Coming
in October
From AK Press
Today's
Stories
September
19, 2003
Ilan Pappe
The
Hole in the Road Map
Bill Glahn
RIAA is Full of Bunk, So is the New York Times
Dave Lindorff
General Hysteria: the Clark Bandwagon
Robert Fisk
New Guard is Saddam's Old
Jeff Halper
Preparing
for a Struggle Against Israeli Apartheid
Brian J. Foley
Power to the Purse
Clare
Brandabur
Hitchens
Smears Edward Said
Website of the Day
Live from Palestine
September
18, 2003
Mona Baker
and Lawrence Davidson
In
Defense of the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions
Wayne
Madsen
Wesley
Clark for President? Another Neo-Con Con Job
Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
Wesley Clark and Waco
Muqtedar Khan
The Pakistan Squeeze
Dominique
de Villepin
The
Reconstruction of Iraq: This Approach is Leading Nowhere
Angus Wright
Brazilian Land Reform Offers Hope
Elaine
Cassel
Payback is Hell
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Leavitt
for EPA Head? He's Much Worse Than You Thought
Website
of the Day
ALA Responds to Ashcroft's Smear
Recent
Stories
September 17, 2003
Timothy J. Freeman
The
Terrible Truth About Iraq
St. Clair / Cockburn
A
Vain, Pompous Brown-noser:
Meet the Real Wesley Clark
Terry Lodge
An Open Letter to Michael Moore on Gen. Wesley Clark
Mitchel Cohen
Don't Be Fooled Again: Gen. Wesley Clark, War Criminal
Norman Madarasz
Targeting Arafat
Richard Forno
High Tech Heroin
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Website of the Day
The Ultimate Palestine Resource Site!
September 16, 2003
Rosemary and Walt Brasch
An
Ill Wind: Hurricane Isabel and the Lack of Homeland Security
Robert Fisk
Powell
in Baghdad
Kurt Nimmo
Imperial Sociopaths
M. Shahid Alam
The Dialectics
of Terror
Ron Jacobs
Exile at Gunpoint
Christopher Brauchli
Bush's War on Wages
Al Krebs
Stop Calling Them "Farm Subsidies"; It's Corporate
Welfare
Patrick Cockburn
The
Iraq Wreck
Website of the Day
From Occupied Palestine
September 15, 2003
Stan Goff
It Was
the Oil; It Is Like Vietnam
Robert Fisk
A Hail of Bullets, a Trail of Dead
Writers Bloc
We
Are Winning: a Report from Cancun
James T. Phillips
Does George Bush Cry?
Elaine Cassel
The Troublesome Bill of Rights
Cynthia McKinney
A Message to the People of New York City
Matthew Behrens
Sunday Morning Coming Down: Reflections on Johnny Cash
Uri Avnery
Assassinating
Arafat
Hammond Guthrie
Celling Out the Alarm
Website of the Day
Arnold and the Egg
September 13 / 14, 2003
Michael Neumann
Anti-Americanism:
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Jeffrey St. Clair
Anatomy of a Swindle
Gary Leupp
The Matrix of Ignorance
Ron Jacobs
Reagan's America
Brian Cloughley
Up to a Point, Lord Rumsfeld
William S. Lind
Making Mesopotamia a Terrorist Magnet
Werther
A Modest Proposal for the Pentagon
Dave Lindorff
Friendly Fire Will Doom the Occupation
Toni Solo
Fiction and Reality in Colombia: The Trial of the Bogota Three
Elaine Cassel
Juries and the Death Penalty
Mickey Z.
A Parable for Cancun
Jeffrey Sommers
Issam Nashashibi: a Life Dedicated to the Palestinian Cause
David Vest
Driving in No Direction (with a Glimpse of Johnny Cash)
Michael Yates
The Minstrel Show
Jesse Walker
Adios, Johnny Cash
Adam Engel
Something Killer
Poets' Basement
Cash, Albert, Curtis, Linhart
Website of the Weekend
Local Harvest
The Great Alejandro Escavedo Needs Your Help!
