http://www.expressnews.com/pantheon/editorial/maverick/1903g0919mavericknz.shtml
Deadly sanctions on Iraq are truly un-American
San Antonio Express-News, 09/18/1999.
"The Clinton administration has been trying hard,
apparently with little success, to persuade Pope Paul II,
and, separately, a delegation of congressional aides to
abandon plans to visit Iraq.
"A recent U.N. study confirmed what critics of the sanctions
have argued for years ... that thousands of children under the
age of five die each month as a result of the sanctions. The
report estimated that 500,000 children under the age of five
(more than 4,000 per month) have died since 1991."
-- Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter, Sept. 3
What do you think about the estimated 500,000 Iraqi children
who have died mostly under the administration of President
Clinton and the Democratic Party, the heirs, my God, of
Franklin Roosevelt? Are these deaths less important than our
credit cards? Millions upon millions of working-class Arabs
living about the Middle East know the above figures. Will they
pay us back some day? Have you protested the deaths of
these children? (Cheers for Tom Roberts of the National
Catholic Reporter for telling the truth.)
Pope John Paul II, because of his opposition to artificial birth
control, a stand opposed by a majority of the priests, brothers,
and nuns of his church, folks I like and care about, is no hero
of mine. But at least for the next 24 hours he is my hero in
showing concern for those dying children of Iraq. On that
issue he gets my salute.
It's un-American, you know, to visit Iraq and help dying and
innocent children because Saddam Hussein is so evil. In large
degree he got that way during the Reagan-Bush years when
Uncle Sam supplied him with millions of dollars, military
intelligence, bombs and bullets to kill Iranians who had the
audacity to attempt to nationalize their own oil as Mexico did
before World War II with the good will and help of Franklin
Roosevelt.
What's more, U.S. businessmen, for money, supplied Saddam
with something especially murderous during the
Reagan-Bush years. Run your eyes over the following
gut-wrenching information in an article by William Blum in
the Progressive magazine, April, 1998:
"According to a 1994 Senate report, private American
suppliers, licensed by the U.S. Department of Commerce,
exported a witch's brew of biological and chemical materials
to Iraq from 1985 through 1989. Among the biological
materials, which often produce slow, agonizing death were:
"Bacillus Anthracis, cause of anthrax.
"Clostridium Botullinum, a source of botulinum toxin.
"Histoplasma Capsulatam, cause of a disease attacking
lungs, brain, spinal cord, and heart.
"Brucella Melitensis, a bacteria that can damage major
organs.
"Clostridium Perfingens, a highly toxic bacteria causing
systemic illness.
"Clostridum tetani, a highly toxigenic substance."
Hey, Hitler! Hey, Stalin! How do you like them apples?
(To double check, I telephoned Matthew Rothschild, the
high-minded, bright, young top editor of Progressive
magazine and asked him if he had received any information
contesting the accuracy of the above article. He told me he
had not. What shocking information about our beloved
country. What say you, Eleanor Roosevelt?)
Who are the congressional aides planning to meet with the
pope in Iraq? According to Roberts and the National Catholic
Reporter they are, "Brian Sims for U.S. Rep Danny Davis,
(D-Ill.); Peter Hickey for U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney,
(D-Ga); Jack Zylan for U.S. Rep. Earl Hillard, (D-Ala.); and
Danielle LeClair for U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, (Ind.-Vt.)."
May Republican aides with the heart of Abe Lincoln join the
Democrats. May they all remember these words of Lincoln
to the Congress on Dec. 1, 1862, "Fellow-citizens, we cannot
escape history."
It is illegal for U.S. citizens to travel to Iraq, but hundreds
have gone there in the interests of the dying children. Will the
Clinton administration prosecute the congressional aides
although they have been endorsed by something like 40 relief
and religious groups and individuals?
I talked with retired, highly regarded Middle East U.S.
Ambassador Andrew Killgore who told me, "We must
rescind the sanctions against Iraq. The Arabs are not
bombing German and French embassies, but increasingly we
Americans are in danger."
Postscript: I have come down as hard on the Democratic
Party in this column as I have on the Republicans. The
Williams Jennings Bryan story I have told before. It seems
especially appropriate today.
At an Iowa State Fair, before a group of farmers, Bryan was
asked, "What's the difference between a liberal and a
conservative?"
"A liberal," Bryan replied, "is like an old mule pulling ahead.
A conservative is like a plowshare holding back. Between the
two they break the soil."
That sounds a little too goody-goody, but we have to come
together and stop our American cruelty of the Iraqi children.
Saddam was our son of a ... , anthrax and all. Why must
innocent children suffer?
