Manchester Area People for Peace

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WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER!

It would seem that the peace movement has been given very little attention in the news media. There are many Americans, along with citizens of other countries, coming together in protests around the globe to help send the message that war on Iraq is wrong.

Saddam Hussein is undeniably an evil dictator who needs to be removed from power, but war is not the way. Our President has not given us any real viable reasons for this war. It’s almost as if the topic just sort of came up after 9/11. The patriotic frenzy caused by those terrorist attacks made it convenient for the President to “rally” Americans against anyone who may be a threat. It would seem attacking Iraq was Mr. Bush’s plan before 9/11 even happened. There is no proof Iraq had anything to do with those attacks. The men that drove our planes into our buildings were Saudi’s – not Iraqi’s. The Saudi’s control a great oil reserve and are allies of the United States. It wouldn’t pay for us to go to war with them so they have basically gotten away with this attack on our country. It’s almost as if our government is “sleeping with the enemy”. Attacking Iraq will only strengthen the view held by much of the Arab world that America is the enemy. We are not being attacked by Suddam Hussein at this time and it doesn’t make sense to kill thousands of Iraqi citizens, devastate their homeland, and sacrifice our troops to satisfy a grudge which our president admittedly has towards this man for attempting to kill his father.

The weapons inspectors have not found a “smoking gun” as stated many times recently and at this time there is no evidence that Iraq is a direct threat to our country. There are other countries, such as North Korea, who have weapons of mass destruction and yet our President seems to be willing to negotiate with them. There are “evil” leaders in many countries who kill, neglect, or abuse their own people and yet we have not tried to declare war on them. The fact that Suddam gassed his own people is only becoming an issue at this time because it is simply more ammunition for the Bush Administration to use against him, in spite of the fact that this happened 11 years ago. Iraq sits on the 2nd largest oil reserve in the world. European countries as well as Japan rely on the Middle East for its oil. We are allies of these countries and we rely on the trade between us. The United States has enough oil for its own use, however, gaining control of this large reserve would mean these countries would then be relying on us for their oil supplies. This war is about OIL and political gains!

Consider these questions: What other countries can we count on for military support? Do we know what other countries may become allies with Iraq during this war or may decide to become involved by using weapons of their own? Are we so sure an attack on American soil is impossible? Do we really know what the aftermath of nuclear, chemical or biological warfare could mean? What happens if this war ultimately results in World War III – will this mean reinstatement of the draft? How will we afford the cost of this war in dollars? What will be the state of economy and national debt when this war is over? Will we recover?

Patriotism is defined as “loving one’s country”. I love this country and do not wish to see it destroyed by a man who is willing to sacrifice thousands, or perhaps millions, of lives for the sake of his father’s honor, his own political gains, or for oil that we do not need and that will make the wealthy wealthier and have no benefit whatsoever for the average American citizen.

Opposing this war does not make us unpatriotic or “anti-military”. On the contrary, and those that are opposed need to join together and speakout. Now is the time!!

Juli DeJonghe
Manchester Township
6 January 2003