September 12, 2003
Writers Block
Todos
Somos Lee: Protest and Death in Cancun
Laura Carlsen
A Knife to the Heart: WTO Kills Farmers
Dave Lindorff
The Meaning of Sept. 11
Elaine Cassel
Bush at Quantico
Linda S. Heard
British
Entrance Exams
John Chuckman
The First Two Years of Insanity
Doug Giebel
Ending America as We Know It
Mokhiber / Weissman
The Blank Check Military
Subcomandante Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Website of the Day
A Woman in Baghdad
September 11, 2003
Robert Fisk
A Grandiose
Folly
Roger Burbach
State Terrorism and 9/11: 1973 and 2001
Jonathan Franklin
The Pinochet Files
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Postcards to the President
Norman Solomon
The Political Capital of 9/11
Saul Landau
The Chilean Coup: the Other, Almost Forgotten 9/11
Stew Albert
What Goes Around
Website of the Day
The Sights and Sounds of a Coup
September 10, 2003
John Ross
Cancun
Reality Show: Will It Turn Into a Tropical Seattle?
Zoltan Grossman
The General Who Would be President: Was Wesley Clark Also Unprepared
for the Postwar Bloodbath?
Tim Llewellyn
At the Gates of Hell
Christopher Brauchli
Turn the Paige: the Bush Education Deception
Lee Sustar
Bring the Troops Home, Now!
Elaine Cassel
McCain-Feingold in Trouble: Scalia Hogs the Debate
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Hammond Guthrie
When All Was Said and Done
Website of the Day
Fact Checking Colin Powell
Hot Stories
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
William Blum
Myth
and Denial in the War on Terrorism
Standard Schaefer
Experimental Casinos: DARPA and the War Economy
Uzma
Aslam Khan
The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
What America Says Does Not Go
Paul de Rooij
Arrogant
Propaganda
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click Here
for More Stories.
|
September
20, 2003
Colin Powell's Shame
Lights
Candles at Kurdish Graves, Avoids Visiting America's Wounded
Soldiers
By BRIAN CLOUGHLEY
Lots of us had highest hopes about Colin Powell.
I was one of many who thought he should be president because
I considered he would be a splendid leader for America. This
was the man, after all, who wrote in his autobiography that he
was "angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and
well-placed . . . managed to wangle slots in reserve and National
Guard units" to avoid the draft during the Vietnam war.
Yay! Let's hear it for Colin, the man who speaks his mind and
despises the cowardly sons of the rich who dishonourably wriggled
out of serving their country.
But after he decided against running
for president he couldn't resist the offer to work for a man
whose daddy had wangled him a non-combat slot in a National Guard
unit during the Vietnam war. OK; so my formerly unqualified admiration
for C Powell took a bit of a hit. But I recollected he had written
that he distrusted those in government who "devote little
thought to who will eventually pay the bills". Good, good;
because that was evidence he would not support trickery and irresponsibility
in budget management. Indeed he declared himself "a fiscal
conservative with a social conscience". Wonderful. Then
there was his affirmation that "I am troubled by the political
passion of those on the extreme right who seem to claim divine
wisdom on political as well as spiritual matters". Now you're
talking, my dear sir. What a splendid, candid and damning rejection
of extremism. It was obvious that this man could never be part
of an administration that contained or drew support from right
wing zealots obsessed with religious righteousness.
I was wrong. The Bush administration
doesn't only draw support from right wing zealots; it is packed
with them. And Colin Powell seems comfortable with Bush and his
ultra-right wing weirdoes. Although he had written "I distrust
rigid ideology from any direction" it appears he can accept
ideological inflexibility, and his bizarre support for the Bush
war on Iraq sits strangely with his former liberal views.
When Powell gave his supposedly definitive
speech for war on Iraq to the UN Security Council on February
5 it was greeted at first with the deference due to a former
general who knew what he was talking about because he had been
thoroughly briefed (we thought). In essence he declared that
Iraq possessed actual weapons of mass destruction; that Baghdad
was trying to deceive UN weapons inspectors and conceal WMD from
them; and that Saddam Hussein was harbouring terrorists, including
members of the al-Qaeda organisation. (He noted specifically
that there had been "decades of contact between al-Qaeda
and Saddam". Of course al-Qaeda was not even formed a decade
ago; but we'll have to let that pass.)
