institutions of international diplomacy. If you fail in your bid to
remove
the Iraqi leader from power, either through the threat of military
force or
through its quick and efficient use, you risk igniting the very fire
you
have vowed to stamp out--the distribution of Iraqi terror weapons
across
the world. If you succeed, you will become a hero here at home,
imprinting
indelibly upon the American political landscape the imperative of
subsequent leaders to live up to your example of international
bullying.
Either way, President Bush, this will be the American Century--a time
of
instability and fear in the world. Citizens of the United States (and
elsewhere), join with me for a peaceful and quiet candlelight vigil
from
7-7:30 PM Wednesday, March 19, your local time at a central meeting
place
of your local city or town, that together we may mourn the passing of
the
possibility of a world united.
David Kirshner
5428 Halls Ferry Drive
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA 70817
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