September 4, 2013
jilortlanò (Dbserner
Page 7
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Weapons Judged Against Oi
Bombing for
peace an
oxymoron
bodies that can only be dream ed o f the pot calling the kettle black, it’s
by Sen. Jo h n M cC ain.
napalm calling the depleted uranium
H e and o th er w eapons dealers a poison.
keen for bom b in g S yria should be
N o country on earth is g uiltier o f
required to identify the source o f using chem icals as w eapons o f w ar
the chem ical w eapons that have than the U n ited S tates — ev en
been u nleashed in the D am ascus against its ow n people.
suburb o f G houta. W ithout a p o si
T he N ational C an cer Institute
tive ID o f the w e ap o n s’ derivation disclosed in 1997 that 90 U.S. nuclear
and the shooters, the U N w ill not bom b tests spew ed 150 m illion cu
sanction an attack.
ries o f io d in e -131 m ainly betw een
W idening the proxy w ar betw een 1 9 5 2 a n d l9 5 7 .
Iran and Saudi A rabia being w aged
The N C I found that all 160 million
J ohn L a F orge
High altitude bom b
ing an d lo n g -ra n g e
m issile attacks alw ays bring n ig h t
m ares o f dead children and suicidal
veterans. T he p re sid en t’s plan s fo r
ro c k e tin g y e t a n o th e r M id -e a s t
country w ithout a U N m andate are
being rationalized by pointin g to
bad actions by others — in this case
S y ria’s overlords.
W hen bystanders and the e ld
erly and w om en an d children and
illiterate peasants are blow n to bits
or m aim ed by U.S. m issiles fired by
U.S. je ts, the unnum bered deaths
and dism em berm ents w ill be called
“accidents” o r “u n intended co n se
quences. T he endless failure o f the in S yria w ill lead to catastrophe,
by
acres o f crops and today the V iet-
nam ese Red C ross counts 150,000
children w hose birth abnorm alities
w ere caused by their p aren ts’ expo-
sure to A gent O range alone
R e p o rte d ly a b o u t 3 8 8 ,0 0 0 tons
o f o u r c h e m ic a lly g e lle d g a so lin e
— n a p alm — w as d ro p p e d on
S o u th e a st A sia b e tw ee n 1963 and
1973, c o m p a re d to 3 2 ,3 5 7 tons
u sed o n K o re a o v e r th ree y ears,
an d 16,500 to n s d ro p p e d o n Jap an
in 1945.
A report by the World Health Organization has found huge
increases in birth abnormalities in southern Iraq where our DU
was used extensively. Doctors at the Basra maternity hospital told
the BBC this spring that they have seen a 60 percent rise in birth
defects like spina bifida since 2003.
peace m ovem ent m eans that the G en. M artin D em p sey , ch airm an o f
bodies o f unidentified villains and the Jo in t C hiefs o f S ta ff know s this
countless innocents are to be sacri and has ex p ressed strong opposi-
ficed by U .S pilots in th eir th o u g h t tion to even lim ited in terv en tio n in
less obedience to illegal orders.
Syna-
“H um anitarian w ar” jo in s “su rg i
P resident O h -b o m b -ah w ill call
cal strik es” in the lexicon o f self- his “Precision strik es” a righteous
contradiction but w ith a g h a stly , p u n ish m en t fo r the crim e o f chem i-
c h o k in g th ro at full
ones, b ro k en teeth
people in the U.S. at the tim e w ere
pation o f Iraq.
A re p o rt b y th e W o rld H e a lth
O rg a n iz a tio n h as fo u n d -h u g e in
c re a s e s in b irth a b n o rm a litie s in
so u th e rn Iraq w h e re o u r D U w as
u sed e x te n s iv e ly . D o c to rs at the
B a sra m a te rn ity h o sp ita l to ld the
B B C th is s p rin g th a t th e y h a v e
see n a 6 0 p e rc e n t ris e in b irth
defects like spina b ifida since 2003.
In 1994 and 1995, the Pentagon
adm its it fired about 10,800 D U
rounds into B o sn ia — close to three
tons. M ore than 3 1 ,0 0 0 rounds,
a b o u t 10 to n s , w e re sh o t in to
K osovo by the U .S. and N A T O in
1999. DU has also contam inated large
parts o f O kinaw a, Panam a, Puerto
R ico, V ieques, South K orea, N ew
M exico and o th er U.S. bases and
firing ranges w here target practice
is conducted.
T he m em ory o f the hundreds o f
thousands o f civilians killed or p o i
soned by the U .S. in Iraq, A fghani
stan, K uw ait, B osnia, K osovo, S o
m alia and Y em en should give pause
to to d ay ’s gung-ho w arriors. B ut it
seem s th e y ’re only interested in
selling w eapons.