At first it was gripping stuff. He came
into the hall on a wave of enthusiasm. The British foreign minister,
a silly little man called Jack Straw, eagerly embraced him, and
many other delegates, although behaving with more dignity than
Straw, displayed approval for the person who epitomized the reasonable,
let's-talk-about-this, moderate face of the Bush administration.
Or so they thought.
But in the words of Gary Younge of the
Guardian newspaper: "The man on whom so many European hopes
of reining in the excesses of George Bush's administration were
pinned had apparently changed sides." For once I disagree
with Mr Younge, because Powell didn't change sides at the time
of his UN dog and pony show. He nailed his colours to the mast
of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, and the rest of the zealots
when he realised quite early in the Bush administration that
if he didn't toe their line he would have to quit. If he had
done so, and explained his reasons, there might have been no
Iraq slaughter and shambles, such could have been his influence
on the American people. But when power waves a seductively beckoning
hand to a person who would feel incomplete and even inadequate
without the trappings and deference of office, just watch the
panting dash to obey the summons. So Powell betrayed his principles
and demonstrated he is just another grubby trickster who, alas,
is prepared to suppress the truth and promote the false. His
recent visit to Iraq was a farcical fiasco of PR mumbo jumbo
and personal insincerity.
"If you want evidence of the existence
of weapons of mass destruction", he declared on September
14, "come to Halabja and see it." Quite so. But the
evidence of WMD was of a poison gas attack by Iraq forces fifteen
years ago. There is no doubt that the attack was an atrocity,
a war crime of immense and disgusting evil. What happened was
this: at the height of the Iran-Iraq war, on 13 March 1988, the
Iranians captured the Kurdish town of Halabja, just inside the
Iraqi border, helped by Kurdish militias. Two days later "the
Iraqi air force attacked the town with bombs of cyanide or nerve
gas and killed 4000 people, mainly civilians." ('The Longest
War' by Dilip Hero.)
What is kept quiet by Washington is that
the previous year the assistant defence secretary, Richard Armitage
(now Powell's deputy in the State Department), publicly stated
"We can't stand to see Iraq defeated", which was a
flat statement of support that Saddam Hussein took at face value,
as well he might. After all, Ronald Reagan, President during
the period of the Iraq-Iran war (1981-1989), ordered removal
of Iraq from the US 'list of nations that support international
terrorism' in 1983, just before Donald Rumsfeld, as his special
envoy, went to call on Saddam Hussein carrying a message of support
from Washington for his war against Iran. Concurrently a letter
was conveyed to the leaders of the Gulf States indicating that
the US would regard an Iraqi defeat as "contrary to US interests"
(Washington Post, 4 Jan 84). No sane person condones the hellish
poisoning of 4000 people, but if you are a dictator and the strongest
power in the world tells you formally that it wants you to win
the war you're fighting, you might just be convinced that you
can get away with anything you want.
The Economist of 26 March 1988 headlined
its article on the Halabja bombing "If you can think of
something even beastlier, do it", which sums the whole thing
up. But Saddam Hussein did get away with it. There was a bit
of international tooth-sucking, but nothing from the Reagan administration.
And who was National Security Adviser to President Reagan at
the time of the Halabja massacre? Why, it was the humane, soft-hearted
General Colin Powell, he of the emotional evidence about atrocities
in Halabja . And what did he advise the president to do? Nothing.
In Halabja on September 14 he said "there
was no effort on the part of the Reagan administration to either
ignore [the massacre] or not take note of it" (Washington
Post), which is despicable doublespeak. Then he told the press
"It was roundly condemned" (Chicago Tribune), which
is an out-and-out downright damned lie. This is sickening. Powell
was highly emotional during his showbiz visit to Halabja, telling
the relatives of the dead that "the world should have acted
sooner" and lighting candles in memory of the victims. But
where was his compassion in 1988? How many candles did he light,
then, for victims of Saddam Hussein's atrocities? Why didn't
he advise sanctions against Iraq, then, because there had been
gross human rights violations involving chemical weapons? Why
did he not propose prosecution of Saddam Hussein on the grounds
of vicious criminality and heinous offences against international
law? He was, after all, the National Security Adviser to the
President of the United States. What a canting humbug.
