Letter to Kerry on Iraq
Senator John F. Kerry
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Monday, May 10, 2004
“Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession”
- from the original Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870
Dear Senator Kerry,
The political struggle for Iraq is over, at least for the United States. The Kurds, the Sunni and the Shia have to work out the future of their country, but, to the relief of most of the world, the U.S. forces that invaded Iraq a year ago have unambiguously and irredeemably failed to impose political power. Five hundred prominent Iraqis are currently meeting in Baghdad to lay the groundwork for an independent country, exposing the lie that all those who oppose the U.S. occupation are “thugs” or “terrorists”. Perhaps they can use some help from the U.N., but the continued presence of American forces in Iraq can only inflict more collective punishment on the Iraqi people and increasing isolation on the United States.
I spent Saturday in Liberty City in Miami registering voters and talking to people about the upcoming election, and, as always, I was impressed by the fact that ordinary working-class Americans seem to understand the central issues of our time better than you and your colleagues in Washington. People understand only too well the elite economic interests that drive U.S. foreign policy, and they are angered by the hypocrisy of politicians who throw away the lives of their children to “batter down doors” for those interests as they have done for a hundred years since Woodrow Wilson coined that expression. You can’t fool a 71-year-old African American Korean War veteran with talk of “democracy” and “freedom”. He knows the Iraqis want real freedom, and that’s why they want our troops, our weapons and our “contractors” out of their country!
I can’t put it any plainer than the bumper sticker on my car. It says, “Out of Iraq NOW”! On June 5th, millions of people all over the world will be demonstrating against this brutal war. In Miami, we’ll be at the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard. Please come and join us at one of the locations, wherever you’ll be that day. There’s much more than an election at stake, and you don’t have to wait for the rest of us to make up our minds before you do.
Yours sincerely
Cc: Kendrick Meek
Senator Bob Graham
Senator Bill Nelson
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Monday, May 10, 2004
“Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession”
- from the original Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870
Dear Senator Kerry,
The political struggle for Iraq is over, at least for the United States. The Kurds, the Sunni and the Shia have to work out the future of their country, but, to the relief of most of the world, the U.S. forces that invaded Iraq a year ago have unambiguously and irredeemably failed to impose political power. Five hundred prominent Iraqis are currently meeting in Baghdad to lay the groundwork for an independent country, exposing the lie that all those who oppose the U.S. occupation are “thugs” or “terrorists”. Perhaps they can use some help from the U.N., but the continued presence of American forces in Iraq can only inflict more collective punishment on the Iraqi people and increasing isolation on the United States.
I spent Saturday in Liberty City in Miami registering voters and talking to people about the upcoming election, and, as always, I was impressed by the fact that ordinary working-class Americans seem to understand the central issues of our time better than you and your colleagues in Washington. People understand only too well the elite economic interests that drive U.S. foreign policy, and they are angered by the hypocrisy of politicians who throw away the lives of their children to “batter down doors” for those interests as they have done for a hundred years since Woodrow Wilson coined that expression. You can’t fool a 71-year-old African American Korean War veteran with talk of “democracy” and “freedom”. He knows the Iraqis want real freedom, and that’s why they want our troops, our weapons and our “contractors” out of their country!
I can’t put it any plainer than the bumper sticker on my car. It says, “Out of Iraq NOW”! On June 5th, millions of people all over the world will be demonstrating against this brutal war. In Miami, we’ll be at the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard. Please come and join us at one of the locations, wherever you’ll be that day. There’s much more than an election at stake, and you don’t have to wait for the rest of us to make up our minds before you do.
Yours sincerely
Cc: Kendrick Meek
Senator Bob Graham
Senator Bill Nelson
posted by Nicolas Davies | 10:15 AM
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