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We Must Ask Ourselves "WHY?"
A letter to Congressional representatives,
and published as a local (Spokane) Letter to the
Editor
by Marianne Torres
|
Following is the letter we sent to our Conressional
representatives, and which was published in our local
newspaper, The Local Planet
|
9/13/01
Senator Maria Cantwell
717 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Cantwell:
Without wasting words:
- Secretary Colin Powell said it first: "this is not just an
attack on America. It is an attack on NATO, and an attack on
civilization". Who can deny that? If it is an attack on
civilization, the civilized world is the place in which we should
BRING THE PERPETRATORS TO JUSTICE: the WORLD COURT. This not only
spreads the risk and the alliances, but will allow us to avoid an
orgy of executions which I do not believe our social fabric can
survive.
- CALL FOR AN INTENSIVE WORLDWIDE MANHUNT. Do not call for war.
Do not call for bombing yet more innocent civilians. Call for
action that will bring the perpetrators to justice.
- We must understand that our willingness to kill civilians, and
to support other states who do the same, is at the very root of
this horrible act.
- - Vietnam was a war against civilians (58,000 American dead
&endash; primarily soldiers, 3,000,000 (three million)
Vietnamese dead, primarily civilians);
- - the Gulf War was a war against civilians (carpet bombing,
destruction of an entire country's infrastructure &endash; you
can't do that without bombing population centers);
- - the continuing sanctions against Iraq is a war against
civilians (at least half a million Iraqi children dead since
1991 to starvation and to disease that needed only a simple
medical response &endash; and that's just the children);
- - we supported and literally paid for wars against
civilians in Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile,
Indonesia. We supported Brazil's war against their civilians.
We supported and partially paid for Indonesia's war against
their civilians. The list is far longer;
- - the war in Palestine/Israel is a war against civilians,
conducted by Israel, paid for en toto by the United States
&endash; the list of grievances there is so long, again I won't
even list them. Suffice it to say that Israel has broken
hundreds of international laws, flown in the face of several
hundred UN resolutions (a transgression for which we have
bombed other nations), and committed multitudes of what the
world recognizes as war crimes, all with impunity, and with
absolute political and massive economic support from the
US;
- - the war in Yugoslavia and Kosovo was and is a war against
civilians.
HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS WILL WE DO BEFORE WE UNDERSTAND THAT
KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE ENGENDERS NOT JUST RESISTANCE, BUT
HATRED?
- CALL FOR A REASONED, RATIONAL, RESPONSE &endash; a manhunt,
and justice in the World Court. STOP THE JINGO-ISM. This is not a
time for empty words!
- DEMAND THAT CONGRESS RESCIND THE TAX CUT, AND MAKE NO MORE.
How on earth are we going to pay for all this if we cut off the
very supply of the funds?
In sorrow,
Marianne Torres
Spokane, WA 99216
AND BY THE WAY, please work to pass legislation that prevents
Credit Card companies from reaping false profits (no pun intended)
from the billions of dollars worth of late charges they will levy
because the US Mail has been delayed.
# # #
About the Authors
Comments? Questions? Email the author(s) of Palestine Papers at
mtorres@icehouse.net
URL of this
page:http://www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/palestine/whyletter.html
