The American military can save America and Iran. All military personnel have taken oaths to uphold the Constitution. If Congress does not declare war on Iran, our military must refuse any illegal, executive orders to attack Iran. Ask everyone you know in the military to "Just Say No" to an attack on Iran.
The Big Truth
Outline of a speech to Democratic Clubs -
9/11/2006 Version
Part 1 - Past: Stopping Terror with Justice
Part 2 - Present: Intentional Dysfunction in the Occupation of Iraq
Part 3 - Future: "Just say No" to an attack on Iran
Stopping Terror with Justice
08/01/2006 Version
The six points of the new "Democratic Vision" to be used by our precinct workers includes (1) Honest Leadership and (2) Real Security - "We will protect Americans at home and lead the world by telling the truth to our troops, our citizens, and our allies." I submit we shouldn't just promise to tell the truth. Win or lose, we should be telling the truth in all our campaigns for Congress. I submit the truth is Republicans don't have a national security policy; they have a national aggression policy. The "Big Truth" is that the war on terror is a lie; we are fighting for empire in a gross contravention of American ideals.
We don't need a war on terror. Justice in American foreign policy would eliminate 90% of the terror against us. The Danish cartoons were only minor provocations. Muslims dislike us for many substantive reasons:
" Our aid to Egypt's Mubarak and petrodollars to the Arab Monarchies enable them to oppress their people
" Iran (See below.)
" We supported an arms embargo of Bosnia that left Serbs well armed and Muslims less able to defend themselves against genocide, systematic rape, and ethnic cleansing. In addition, we allowed Karadzic and Mladic, the President and General of the Bosnian Serb Republic, to live in NATO controlled areas with impunity for years even though they are two of the most egregious, genocidal terrorists on the planet.
" We have helped pay for Israel's aggression in the Occupied Territories for a generation. 400,000 settlers east of the green line is aggression and/or conquest. These terms apply. Israel under Olmert is planning to partially reverse this aggression, but that doesn't change the fact that Israel has pursued a greater Israel plan since 1967 with our aid.
" We committed unprovoked aggression against Iraq, and a John Hopkins University Report estimates more than 100,000 Iraqis have died.
Actions such as these have combined to create the hatred against us. But, we can eliminate this hatred and its resultant terror with justice. Where America has been in error, we must recognize those errors and make amends.
Intentional Dysfunction in the Occupation of Iraq
An Executive Summary 1/15/2006
Our guys are killing and dying in a war they are not being allowed to win. It will take a combination of military and political action to win this war, but the Administration is not willing to take the necessary actions. I believe Mr. Bush has intentionally created instability in Iraq to rationalize an unending occupation. Intentionally and/or incompetently, Mr. Bush has created a decrepit, dependent Iraq and facilitated the creation of an insurgency that could be as unending as this occupation. I believe the following combine to indicate intention rather than mere incompetence:
" The Bush Administration is philosophically opposed to peacekeeping and nation-building.
" In 2002, Rumsfeld closed the Army's Peacekeeping Institute which trained officers in post-conflict issues.
" The Pentagon did not adequately plan for post-war operations and ignored extensive State Department studies on how to achieve stability after an invasion.
" There have never been enough American forces in Iraq to provide security for themselves let alone security for Iraqi civilians.
" Ammunition dumps all over Iraq were unsecured, giving insurgents access to unlimited supplies of arms. As of 10/2004, the military estimated a minimum of 250,000 tons of munitions remained unaccounted for.
" After less than a month, General Garner was fired. He supported early elections, opposed privatization, allowed low level Baathists to keep their jobs, and planned to call up half the former Iraqi Army to provide security and aid with reconstruction.
" Mr. Bremer, who replaced Garner, under orders from the President, issued a de-Baathification decree that kept Iraq's most capable and experienced leadership out of the governance and reconstruction of Iraq.
" Mr. Bremer disbanded the Iraqi Army. Without more American troops, this army provided the only other means to provide peace and security to the people of Iraq.
" On 6/13/2003 hundreds of American intelligence officers were transferred from Iraq to Florida, leaving only 30 Intel officers in Iraq for counter insurgency work.
" Only 13 billion of 30 billion that Congress allocated for rebuilding Iraq and training its security forces had been spent through August 2005.
" The Administration has refused almost all international, non-military help rather than lose sole control of Iraq.
" Iraqification has been a failure. After two and a half years, American training had created only one Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without US help.
This is not just historical information, most of these errors continue. Gross errors that continue without correction indicate intention. The Bush plan to "stay the course" is a plan for unending occupation and empire. An immediate withdrawal as an alternative is not supported by most Americans as they don't want our forces to have killed and died for an Iraq that is worse off than it was before the invasion. There is, however, a third way.
We will only win this war with a combination of military and political action. Iraq is in a vicious circle with the occupation causing an insurgency and an insurgency rationalizing a continuing occupation. We can and must break this circle. I believe we can do so by meeting the legitimate political demands of the Sunni nationalist insurgents with a substantial re-baathification and a timetable for a full withdrawal of all American forces. See the full article with sources at: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/21/20152/6266
"Just say No" to an attack on Iran
10/12/2006 Version
Unfortunately, instead of reversing our aggressions, the Administration is now considering new aggression in Iran.
America, with Britain, overthrew the popular prime minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953 transferring power to the Shah who, with his Savak secret police, oppressed his people for a generation. We supported Iraq, the clear aggressor, in the 1980's Iran Iraq war, and 400,000 Iranians died. In 1979 Iran took Americans hostage.
One of their primary demands was that we not interfere in their internal affairs (as we did in 1953), and all hostages came home. America has done great harm to the people and state of Iran, while Iran has not done great harm to us.
An attack on Iran's nuclear sites would be an act of war and lead to a significant escalation in both war and terrorism. It would not be a surgical strike as Iran's nuclear sites are hardened and dispersed throughout the country.
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