It is time to set aside mourning and suspend the chant for retribution in the wake of the tragedy. It is time to think. It is time to punish those who are guilty and reserve justice for those who are not proven to be guilty.
In these few historic days hope has been abandoned for those entombed in what was once the World Trade Center. Ideally, the place would be covered over with black granite and enshrined as a burial place for those American and guests from many countries as a memorial to war. But this will not happen; new buildings will rise again where the towers stood. New skyscrapers will be a sad monument if we do not correct the cause of this crime.
Americans have witnessed a sickening slide in the stock market, a continuation of which would soon begin to wipe our retirement plans and family security. It would then spill over into the real estate market, if it has not already done so. Congressmen have gone on a thoughtless, unprecedented spending binge, appropriating undreamed of sums of money for corporate bail out and reconstruction of New York, and for war against an undeclared, unidentified enemy. The airlines are said to be flying at 25% capacity. Disney Land has no waiting lines, and layoffs in the airline industry alone have reached 100,000 families. Worst of all, and unnoticed to all but a few, the great US dollar has begun to tremble like one of the buildings standing too close to The World Trade Center on Day911. This ominous trembling reflects the world?s loss of confidence toward the American Government, as no other measurement can.
At the root of this threatened financial implosion is a moral disaster called the G. W. Bush war plan. With war every soul knows there can be no chance of respite from hatred, for hatred and war are cellmates. Day911 was an event fired by hatred, and retribution can be guarantied to prolong and bring more of it. Who would deny that?
We are being dragged into war not by bombers and murders, but by our own political leaders. There has been no effort to achieve a just peace, and our president tells us this will be a long, if not permanent, war. Is it not time for “we, the people” to think about the consequences to ourselves? Never mind how our leaders feel.
It is time for clarity of thought, recognizing that our political leaders use events opportunistically. For the sake of future generations, we must minimize the effects of this immense disaster without sacrificing justice. Americans want to trust their leadership. But, voices of intelligent dissent are rising, and “We Hold These Truths” accepts a role as a leader. We have reason to question the War plan being thrust on us. This will be shared with you in this and other editions of Pharisee Watch.
It is said that ancient commanders believed killing the messenger relieved the pain of bad news. Sadly, many messengers are shirking their responsibility to deliver the message. We urge them to do their job. Please read our original report issued only two days after the awful event, “Day 911 – Americans Pay the Price.” Though it bought out the “ancient commander” mentality in some, every word is true, and we would not change anything even if we could.
President Bush’s “Infinite Justice” campaign will be subject of our examination to determine its result on our American way of life. As an introduction to this report, we present three letters. This author wrote the first almost 11 years ago on the day after Christmas. Had it been heeded then there might never have been a Day911.
“ON THE EVE OF THE GULF WAR, OPERATION DESERT STORM”
By Charles E.
Carlson
December 26, 1990
(Sent to hundreds of Christian and political leaders)
Please permit me to speak boldly to fellow Americans
We are in danger from a hidden enemy within. Our country’s leaders are openly attempting to sell or bully our people into war. This will be a war that can only bring sadness and death to many–some, our own sons and even daughters.
If President Bush, Secretary of State Baker and staff are unable to convince the American people that war is good for us, they plan to taunt and agitate the other side into making an “unprovoked attack.” A first strike will force the American people to accept a war–a war that has no logic from our point of view and which no one except our leaders wants. This disaster will happen unless a grassroots movement of the American people is sufficiently powerful to stop our leaders. This is why I am writing you. It will be your war to fight and pay for. Will you help to stop it?
To provoke an attack Mr. Bush has selected the age-old tactic of the bully–humiliation and insult intended to cause the other guy to start the fight. Most recently the president has made it known he did not want the hostages released and, in fact, stated he “gave no credit whatsoever to Hussein for releasing the hostages.” I am told by a businessman, who has spent much time doing business in Saudi Arabia, that to call an Arab a dog is a mortal insult, yet Bush repeatedly refers to Hussein as a “dog” or a “mad dog”. This is a deliberate insult before Husseins people, which, in the Arab culture, is an invitation to a fight to the death.
Now we see the specter of Mr. Gorbachev, leader of the most bloody-handed regime in all of recorded history, being begged to become an ally with our marines in Saudi Arabia. Consider the fact that Russia armed Iraq with the weapons they are using today. I am sure you know from the news that the USSR has armed Iraq all the way back to the days of the Shah of Iran. But do you remember that only two years ago George Bush sided with and gave U.S. money and arms to Iraqs Hussein against the Ayatollah of Iran? Mr. Bush has been inconsistent about who he supports in the east, but his actions have been perfectly consistent with promoting instability in the Arab East by jumping from side to side and providing arms to all sides, including Israel.
While President Bush agitates for war, the institutional press is openly fostering the hate campaign directed at Moslems, another example of brainwashing us with the idea that life is cheap and that government should not be questioned when it uses human lives as chess pawns. Ignored by the press are the lives of those on the other side.
