[Peace-discuss] covert political positions

[C. G. Estabrook]

Bob Illyes wrote:

 >  "...the one paragraph about Clinton removed for lack of factual 
support..."

The paragraph in question:

   "The Clinton administration (1993-2001), shown the way by Bush-1 in
   Somalia, where the killing of another thousand people by the US went
   unremarked, seized on 'humanitarian intervention' to bring a
   recalcitrant Serbia, on the border between Europe and the Middle East,
   to heel in 1999. Democrats now try to contrast the Clinton
   administration with that of Bush Jr., but in fact the former in turn
   showed the way for the latter. And even if the estimates of more than
   a half million people dead in Iraq as a result of Bush's war are
   accurate, as they seem to be, it may still be the case that Clinton is
   responsible for more dead Iraqis. The sanctions against Iraq imposed
   by the UN after the Gulf War of 1991 -- in fact administered by the US
   and the UK -- killed at least a half million children alone, according
   to the two UN administrators who resigned in protest of the
   'genocidal' US policies."

There's nothing in that paragraph that "lacks factual support."   The 
objection to it seems to be that it doesn't play into what another 
correspondent on this thread called the "Hillary-Obama mania," by 
ignoring the crimes of the Clinton administration.  (Bob refers to his 
"differences with Carl on Obama...")

Does anyone who's been paying attention not know that Bush-1 sent troops 
to Somalia on ostensible humanitarian grounds, and Clinton continued the 
"mission" until the US killed a thousand Somalians and wounded thousands 
more, by CIA estimate? (The present US-sponsored invasion of Somalia is 
a continuation of the Bush-Clinton policy.) That the Clinton 
administration claimed "humanitarian" grounds for its (non-UN approved) 
bombing campaign against Serbia (commanded by Gen. Wesley Clark)?  That 
the UN sanctions against Iraq were run by the US and the UK? (Former UN 
Humanitarian Coordinator Denis Halliday resigned in disgust like his 
predecessor and called the policy “genocide.”)  And that the John 
Hopkins estimate of Iraqi deaths caused by the American invasion and 
occupation (ca. 650,000) is exceeded by the UN estimates of the number 
who died from the sanctions in the Clinton years (as well as direct 
attacks)?

These facts are ignored by those who don't want the last Democratic 
administration besmirched with what any account of what it actually did. 
  And there's a lot of this covering for the Democrats going on. 
(Witness MoveOn's recent work in support of more money for the war.) 
And this while the party is working strenuously to neutralize the 
anti-war vote of the last election.  The Public i shouldn't be a party 
to this propaganda campaign.  --CGE