[R-G] Re: Senator Byrd

[DavidMcR at aol.com]

Yes, Sidney, it is. Strange that it is Byrd, the old southern racist, 
reactionary, etc., who would defend the Republic in this dark hour. And how 
silent, how timid, the liberal voice.

Crisis brings out the best and worst in people. 

David McReynolds

<< Subj:     
 Date:  2/17/03 7:45:41 AM Eastern Standard Time
 From:  sgendin01 at comcast.net (Sidney Gendin)
 To:    RFM at virginia.edu (Bob McNergney), DavidMcR at aol.com (David 
McReynolds), bemart2 at optonline.net (Marty Hellman)
 
 I think this is a great speech.    Sid
               
  Peace Through Ideas - Ideas Through Debate
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
 Return to Home Page - The Modern Tribune
 We Stand Passively Mute
 
 THIS IS NO SMALL CONFLAGRATION WE CONTEMPLATE
 
 By SENATOR ROBERT BYRD
 Senate Floor Speech
 Wednesday 12 February 2003
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 WASHINGTON, D.C. (2/12) - To contemplate war is to think about the most  
 horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation  
 stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be  
 contemplating the horrors of war.
 
 Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously,  
 dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay  
 out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is  
 nothing.
 
 We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our  
 own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. Only  
 on the editorial pages of our newspapers is there much substantive  
 discussion of the prudence or imprudence of engaging in this particular  
 war.
 
 And this is no small conflagration we contemplate. This is no simple  
 attempt to defang a villain. No. This coming battle, if it  
 materializes, represents a turning point in U.S. foreign policy and  
 possibly a turning point in the recent history of the world.
 
 This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary  
 doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The  
 doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other  
 nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not  imminently  
 threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new  
 twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in  
 contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being  
 tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around  
 the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's  
 -- hit list.
 
 High level Administration figures recently refused to take nuclear  
 weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against  
 Iraq. What could be more destabilizing and unwise than this type of  
 uncertainty, particularly in a world where globalism has tied the vital  
 economic and security interests of many nations so closely together?  
 There are huge cracks emerging in our time-honored alliances, and U.S.  
 intentions are suddenly subject to damaging worldwide speculation.
 
 Anti-Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion, and  
 alarming rhetoric from U.S. leaders is fracturing the once solid  
 alliance against global terrorism which existed after September 11.   
 Here at home, people are warned of imminent terrorist attacks with  
 little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur. Family  
 members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of the  
 duration of their stay or what horrors they may face.
 
 Communities are being left with less than adequate police and fire  
 protection. Other essential services are also short-staffed. The mood  
 of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling. Fuel prices are rising  
 and may soon spike higher. This Administration, now in power for a  
 little over two years, must be judged on its record. I believe that  
 that record is dismal.
 
 In that scant two years, this Administration hassquandered a large  
 projected surplus of some $5.6 trillion over the next decade and taken  
 us to projected deficits as far as the eye can see. This  
 Administration's domestic policy has put many of our states in dire  
 financial condition, under funding scores of essential programs for our  
 people. This Administration has fostered policies which have slowed  
 economic growth. This Administration has ignored urgent matters such as  
 the crisis in health care for our elderly. This Administration has been  
 slow to provide adequate funding for homeland security. This  
 Administration has been reluctant to better protect our long and porous  
 borders.
 
 In foreign policy, this Administration has failed to find Osama bin  
 Laden. In fact, just yesterday we heard from him again marshaling his  
 forces and urging them to kill. This Administration has split  
 traditional alliances, possibly crippling, for all time,  International  
 order-keeping entities like the United Nations and NATO. This  
 Administration has called into question the traditional worldwide  
 perception of the United States as well-intentioned peacekeeper. This  
 Administration has turned the patient art of diplomacy into threats,  
 labeling, and name calling of the sort that reflects quite poorly on  
 the intelligence and sensitivity of our leaders, and which will have  
 consequences for years to come.
 
 Calling heads of state pygmies, labeling whole countries as evil,  
 denigrating powerful European allies as irrelevant -- these types of  
 crude insensitivities can do our great nation no good. We may have  
 massive military might, but we cannot fight a global war on terrorism  
 alone. We need the cooperation and friendship of our time-honored  
 allies as well as the newer found friends whom we can attract with our  
 wealth. Our awesome military machine will do us little good if we  
 suffer another devastating attack on our homeland which severely  
 damages our economy. Our military manpower is already stretched thin  
 and we will need the augmenting support of those nations who can supply  
 troop strength, not just sign letters cheering us on.
 
 The war in Afghanistan has cost us $37 billion so far, yet there is  
 evidence that terrorism may already be starting to regain its hold in  
 that region. We have not found bin Laden, and unless we secure the  
 peace in Afghanistan, the dark dens of terrorism may yet again flourish  
 in that remote and devastated land.  Pakistan as well is at risk of  
 destabilizing forces.
 
 This Administration has not finished the first war against terrorism  
 and yet it is eager to embark on another conflict with perils much  
 greater than those in Afghanistan. Is our attention span that short?  
 Have we not learned that after winning the war one must always secure  
 the peace?  And yet we hear little about the aftermath of war in
 Iraq. In the absence of plans, speculation abroad is rife. Will we  
 seize Iraq's oil fields, becoming an occupying power which controls the  
 price and supply of that nation's oil for the foreseeable future? To  
 whom do we propose to hand the reigns of power after Saddam Hussein? 
 
 Will our war inflame the Muslim world resulting in devastating attacks  
 on Israel? Will Israel retaliate with its own nuclear arsenal? Will the  
 Jordanian and Saudi Arabian governments be toppled by radicals,  
 bolstered by Iran which has much closer ties to terrorism than Iraq?   
 Could a disruption of the world's oil supply lead to a world-wide  
 recession? Has our senselessly bellicose language and our callous  
 disregard of the interests and opinions of other nations increased the  
 global race to join the nuclear club and made proliferation an even  
 more lucrative practice for nations which need the income?
 
 In only the space of two short years this reckless and arrogant  
 Administration has initiated policies which may reap disastrous  
 consequences for years.  One can understand the anger and shock of any  
 President after the savage attacks of September 11. One can appreciate  
 the frustration of having only a shadow to chase and an amorphous,  
 fleeting enemy on which it is nearly impossible to exact retribution.   
 But to turn one's frustration and anger into the kind of extremely  
 destabilizing and dangerous foreign policy debacle that the world is  
 currently witnessing is inexcusable from any Administration charged  
 with the awesome power and responsibility of guiding the destiny of the  
 greatest superpower on the planet.
 
 Frankly many of the pronouncements made by this Administration are  
 outrageous. There is no other word.  Yet this chamber is hauntingly  
 silent. On what is possibly the eve of horrific infliction of death and  
 destruction on the population of the nation of Iraq -- a population, I  
 might add, of which over 50% is under age 15 -- this chamber is silent.  
 On what is possibly only days before we send thousands of our own  
 citizens to face unimagined horrors of chemical and biological warfare  
 -- this chamber is silent. On the eve of what could possibly be a  
 vicious terrorist attack in retaliation for our attack on Iraq, it is  
 business as usual in the United States Senate.
 
 We are truly "sleepwalking through history." In my heart of hearts I  
 pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not  
 in for a rudest of awakenings.
 
 To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be  
 a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment  
 of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack  
 on a nation which is over 50% children is "in the highest moral  
 traditions of our country".
 
 This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a  
 good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so  
 quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of  
 our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time. 
 
 Senator Robert Byrd
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