We are supposed to think we are in Desert Shield to punish Dictator Hussein, but no one mentions that it will not be he who suffers from sanctions and war. But the widows and orphans and thousands of others who will be left mutilated and destitute, just as Afghanistans families have been destroyed by the Russian invasion. Mr. Bush is unashamedly selling war, but never does he discuss the consequences of war, which are death and destruction.
What then are Mr. Bushs motives for demanding war? We are left to guess at his motives and to rationalize the assumptions that our leaders share our concerns about human life, that they know what is good for us and are acting accordingly. Not so, President Bush is carrying out someone elses agenda. This can be plainly seen in his effort to hand over military authority to the United Nations. Let us examine the purposes of the UN.
What is the UN plan? Who runs it, and for whose benefit? Why is the United Nations asked to make the decisions that will affect the lives of American boys, and why would our president want such a thing, if he was not controlled by someone else? Under our Constitution, Congress is solely responsible for declaring war. Who gave the President authority to give your and my representative votes to a world government. Have you noticed how frequently we hear the call for a United Nations-ruled “World Order”? Whose are these voices?
There is no doubt in my mind that war is, in fact, a tool to eliminate our Constitution, and with it, the remaining legal protection we enjoy. War is a tool to transfer control of our defense from Congress to an internationally-controlled United Nations. Iraq is only a pawn. When the war ends, more of our freedoms will be gone, just as prayer in schools and protection for the unborn are gone. Our right to protest, petition and vote meaningfully will be gone too–conceded to a one-world United Nations government and snugly controlled by those with dictatorial designs who already control our President, George Bush. Mr. Bush has shown himself to be right in the middle of someone elses plans for our freedom.
If you consider the facts behind the news in the light of my arguments, I believe you will recognize the tactics of those who control Mr. Bush. These tactics are (1) create an enemy where none exists, (2) provoke an attack that can be labeled an “unprovoked act of a madman, Hitler, etc”, and finally, (3) create a sitting target that will, like the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, arouse the wrath of American people and the Congress to war. Such a target has been created with 300,000 American troops sitting on the desert of Saudi Arabia.
It is up to the American people to say an unconditional “no” to war. I have heard every argument and excuse for war, but I know of no scriptural or practical justification for our presence in Saudi Arabia, and if you know of one, I would like to hear it. The American people have been misguided into supporting this action without consideration of consequences or alternatives. Our President and those who control his actions are pagans, as is proven by their willingness to participate in a slaughter involving their own people. In another time, Mr. Bush might have been tried for crimes against his fellow man. We have become so used to misdeeds in high office that we no longer call them by their right names. Treason is not too strong a word for such misuse of trust and, if it is to be stopped, it must be you who stop it.
May God forgive us if, by our inaction, we allow genocide against Muslim women and children and the sacrifice of even one of our own children. The average American could not even recognize the name of the deposed King of Kuwait (Emir Shaikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir as-Sabah) or provide a single reason why we should sacrifice the life of one American boy to put him back in power. If you agree with even a small part of what I have presented, please write to your congressman before January l5, l991. Better yet, call him while he is home on Christmas vacation and tell him, “No war and no United Nations One World Government, now or ever.” Charles E. Carlson, 1990.
POST SCRIPT, SEPTEMBER 27, 2001
President George W. Bush stated in his speech that Operation “Infinite Justice” will not be a quick and decisive engagement “like the Gulf War was,” where we got in and out in a hurry. But the Gulf War has never ended. Iraq was bombed only one day before Day911. There were casualties. Copyright 2001, may be reproduced only in full.
EXCERPTS FROM LETTER TO THE CONGRESS FROM THE HONORABLE RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BY CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL
“…We should guard against emotionally driven demands to kill many bystanders in an effort to liquidate our enemy. These efforts could well fail to punish the perpetrators while only expanding the war and making things worse by killing innocent non-combatants and further radicalizing Muslim peoples?.”
“…Following the September 11th disasters a militant Islamic group in Pakistan held up a sign for all the world to see. It said Americans, Think! Why you are hated all over the world. We abhor the messenger, but we should not ignore the message?.”
“…But an economic issue does exist in this war, OIL!”
“…When the conflict broke out between Iraq and Iran in the early 1980s and we helped to finance and arm Iraq, Anwar Sadat of Egypt profoundly stated “This is the beginning of the war for oil.” Our crisis today is part of this long lasting war over oil?.”
“…Of course, it isnt our oil. The oil in fact belongs to the Arabs and other Muslim nations of the Persian Gulf. Our military presence in Saudi Arabia is what most Muslims believe to be a sacred violation of Holy Land. The continuous bombing and embargo of Iraq, has intensified the hatred and contributed to more than over 1,000,000 deaths in Iraq. It is clear that protecting certain oil interests and our presence in the Persian Gulf help drive the holy war.”
