[Newspoetry] Powell makes it unanimous

[Newton Bigelow]

Good Afternoon,

I'm writing today in a foul, black mood.  My country wants to got 
to war, and at this point I see very little hope that it can be avoided.
Colin Powell's comments in Davos yesterday have extinguished any 
hope I had that the Bush Administration might be dissuaded from seeking 
a military solution in Iraq.  Whether he personally supports an invasion 
or not, Powell clearly believes that his duty is to follow his President's 
lead.  Though I hate saying it, it seems very likely that Bush will 
announce the beginning of military strikes in his speech tomorrow.


Most of my friends and neighbors here in Madrid have been telling 
me for months that this thing was inevitable.  Nobody has any illusions 
about Bush's motives, either.  Mention the "War on terrorism" or 
"freeing the Iraqis from the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein" and 
people will laugh in your face.  This is the country where General 
Franco lived a long, happy life as a fascist dictator, while the 
rest of the Western World turned a blind eye.  People here tend to 
be little suspicious when they're  told about the war between "good" 
and "evil".

No, we know what this is about, and we have from the start.  It's 
about controlling the oil supply.  The world is using up its oil 
reserves at a staggering rate, and someday there just ain't gonna 
be any left.  In the meantime, though, Bush and his masters in the 
oil industry see Saddam Hussein sitting on the second-largest oilfield 
in the world, and think, "that boy's got to go".  Oil is the largest 
industry in the world, bar none.  Why wouldn't we fight a war for 
it?  We've fought wars over bananas, for God's sake. 

So, what do we do with this?  It's going to happen, despite the protests,
despite the marches and petitions. Despite the objections of nearly 
everybody in the international community. Bombs and guns against 
the very real flesh of Iraqi citizens who will be placed as a shield 
between the Americans and Saddam Hussein. Dead children, again. The 
tortured and the maimed, again.  The whole thing packaged as 'Reality 
TV' with all the nasty bits edited out.

So what do we do?  For myself, I feel that the worst possible action 
is to   quietly accept this obscenity.  I want it known that I do 
not go along with this insane policy, and I will not support George 
Bush in his criminal actions.  So I am going to continue to write 
letters, to sign pettions, to go to marches, and to loudly and publicly 
proclaim my opposition to this war.  We may not be able to stop it,
but we sure as hell don't have to endorse it.

What you do is a matter of personal choice, but I encourage anyone 
who has not yet taken a stand against this war to do so loudly and 
unswervingly.  Make it known that the President does not represent 
your interests in this matter.  

Do not let the bastards claim that they are doing this in our name.



Best regards,

Newton