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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Statement of a NBFO12-er
I have to believe that the defendants' statements in yesterday's trial at least made a few little openings in the beliefs of anyone present who supports this war. Each statement drove home the author's anquish over the war and a determination to act in order to call attention to the illegal and brutal actions of our country. Here is Janet's statement:
I would like to take a moment of silence for all those who have lost their lives in Iraq, and for their families, and all those whose lives will never be the same because of this tragedy.
This has been a long and difficult trial and I would like to thank the court including Mr. Sallers and Mr Randall (DAs) for their patience.
As we stood in front of the Lakewood recruiting station last November 18th, the war in Iraq raged on. As we stand here today, it rages on still.This war in Iraq is a shameful period in our nation's history. It is a war based on false info. Despite what our president told us there were no weapons of mass destruction. The 911 terrorists were not from Iraq. The first thing our forces did after they stormed Baghdad was to go straight to the oil fields. This war clearly has little to do with spreading democracy or making the world safe from terrorists. I tell you that if Iraq's chief export were oatmeal we would not be there today. This is about oil. It IS that simple. It is nothing more than the shameful age old pattern where one people annihilates another with a motivating force based on greed. To date there are estimates that we have killed tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens. Nearly forty percent of them are children. They are moms like me. They are teachers and nurses and shop owners. They are middle school students, baby brothers and baby sisters.
The concept that the purpose of this war is to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is laughable.If that is true then we have completely failed. The civil strife that has resulted is more devastating than any weapon we imagined. We have destabilized the entire middle east. Iraq is in a civil war. Iran is developing nuclear weapons with the support of most of the Arab region and Israel and Lebanon are now at war. Terrorists now flock to the region.
In the end I have to ask: just who is the terrorist? If it is not us, then aren't we at least responsible for a war which adds to the ranks of the groups responsible for terror? Who is doing the terrorizing?
We cannot continue the facade that we are not all connected. What happened to "All men are created equal?" Or is that just if you happen to live in the right country? To the mothers of Iraq, I for one stand up as Julia Ward Howe did before me and say No! I will not be sending my son to kill yours!
It is devastating to me that this is where my tax dollars go. That every purchase I make is tied to this genocide. I can not stand by and idly watch while my government mass murders. If we are a government by and for the people than I am part of that government. To me doing nothing is perhaps the greatest evil. I worry that I am not doing enough.
Franklin Roosevelt said "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
Being at the recruiting station was my privilege. It was also my duty. I consider it community service and I have no remorse.
I'd like to end once more with some words from Eleanor Roosevelt:
"The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Christ, some of the other great Jewish teachers, Buddha, all preached it. Their followers forgot it"
I would like to take a moment of silence for all those who have lost their lives in Iraq, and for their families, and all those whose lives will never be the same because of this tragedy.
This has been a long and difficult trial and I would like to thank the court including Mr. Sallers and Mr Randall (DAs) for their patience.
As we stood in front of the Lakewood recruiting station last November 18th, the war in Iraq raged on. As we stand here today, it rages on still.This war in Iraq is a shameful period in our nation's history. It is a war based on false info. Despite what our president told us there were no weapons of mass destruction. The 911 terrorists were not from Iraq. The first thing our forces did after they stormed Baghdad was to go straight to the oil fields. This war clearly has little to do with spreading democracy or making the world safe from terrorists. I tell you that if Iraq's chief export were oatmeal we would not be there today. This is about oil. It IS that simple. It is nothing more than the shameful age old pattern where one people annihilates another with a motivating force based on greed. To date there are estimates that we have killed tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens. Nearly forty percent of them are children. They are moms like me. They are teachers and nurses and shop owners. They are middle school students, baby brothers and baby sisters.
The concept that the purpose of this war is to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is laughable.If that is true then we have completely failed. The civil strife that has resulted is more devastating than any weapon we imagined. We have destabilized the entire middle east. Iraq is in a civil war. Iran is developing nuclear weapons with the support of most of the Arab region and Israel and Lebanon are now at war. Terrorists now flock to the region.
In the end I have to ask: just who is the terrorist? If it is not us, then aren't we at least responsible for a war which adds to the ranks of the groups responsible for terror? Who is doing the terrorizing?
We cannot continue the facade that we are not all connected. What happened to "All men are created equal?" Or is that just if you happen to live in the right country? To the mothers of Iraq, I for one stand up as Julia Ward Howe did before me and say No! I will not be sending my son to kill yours!
It is devastating to me that this is where my tax dollars go. That every purchase I make is tied to this genocide. I can not stand by and idly watch while my government mass murders. If we are a government by and for the people than I am part of that government. To me doing nothing is perhaps the greatest evil. I worry that I am not doing enough.
Franklin Roosevelt said "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
Being at the recruiting station was my privilege. It was also my duty. I consider it community service and I have no remorse.
I'd like to end once more with some words from Eleanor Roosevelt:
"The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Christ, some of the other great Jewish teachers, Buddha, all preached it. Their followers forgot it"
posted by Carol at 10:48 AM
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