THIS JUST IN!!

[violachic]

Remarks for Peace Rally October 5, 2002
DuPage County Courthouse Wheaton Illinois
Scott Berman, representing Veterans for Peace



Veterans for Peace is an organization of Veterans of the Armed Forces of the
United States.

We trace our roots back to 1966, when we formed as an organization
called “Veterans for Peace in Viet Nam.” The intent was then, as it is now, to
underscore the point that many men and women who have served in the military do
not support the military interventions of our government.

There was a great effort during the time of the Viet Nam war to paint all
opposition as unpatriotic and illegitimate. We, who have been on the front
lines during war and peace…..we who have served, often at great sacrifice….we
have a special right and a special degree of legitimacy when we express
opinions on issues of peace and war.

Many of us stood up then as we stand up now saying NO. The country that we
serve and the country that we love must be peace loving, not war-loving. We
must never go to war for reasons of power politics or hegemony. The very
national security of our nation in this dangerous age requires that military
action must ONLY be at the explicit mandate of the United Nations. The national
security of our country now depends on international solidarity. Our national
security can no longer defined by Oil Companies or other Corporate interests.

We have seen a lot of brutal and unnecessary military interventions since the
Viet Nam war, but this latest War that the Bush Administration is preparing is
particularly vile. And unprecedented. What is so particularly outrageous this
time is the naked lust for war that the Bush regime demonstrates. In all
previous conflicts Presidents who have led us to war have done so reluctantly
or at least pretended to be reluctant. This time, we witness the obscene
impatience for the killing to begin every time Rumsfeld, Cheney or Resident
Bush opens his mouth. This time we hear the despicable call for pre-emptive
war, a concept so un-American that it boggles the mind

We are told that America must go to war in Iraq to eliminate weapons of mass
destruction. But the truth is that Bush’s Lust for War itself is a Weapon of
Mass Distraction. It is intended to distract us from the miserable state of the
American economy. Here in DuPage County where literally thousands of good jobs
have been lost…. at Tellabs, at Lucent Technologies, and other places, we are
particularly affected by the latest Bush Recession.

This lust for war is intended to distract us from the alarming attacks on our
constitutional civil liberties that have been led by Bush’s henchman John
Ashcroft.

This lust war is intended to distract us from the international disgrace and
isolation our nation is facing under the Bush regime…isolation from our allies
including France and Germany…and from the whole world for Bush’s disgraceful
international policies…ignoring the Kyoto Environment Accords…. rejection of
the International War Crimes Tribunal…and a myriad of other shameless policies.

This war is about oil. It is not about democracy, and it is certainly not about
terrorism. Recognizing that the American people are reluctant about this war,
Rumsfeld has begun murmuring about supposed links between Iraq and Al Quada.
But Brent Scowcroft who was National Security Advisor under Bush’s One, and
Brent Scowcroft who currently heads a White House Advisory Board on
Intelligence matters under Bush Two, wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently
that such evidence is “scanty”.

But if the connection to Al Quada is why we seek to intervene, perhaps we
should intervene in Saudi Arabia and throw the rascals out there. After all
most of the Sept 11 Terrorists were Saudi citizens. It is in Saudi Arabia that
a particularly vile ideology is couched in terms of religion. It is one of the
most intolerant, undemocratic regimes on the planet, a place where terrorist
ideology clearly flourishes…as witnessed on September 11. Why not go after
Saudi Arabia? Why not toss out that regime?

I’ll tell you why not. Oil. The oil flows freely and cooperative from Saudi
Arabia…and at good prices…and with great profits to multinational oil
companies. And with US Soldiers based inside on Saudi soil. And so a blind eye
is turned to the vicious ideology, the undemocratic society and the breeding
grounds for the very terrorism that took the lives of 3,000 Americans on
September 11.

Iraq is different. The oil flows, but not quite freely enough. And the
contracts tend to be with oil companies based in France and Russia. Don’t quote
me on that. Quote Noam Chomsky.


I want to conclude my remarks by talking briefly about a fellow Veteran. A man
who served honorably as an Officer in the United State Marine Corps. A man
whose skills and leadership were so well-respected that he was chosen to be the
United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq in the early 1990’s. Scott
Ritter is his name. Scott Ritter was no soft touch. He annoyed the pants off
of Sadaam Hussein by his dedication to doing his job of weapons inspection
thoroughly and honestly. He later annoyed the pants off the US Government when
he revealed efforts by US Intelligence agencies to use the UN team for
intelligence work unrelated to the UN Mandate.

Recently Scott Ritter spoke before the Iraqi parliament. He told the Iraqis
face to face to let the UN Inspectors in. He speaks out repeatedly saying that
the UN team did and can again do a through job of enforcing the UN resolutions
on Iraq. And he speaks out wisely and forcefully against the lust for war that
the Bush Administration pursues today.

I gave up saluting officers when I left the US Army 30 years ago. But this is
one officer, a great patriot and an honest man that I salute today.

Voices for peace are found everywhere. Do not accept stereotypes or
generalization. The arguments for peace, the arguments for allowing the United
Nations to handle the Iraqi situation, are overwhelming. People everywhere can
be convinced. Speak freely to your neighbors and others. We can still stop this
war, but time is short.

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