[Peace] Republican Congressman Ron Paul (TX) Against the War

[Jay Mittenthal]

>Subject: Please read and Forward widely: Republican Congressman Ron Paul
>(TX) Against the War
>
>
> >
> > (Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas. )
> >
> > In the House of Representatives, September 10, 2002
> >
> > Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned
> > there are some questions that won't be asked -- and maybe will not even be
> > allowed to be asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by
> > those who are urging us to start this war.
> >
> > 1. Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the
> > height of the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?
> >
> > 2. Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we
>know
> > it cannot retaliate -- which just confirms that there is no real threat?
> >
> > 3. Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we
>cannot
> > be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that
> > we can be more sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?
> >
> > 4. Is it not true that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency was
>able
> > to complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with
> > Iraqi cooperation?
> >
> > 5. Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to
> > develop a case tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the
>attacks
> > on the United States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19
> > hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?
> >
> > 6. Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when
>he
> > recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq's links to terrorism?
> >
> > 7. Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a
> > Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took
>place?
> >
> > 8. Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed
> > al-Qaeda were hiding out, is in the control of our "allies," the Kurds?
> >
> > 9. Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped
> > appear to have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called
> > allies?
> >
> > 10. Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total
> > chaos, with bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and
> > that according to a recent UN report the al-Qaeda "is, by all accounts,
> > alive and well and poised to strike again, how, when, and where it
>chooses."
> >
> > 11. Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away
> > from tracking down those who did attack the United States -- and who may
> > again attack the United States -- and using them to invade countries that
> > have not attacked the United States?
> >
> > 12. Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world's worst
> > suspicions about the USA?" and isn't this what bin Laden wanted?
> >
> > 13. How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air
>force,
> > and now has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then
> > proved totally inept at defending the country?
> >
> > 14. Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is
> > exclusively that of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the
> > Constitution, allow Congress to concur only when pressured by public
> > opinion? Are presidents permitted to rely on the UN for permission to go
>to
> > war?
> >
> > 15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of
> > Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive
> > evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city
> > involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more likely
> > controlled by Iran not Iraq?
> >
> > 16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers
> > have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and
> > that thousands may have died?
> >
> > 17. Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war
> > against a country that does not have the capacity to attack the United
> > States?
> >
> > 18. Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war
> > against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an
> > already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation
> > of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to "build democracy" there?
> >
> > 19. Iraq's alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to
> > initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions
>have
> > been ignored by various countries without penalty?
> >
> > 20. Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the
> > reason he could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack
> > assert that it is the very reason we can march into Baghdad?
> >
> > 21. Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were
> > set up by Britain and the United States without specific approval from the
> > United Nations?
> >
> > 22. If we claim membership in the international community and conform to
> > its rules only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our
> > position, directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?
> >
> > 23. How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable
> > when we prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military
> > tyrants like Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically-elected
> > president?
> >
> > 24. Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S.
> > knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the
> > Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992 -- including after the alleged Iraqi gas
> > attack on a Kurdish village?
> >
> > 25. Did we not assist Saddam Hussein's rise to power by supporting and
> > encouraging his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for
> > his invasion of Iran, which at the time we actively supported?
> >
> > 26. Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of
> > aggression, and has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?
> >
> > 27. Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is
> > not the real reason we plan to take over Iraq?
> >
> > 28. Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that
> > they won't have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war
> > than our generals?
> >
> > 29. What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not
> > initiated aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?
> >
> > 30. Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any
> > reason other than self-defense?
> >
> > 31. Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the
> > time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries
> > should never go into another for the purpose of regime change?
> >
> > 32. Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely
> > disagreements will be settled by war?
> >
> > 33. Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war
> > and -- not coincidentally -- we have not since then had a clear-cut
>victory?
> >
> > 34. Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence
> > services, was an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?
> >
> > 35. Why don't those who want war bring a formal declaration of war
> > resolution to the floor of Congress?
> >
>
>
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