Vermont rejects this war

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Jack lives in Vermont.

Dave


------ Forwarded Message
From: "Jack Rieley" <jrieley () boardrush com>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 07:29:49 -0500
To: "David Farber" <farber () linc cis upenn edu>
Subject: Vermont rejects this war

Dave,
 
At the risk of seeing some fools boycott maple syrup and our tasty artisan
cheeses, IPers may wish to be be aware that Vermonters mirror the French and
German position on this war, and reject the Bush stance.  Senators Patrick
Leahy and James Jeffords, as well as Rep. Bernie Sanders, are among the most
consistent voices against the war.  Former governor Howard Dean, who's
running for the Democratic nomination for president, has been consitent in
his vehement opposition to Bush's position.  And here's the lead editorial
in  today's Brattleboro Reformer, a fine Vermont daily.
 
Dissent and war

America, at this writing, appears poised to plunge into one of the darkest
chapters in her history. This is not a war as we have known other wars. It
has none of the moral fuel of the first and second world wars; none of the
ideology, however misguided, that led us into Korea and Vietnam. It has even
less logic than the first Gulf War. There is no shred of morality, no
semblance of justice, in the motives driving a greedy and myopic Bush
administration to rush heedlessly into Iraq.
The Middle East, a fragile tinder box tramped ever deeper into the mire of
colonialism and despotism, cannot sustain a second U.S. onslaught in as many
decades. The Arab street holds out no further patience for American
hegemony. Whatever anger that has not yet ignited will be sought out,
cultivated, mined and deployed by those capable of doing us great harm.
America will enjoy no benefit of doubt, for no doubt remains -- not among
the intellectuals of the Middle East nor the rank and file -- as to our
motives there. 

As this nation prepares to sow its bitter seed, Americans who believe in
justice and freedom must cast aside any stale notions of flag-waving
patriotism. We are nothing more than parrots if we repeat the hollow
argument that we must "stand by our troops" or "support our leader."
Standing by our troops means keeping them clear of the lethal battlefields
that can fell them and their unborn children with illness and mysterious
disease years from now. What business do we have sending hundreds of
thousands of American soldiers, many from the poor and middle-class segments
of our beleaguered society, into a war that has nothing to do with the
terror perpetuated against this country on Sept. 11, nothing even to do with
the rights of the Iraqi people to live in freedom, and everything to do with
the narrow, moneyed interests that have captured the president's ear?

Like many in this community, this newspaper has, for months, opposed this
war. We have urged readers to make their voices heard by those in Congress
who handed Bush the authority he sought to wage this war; and to those at
the United Nations who capitulated to U.S. bribery and pressure in America's
immoral crusade for lethal, violent military intervention in Iraq.

We will continue to say no if and when this war shifts into high gear. We
congratulate those young people who have found the mantra of peace and are
not afraid to repeat it in the face of authority. We offer our moral support
to those in this community who hold the placards, shut down their
businesses, write the letters, lobby their congressmen, and yes, support the
troops by rallying to bring them home.

There is no shame in dissent. The shame is in this war.


------ End of Forwarded Message

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