Pressure From Within
Posted February 28th, 2003 @ 10:25am by Erik J. Barzeski
Our current Dubyament, errr, government doesn't seem to care what the population thinks, or what the rest of the world thinks, so maybe they'll respond to some pressure from within. From John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell:
I am writing you to submit my resignation from the Foreign Service of the United States and from my position as Political Counselor in U.S. Embassy Athens, effective March 7. I do so with a heavy heart… The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security.
Find the full letter here, and thanks to Tom Coates for the pointer.
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Posted 28 Feb 2003 at 1:48pm #
Resignation
Erik B. reports that John Brady Kiesling has resigned, with a rather powerful letter, if I do say so myself.
Posted 28 Feb 2003 at 6:06pm #
Well, actually, the vast majority of the WORLD is not anti-war or pro-Saddam. Its just a very vocal minority that pisses and moans about EVERYTHING not just "war" (exactly where is the war at? what war? hello?) like anti-corporations, anti-meat-eating, anti-freedom (ANSWER is a communist organization, do some reading about them), pro-socialism and anti-Americanism pure and simple. They ALL get together and protest at EVERY opportunity. Most people grow out of this phase in their life (notice many of the protesters are college-aged) and become productive members of society (any society) who pay their taxes, buy life insurance and help their kids with homework. You know, what the OVERWHELMING majority of pepople do compared to protesting nutballs who are so stoned they can barely form coherent protest slogans.
I love that quote from some know-nothing New Yorker who said long ago "how could Nixon have won? I don't know a single person who voted for him!" Yeah. Right. There are more people than Lefty Hollywood, the media and the New York Times editorial staff out there.
Posted 28 Feb 2003 at 9:34pm #
Must be cog in wheel, must be cog in wheel.
To paint everyone who thinks war is wrong as someone who is "anti-freedom," (which is the implication of your comment) is absurd, and obviously false. The problem is there's a lot of stone throwing on both sides, name calling, and few people actually discussing the merits of whether more killing is morally right.
Posted 01 Mar 2003 at 12:10am #
"Warmonger," if you're going to fill my blog with drivel like that, have the balls to sign a real name, site, and email address to them. Until then, I'll simply consider banning you.
Posted 08 Jul 2003 at 9:13pm #
Another conservative hypocritical asshole lumps together all people who oppose war and who wish to outlaw meat! First, if you are anti-Saddam Hussein, that makes you an "anti-Saddam Hussein" protestor! There is no difference between a protestor, a criminal, a terrorist, a fighter, a soldier, or a mercenary. The only differences which matter are the causes and how much force one uses and against whom.
Some protest ALL wars. They are true pacifists.
The vast majority of them are undoubtedly consistent.
Other may protest a PARTICULAR war. Some may protest because they are pro-Saddam. Others may protest because they are pro-America and feel that
WE should not be spending OUR money and OUR blood to free Iraqis (or, more justifiably, to make oil companies richer).
I am NOT a pacifist. I am all for using the military to free imprisoned environmentalist and
animal rights activists and labor unionists and feminists in other countries, and for the FBI to
shut down factory farms and logging companies in this country. That would be a LOT better use of my tax dollars than busting in on drug dealers or pornographers.
You ultra-conservatives preach about the necessity of using violence to achieve justice, for example, against Saddam Hussein, and I agree. But you hypocritically demand that poor people and anti-meat activists not use force to free tortured imprisoned animals or to spread wealth and resources to those who earned it. You dare to ridicule environmentalists even though they are fighting for a world YOU can live and breathe on!