Follow-up Letter on MoveOn "Out in '06" Meeting

Anthony Williams
Office of The Hon. Kendrick Meek
111, NW 183rd St. – Suite 315
Miami Gardens, FL 33169

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Dear Mr. Williams,

I am writing to thank you for taking the time to meet with MoveOn members Judy, Grace and myself yesterday. I hope that you will convey our concerns to Congressman Meek, and we will report back to other MoveOn members on our conversation with you.

In particular, I hope you will tell the Congressman that we do not believe that the continuing U.S. military operations in Iraq are contributing to security, stability, democracy or self-determination for the people of Iraq. We therefore would urge him to support the earliest possible end to these operations and the withdrawal of all U.S. forces.

You told us that the Congressman does not support an early end to these operations, but that he is asking the President to present a more detailed plan to Congress and the American people regarding their future conduct. I am afraid that this leaves the President and the Congressman in the same boat, rowing in circles without a rudder, while the most powerful military force in the world methodically destroys a country full of innocent people. This is not acceptable.

The President has compared the American War in Iraq to the Second World War, the “good war”. It has more in common with the First World War or the American War in Vietnam, concentrating massive destructive power on small areas where people live simply because these forces have been unleashed and no one has the will to say “Stop!”

The U.S. armed forces are deploying weapons that were designed to fight the Soviet Army against Iraqi cities and villages, often in violation of our obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. It is no coincidence that Fallujah now looks like Grozny in Chechnya, where the Russians deployed the weapons they had designed to fight the U.S. Army.

For the past century, the United States has failed to resolve the essential contradiction of “counterinsurgency” in any country – how do you win the hearts and minds of a population while you are killing its sons? In every case, “counterinsurgency” has devolved into a combination of aerial bombardment and “dirty war” – extrajudicial killing, mass detention and torture - against a civilian population.

Reflecting on the American experience in Vietnam, Loren Baritz wrote: “If this nation cannot use its managerial and technological strengths in international conflict, it would be wise to avoid engagement. If our expensive weapon systems will not contribute to victory, it would be wise not to pretend that we have other resources.”

I hope that such wisdom can prevail, and that Kendrick Meek will soon stand up to be counted as one of the wise men of our country in its time of need. We are now on a path that can only lead to greater conflict, international isolation, humiliation and pain. President Bush and his wealthy friends and relations in the armaments and petroleum industries are not the ones who are suffering the consequences of their actions. It is the Congressman’s constituents in the armed services and the people of Iraq who are paying the terrible price for the international crimes of our “leaders”.

Thank you again for taking the time to meet with us.

Yours sincerely



Cc: The Hon. Kendrick Meek
Clarence Williams
Cindy Fetzer (MoveOn Team Leader)