[Peace] FW: Nelson Mandela: The U.S. Is a Threat to World Peace

[Marianne Brun]

----------
Von: portsideMod <portsidemod at yahoo.com>
Antworten an: portside at yahoogroups.com
Datum: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 20:41:15 -0700 (PDT)
An: ps <portside at yahoogroups.com>
Betreff: Nelson Mandela: The U.S. Is a Threat to World Peace

Nelson Mandela: The U.S. Is a Threat to World Peace

     In a rare interview, the South African demands
     that George W. Bush win United Nations support
     before attacking Iraq

NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/806174.asp?cp1=1#BODY>

Sept. 10 -  Nelson Mandela, 84, may be the world's most
respected statesman. Sentenced to life in prison on
desolate Robben Island in 1964 for advocating armed
resistance to apartheid in South Africa, the African
National Congress leader emerged in 1990 to lead his
country in a transition to non-racial elections. As
president, his priority was racial reconciliation;
today South Africans of all races refer to him by his
Xhosa clan honorific, Madiba. Mandela stepped down in
1999 after a single five-year term. He now heads two
foundations focused on children. He met with NEWSWEEK'S
Tom Masland early Monday morning in his office in
Houghton, a Johannesburg suburb, before flying to
Limpopo Province to address traditional leaders on the
country's AIDS crisis. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Why are you speaking out on Iraq? Do you want
to mediate, as you tried to on the Mideast a couple of
years ago? It seems you are reentering the fray now.

Nelson Mandela: If I am asked, by credible
organizations, to mediate, I will consider that very
seriously. But a situation of this nature does not need
an individual, it needs an organization like the United
Nations to mediate. We must understand the seriousness
of this situation. The United States has made serious
mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which
have had unfortunate repercussions long after the
decisions were taken. Unqualified support of the Shah
of Iran led directly to the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Then the United States chose to arm and finance the
[Islamic] mujahedin in Afghanistan instead of
supporting and encouraging the moderate wing of the
government of Afghanistan. That is what led to the
Taliban in Afghanistan. But the most catastrophic
action of the United States was to sabotage the
decision that was painstakingly stitched together by
the United Nations regarding the withdrawal of the
Soviet Union from Afghanistan. If you look at those
matters, you will come to the conclusion that the
attitude of the United States of America is a threat to
world peace. Because what [America] is saying is that
if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council,
you can go outside and take action and violate the
sovereignty of other countries. That is the message
they are sending to the world. That must be condemned
in the strongest terms. And you will notice that
France, Germany Russia, China are against this
decision. It is clearly a decision that is motivated by
George W. Bush's desire to please the arms and oil
industries in the United States of America. If you look
at those factors, you'll see that an individual like
myself, a man who has lost power and influence, can
never be a suitable mediator.

Newsweek: What about the argument that's being made
about the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction
and Saddam's efforts to build a nuclear weapons. After
all, he has invaded other countries, he has fired
missiles at Israel. On Thursday, President Bush is
going to stand up in front of the United Nations and
point to what he says is evidence of...

Mandela: ?Scott Ritter, a former United Nations arms
inspector who is in Baghdad, has said that there is no
evidence whatsoever of [development of weapons of] mass
destruction. Neither Bush nor [British Prime Minister]
Tony Blair has provided any evidence that such weapons
exist. But what we know is that Israel has weapons of
mass destruction. Nobody talks about that. Why should
there be one standard for one country, especially
because it is black, and another one for another
country, Israel, that is white.

Newsweek: So you see this as a racial question?

Mandela: Well, that element is there. In fact, many
people say quietly, but they don't have the courage to
stand up and say publicly, that when there were white
secretary generals you didn't find this question of the
United States and Britain going out of the United
Nations. But now that you've had black secretary
generals like Boutros Boutros Ghali, like Kofi Annan,
they do not respect the United Nations. They have
contempt for it. This is not my view, but that is what
is being said by many people.

Newsweek: What kind of compromise can you see that
might avoid the coming confrontation?

Mandela: There is one compromise and one only, and that
is the United Nations. If the United States and Britain
go to the United Nations and the United Nations says we
have concrete evidence of the existence of these
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we feel that we
must do something about it, we would all support it.

Newsweek: Do you think that the Bush administration's
U.N. diplomatic effort now is genuine, or is the
President just looking for political cover by speaking
to the U.N. even as he remains intent on forging ahead
unilaterally?

Mandela: Well, there is no doubt that the United States
now feels that they are the only superpower in the
world and they can do what they like. And of course we
must consider the men and the women around the
president. Gen. Colin Powell commanded the United
States army in peacetime and in wartime during the Gulf
war. He knows the disastrous effect of international
tension and war, when innocent people are going to die,
young men are going to die. He knows and he showed this
after September 11 last year. He went around briefing
the allies of the United States of America and asking
for their support for the war in Afghanistan. But
people like Dick Cheney? I see yesterday there was an
article that said he is the real president of the
United States of America, I don't know how true that
is. Dick Cheney, [Defense secretary Donald] Rumsfeld,
they are people who are unfortunately misleading the
president. Because my impression of the president is
that this is a man with whom you can do business. But
it is the men who around him who are dinosaurs, who do
not want him to belong to the modern age. The only man,
the only person who wants to help Bush move to the
modern era is Gen. Colin Powell, the secretary of
State.

Newsweek: I gather you are particularly concerned about
Vice President Cheney?

Mandela: Well, there is no doubt. He opposed the
decision to release me from prison (laughs). The
majority of the U.S. Congress was in favor of my
release, and he opposed it. But it's not because of
that. Quite clearly we are dealing with an arch-
conservative in Dick Cheney.

Newsweek: I'm interested in your decision to speak out
now about Iraq. When you left office, you said, 'I'm
going to go down to Transkei, and have a rest.' Now
maybe that was a joke at the time. But you've been very
active.

Mandela: I really wanted to retire and rest and spend
more time with my children, my grandchildren and of
course with my wife. But the problems are such that for
anybody with a conscience who can use whatever
influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it's
difficult to say no.

(c) 2002 Newsweek, Inc.


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