“We face an enormous task to restore the sense of security we have taken for granted for so long. But it can be done. Destroying the evildoers while extricating ourselves from this unholiest of wars is no small challenge.”
” The founders and authors of our Constitution provided an answer for the difficult tasks that we now face. When a precise declaration of war was impossible due to the vagueness of our enemy, the Congress was expected to take it upon themselves to direct the reprisal against an enemy not recognized as a government. In the early days the concern was piracy on the high seas. Piracy was one of only three federal crimes named in the original Constitution.”
“Today, we have a new type of deadly piracy, in the high sky over our country. The solution the founders came up with under these circumstances was for Congress to grant letters of marque and reprisal. This puts the responsibility in the hands of Congress to direct the President to perform a task with permission to use and reward private sources to carry out the task, such as the elimination of Osama bin Laden and his key supporters. This allows narrow targeting of the enemy.”
“…Lives could be saved, billions of dollars could be saved, and escalation due to needless and senseless killing could be prevented.” Congressman Ron Paul, Texas
Text of letter: http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2001/cr092501.htm;
A YOUNG AMERICAN WROTE THIS LETTER FROM A FAMOUS FAMILY, JONATHAN ROOSEVELT, AND A WELL-STATED LETTER OF DISSENT.
To The Editors of the Boston Globe
By Jonathan Roosevelt
September 25 2001
I consider myself to be a patriotic American with a long family tradition of service to the country. I worked in the government for seven years, four of which were abroad. Two of our family served this country as Presidents. My father had a distinguished career (following military service in WWII) with the CIA. My brother was a Democratic nominee for governor of this state.
A dictionary defines patriotism as “love and loyal or zealous support of ones own country…”. Interesting, because “zealous”, “zealot” and “zealotry” are words frequently associated with, or used to define, people who take extreme positions, such as religious fanatics. The Taliban and Osama bin Laden come to mind. That is not how I think of myself or of my patriotism.
Like patriotism, “war” is a word with important nuances. Military operations are often implied, but a country can be said to be at war simply by being in a state of hostility or contention. Think of the wars against poverty and AIDS.
My patriotism tells me that this is the type of war the U.S. should now declare against terrorism. First, we must gather intelligence. We must identify and locate the terrorists. To win the war it is equally important that we understand them. That too is intelligence.
Those who have already committed acts of terrorism (murder) must be brought to justice (to me that means brought before a legitimate judicial system and given a trial). Precise military operations may be necessary. In the case of those who have not yet committed acts of terrorism, through our understanding of them the US should be a leader in an effort to demonstrate to them that they can better achieve their objectives by non-violent means.
We must convince would-be-terrorists that they are being heard, that the just aspects of their causes will be addressed and that change is possible.
As a starter, the United States might take a harder look at the “fairness” of its Middle East policies and make some called for adjustments.
I believe that the people of this great country now have a rare opportunity to take some giant steps forward in our relationship to the rest of the world as well as in how we regard ourselves. This will require courage, honesty and a non-zealous brand of patriotism. It will require patience, compassion, self-awareness and open-mindedness.
To this end, our President needs help from all of us. Because of the huge power of the press and the national TV their role is vital. It is not patriotic to support, uncritically and unequivocally the President just because this is a time of crisis. No leader is truly well served by advisers and citizens who, because of fear of being thought unpatriotic, say, “Yes, yes, you are wonderful and you are doing the right thing”. That thoughtless “support” can be moral cowardice and unpatriotic.
President Bushs speech Thursday evening was well delivered and he seemed both comfortable and sincere. But, much of its content was shocking. It was frightening. It was even stupid. And yet the media applaud it.
If a leader wants the cooperation of other nations he doesnt issue demands, rule out negotiations, act like a teenage bully trying to put together a gang by threatening, “If you are not with us you are with the enemy”.
Why should the Taliban be demanded to hand over bin Laden without some strong evidence that he was involved with the September 11 atrocity? Yet this is what President Bush demands, and it is not negotiable and it must be done immediately. No wonder our allies are qualifying their commitments of support. They dont like being told that they support terrorism if they do not jump 1000% on Bushs bandwagon. They warn us to proceed with caution. The American press and citizens should be qualifying their support also.
Patriotism and zealotry are close cousins, easy to confuse and often merge into each other. If fanaticism is our enemy, we can become our own enemy by carrying patriotism too far. Patriotism is not “my country, right or wrong”. That is zealotry or fanaticism.
I support an appropriate war against terrorism. However, I cannot support conduct of this war in a fashion which will escalate the violence and murders, which will alienate us from our allies, which will harden the dedication of terrorists, and which will eventually cause great dissension in this country.
By J. Roosevelt, Sudbury, MA.
For a better understanding of the problem, you should read One Nation under Israel: http://wordpress.whtt.org/don/. Learn why our political and religious leaders support Israel, and how its organizations influence our Congress. Learn about American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) and why it does little good to tell your Congressman about Israels crimes, for he probably has already been there on a free junket and receives campaign funds from them.
