Iraq, Kucinich, and 'democratic' debate
by Diane V. McLoughlin, January 16, 2008
Historical perspective is MIA on the United States of
America and Iraq. History did not begin in 2003. In 1980
the U.S. picked sides, supporting Saddam Hussein in the
Iran-Iraq war. Through the interference of the U.S. both
sides were so evenly matched that the war endured for ten
years, causing the deaths of more than a million young
people.
Saddam laid claim to Kuwait as historically and legally part
of Iraq. One couldn't help but wonder why so few seemed
to consult a map at that time. Or a history book. Hussein
might have had a point. As the Chomsky refrain rightly
goes, this was never discussed in the mainstream media.
Iraq was low on cash after the war with Iran and needed all
the oil revenues it could get. Kuwait ignored Iraq's pleas to
keep oil prices reasonable and sold oil cheap. Further,
Iraq accused Kuwait of 'slant drilling' oil out of Iraqi oil
fields. In 1990, Saddam invaded. The Gulf War ensued.
Retreating from Kuwait Iraqi soldiers waving white flags,
fleeing civilians including children - were slaughtered -
some estimate in the thousands. That was it for one friend
of mine after such images were seared into her brain. That
was when she shut off her T.V. for good. (See:
'Overwhelming Force', by Seymour Hersh; published in
The New Yorker, May 22, 2000, pp. 49-82.)
Then, the U.S. and those allied besieged Iraq between
1990 to 2003. 500,000 Iraqi children are estimated to
have died. Biological warfare was the method of choice:
Electrical and waste treatment plants were bombed so that
there was no clean water to drink - a war crime of the first
order.
American Bert Sacks traveled to Iraq in 1997 to deliver
much-needed medicine to the civilian population. The U.S.
government fined him $10,000. (Democracy Now!
coverage, here.)
The war from 2003 to the present finds more death and
destruction of Iraqi lives and more misuse of well-meaning
young American military men and women; Americans who
are being killed and maimed in the thousands based on
the lie that they are in some way fighting for freedom. Polls
indicate that Iraqis would dearly love to be free - free from
American occupation.
In light of the repeated exclusions of Rep. Dennis Kucinich
in televised Democratic debates, I challenge America's
editorial boards to bring in and interview Kucinich, from the
left,
Rep. Ron Paul, from the right, and Green Party
presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney too, in order to
give everyone the opportunity to weigh for themselves
competing ideas to decide who is best to lead the country.
One might also find it interesting to know who the
candidates have on their teams of advisers. Who is behind
the scenes, influencing policy? (See Democracy Now!
interview here, talking to Independent journalist Allan Nairn
and American Conservative correspondent Kelley
Beaucar Vlahos. Interesting.)
Anybody with a nose for news would not be able to resist
sniffing out the reasons behind the exclusion of
presidential candidate Kucinich from the debates. So far
that includes New Hampshire, Nevada and South
Carolina. In two of three cases, he was invited, then
uninvited.
That Clinton, Obama and Edwards participate in debate to
the exclusion of Kucinich implicates them in collusion to
silence the opposition.
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