In 1991, m ore than 4 0 0 tons o f
depleted” uranium (D U ) m unitions
T he study said that betw een 25,000 w ere fired into Iraq and K uw ait dur-
and 75,000 thyroid cancers w ould ing the G u lfW ar. T he B ulletin o f the
resu lt in the U .S. and that 10 p ercent A to m ic S c ie n tists re p o rte d th at
o fth e m w ould be fatal.
9 4 0 ,0 0 0 A ir Force 30-m m D U shells
In Vietnam , from 1962to 1969,the and 4 ,0 0 0 A rm y 120-m m D U anti-
John LaForge is a co-director o f
U .S. sprayed m ore than 100 m illion tank shells w ere fired. T he “tank
Nukewatch,
a nuclear watchdog
p ounds o f toxins like A gent O range busters” alone co n tain ed 25 tons o f
contam inated w ith the radio-iodine.
o f sm ash e d cal w eapons use, but this w ill be o v er fo u r m illion acres. O u r chem i-
an d b u rn ed rich er than the V atican. W o rse than cal w arfare d estroyed o v er 4 6 0 ,0 0 0
uranium . A nother 170 tons w ere
used in the 2003 bom bing and occu-
and environmental justice group
in W isconsin a n d w rites f o r
PeaceVoice.
We Have Come Far; Still Much Has Stayed the Same
Rededicating ourselves to the fight
B enjamin T odd J ealous
I jo in e d over 150,000 p eople at
the 50th anniversary o f the M arch
on W ashington. It w as a pow erfu l
m om ent that show ed us how D r.
K ing's dream is still alive, yet re-
m inded us how far w e still have to go
to see it fulfilled.
T h e sim p le b a c k d ro p o f la st
m o n th ’s ev en t rem in d ed us how
m uch has chan g ed in 50 years.
W e gathered h a lf a m ile from the
W hite H ouse, w here an A frica-
A m erican president and A frican-
A m erican attorney general have held
office for five years.
T he m edia w ho attended re p re
s e n te d th e d iv e r s e r a c e s a n d
ethnicities o f the crow d, com pared
w ith the all-w hite m edia w hose open
bigotry tow ard Dr. K ing w as on full
display in the 1963 M eet the P ress
interview rebroadcast for the o c ca
sion. Finally, the crow d m arched
past the regal statue o f D r. K ing,
prom inently positioned beside D C 's
Tidal B asin.
W e have indeed com e far. Still,
so m uch has stayed the sam e.
Fifty years ago w e w ere m oti-
by
ing suppressive voter ID laws, cuts
to voter registration and early voting.
vated by the k illin g o f a you n g black
Fifty years ago w e w ere inspired
m an, M ed g ar E vers, and w e cam e to by the idea o f a fair m inim um w age
the N ational M all to m ourn his death and econom ic ju stice. T his year w e
and ensure that he w ould no t die in have the sam e inspiration.
vain. T his y e ar w e are m o tiv ated by
Let us celebrate o u r victories,
the tra g e d y o f T ray v o n M artin , and rededicate ourselves to the fight.
w hich has p u sh ed m any o f us to
W hen they say N o Y ou C an't, w e
red ed icate o u rselv es to en d racial say Y es W e Can!
profiling.
W hen they say, N o Y ou C an't
Fifty years ago w e w ere fighting pass a real racial profiling ban w ith
for everyone to have an equal right to teeth, w e say Y es W e C a n ! B ecause
vote. T his year w e are faced with a yes w e did, ju s t tw o w eeks ago in
Suprem e C ourt that has gutted the N ew Y ork City.
V oting Rights Act, and w e are fight-
W hen they say, N o Y ou C an't
L egal N otices
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pass the D R EA M A ct, N o Y ou Can't
pass m arriage equality, N o You Can't
abolish the death penalty, N o You
C an't expand voting rights in any
state south o f the M ason-D ixon
Line, w e say Yes W e Can! B ecause
yes, w e did, in M aryland last year.
W hen they say, N o Y ou C an't
restore the full force o f the V oting
R ights A ct, N o Y ou C an't raise the
m inim um w age, not w ith this C o n
gress, w e say, Y es W e C an, b e
cause, yes, w e have, again and again.
So let us claim som e victories
right now.
L et us say, Y es, w e w ill pass
T rayvon's law from coast to coast.
L et us say, Y es, w e w ill protect
the right to vote w ith all o u r m ight
until w e win the fight finally once
and fo r all.
A nd let us say, Y es, w e w ill raise
the m inim um w age because you
cannot survive on $7.25!
Yes, we w ill! Yes, we w ill! Yes, we
will!
Ben Jealous is president and
chief executive officer ofthe NAACP.
SllHsiCrihpf
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