Friday, May 07, 2004
from the Texans for Peace main website (http://www.texansforpeace.org)
War addicts want $25B more
Like a junkie who needs his (or her) fix, America is addicted to war. The President has proposed, and Congress will surely fund, an additional $25-50 million to continue the occupation in Iraq.
This is in addition to the $87 billion supplemental bill that was signed just seven months ago, bringing the immediate cost of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq close to $200 as predicted by analysts. Each dollar spent on this war is money that could otherwise be used to solve social ills or improve the US economy. Money spent also greatly increases the deficit and sows the seeds of economic collapse.
Not content with only these wars, the U.S. is planning to fight future wars - and expending hundreds of billions more - in what can only be described as a disease, a war addiction. The U.S. military budget for FY 2005 will exceed $400 billion.
President Eisenhower contemplated America's dependency on war when he said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."
We need an intervention.
AND FROM LAST WEEK
Iraq abuse goes with mindset
Revelations of abuse of Iraqis are finally coming to light in the press. The most recent were photos published of abuse by US soldiers and members of the British military. More such reports are expected in coming days and weeks. Allegations of torture, theft and death at the hands of the occupiers have been gatheried for several months by US and European teams in Iraq. Some are now even calling for war crimes investigations.
President Bush, and military leadership, have roundly condemned these abuses, however in some cases these abuses may have been well know and even had tactic approval. The real problem of these abuses are that they may be systemic and due to the mindset of many Americans towards Arabs and Muslims, and calling them "evildoers" and "the enemy" in general. From the beginning of the invasion these reports have picked up stream.
One needs only survey blogspots, discussion groups, and listen to the radio and read national magazines to find out how widespread this mindset is. Racism, xenophobia and a culture of death are the main culprits.
America nows finds itself with a "tar baby" problem of its own making. Hate and violence breed more hate and violence. When will this be understood?
War addicts want $25B more
Like a junkie who needs his (or her) fix, America is addicted to war. The President has proposed, and Congress will surely fund, an additional $25-50 million to continue the occupation in Iraq.
This is in addition to the $87 billion supplemental bill that was signed just seven months ago, bringing the immediate cost of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq close to $200 as predicted by analysts. Each dollar spent on this war is money that could otherwise be used to solve social ills or improve the US economy. Money spent also greatly increases the deficit and sows the seeds of economic collapse.
Not content with only these wars, the U.S. is planning to fight future wars - and expending hundreds of billions more - in what can only be described as a disease, a war addiction. The U.S. military budget for FY 2005 will exceed $400 billion.
President Eisenhower contemplated America's dependency on war when he said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."
We need an intervention.
AND FROM LAST WEEK
Iraq abuse goes with mindset
Revelations of abuse of Iraqis are finally coming to light in the press. The most recent were photos published of abuse by US soldiers and members of the British military. More such reports are expected in coming days and weeks. Allegations of torture, theft and death at the hands of the occupiers have been gatheried for several months by US and European teams in Iraq. Some are now even calling for war crimes investigations.
President Bush, and military leadership, have roundly condemned these abuses, however in some cases these abuses may have been well know and even had tactic approval. The real problem of these abuses are that they may be systemic and due to the mindset of many Americans towards Arabs and Muslims, and calling them "evildoers" and "the enemy" in general. From the beginning of the invasion these reports have picked up stream.
One needs only survey blogspots, discussion groups, and listen to the radio and read national magazines to find out how widespread this mindset is. Racism, xenophobia and a culture of death are the main culprits.
America nows finds itself with a "tar baby" problem of its own making. Hate and violence breed more hate and violence. When will this be understood?
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