Powell flew most of the 150 miles to
Halabja in an aerial cavalcade of helicopters. His helo and the
backup were in the centre, the entourage in others, then an ambulance,
all surrounded by a phalanx of Apaches. Countries have gone to
war with less firepower. The whole exercise was a squalid sham.
It was reported by the Chicago Times that "Some of those
gathered for Powell's remarks held English-language signs . .
. [such as] "My family was lost to Saddam's WMD" .
. . . , which audience members said were distributed by a local
civic organization." A local civic organisation, eh? One
that produced neatly-printed banners in English for the Powell
visit that just happened to mention the words "Saddam's
WMD" for the cameras? Oh, come off it. (But of course it
played well on US television networks, which was the aim of this
grubby charade.)
After his disgraceful and evasive performance
in Halabja, Powell flew back to Baghdad just after "three
soldiers were wounded in an ambush . . . One soldier had his
leg amputated . . . two others were less seriously wounded in
the legs . . ." (AP). So where did the emotional, candle-lighting
General Powell go? Directly to the bedsides of the wounded soldiers?
Well, no. He went to the former palace of Saddam Hussein, into
which enormous complex and grounds Iraqis are forbidden entry
unless they are servants or members of the non-elected Council.
(Just like old Saddam times, really, before Iraq was, well, liberated.)
He did have one meeting outside the heavily fortified compound
(in which there is round-the-clock electrical power and air-conditioning,
unlike the rest of the city and entire country) but he didn't
go to see any wounded American soldiers. Why?
This is the man who wrote approvingly
in his autobiography of a soldier who said "I'm not afraid
because I'm with my family" -- meaning his army comrades
-- which, Powell declared, "never fails to touch me".
He was emphasising that the army is a family, as all armies are,
for which I can vouch from personal experience. So why didn't
Powell go to visit a member of his military family who was having
his leg cut off? It would have only taken him half an hour. Would
it have been too much to ask that General Powell might pop in
to the hospital to give a word of cheer to a wounded soldier,
tormented by pain and the dreadful knowledge that he will be
a cripple for the rest of his life?
Let me tell you, here and now and without
any fear of contradiction, that a wounded American soldier seeing
General Colin Powell at his bedside would receive an injection
of hope and vitality that would be better than any medical treatment.
So far as American soldiers are concerned the man would be the
ultimate morale-booster. It would have been wonderful for any
of these wounded soldiers had this man given just five minutes
of his time to say hello. But no. He lit candles for long-dead
Kurds in a pathetic public relations pantomime but couldn't spare
a few moments to see his soldiers -- his family -- who were maimed
while he was prancing round for the cameras at Halabja.
Then the new, dishonourable, Powell had
to try to forge a link with his war on Iraq, using the 1988 atrocity
as justification. He asked, rhetorically, if Iraq had "lost
interest" in "such weapons" in fifteen years,
and answered himself by saying "The international community
did not believe so". This is a downright damned insult to
the intelligence of all of us. The international community did
not believe Iraq had these weapons, and wanted the UN inspectors
to be able to carry on their task of discovering the truth. They
did not join the Bush war on Iraq. Two prime ministers, of Italy
and Spain, went against their people and gave personal support.
Blair of Britain and Howard of Australia blindly backed Bush
to the hilt. And a score of tiny countries, cajoled, bullied
or bribed by Washington, stood on the sidelines and contributed
nothing but their names to a list of 'supporters'. They were
not "the international community". The hell with you,
Powell; you are telling us lies, and we don't like it.
The drivelling platitudes uttered by
Powell at a joint news conference in Baghdad with Bremer, the
insensitive and culturally ignorant administrator of Iraq, typified
the surreal approach of the occupying power to events. Powell
was asked "have you or will you meet anyone who is unhappy
with the US presence?" Of course he hadn't, and he wouldn't.
In reply he said that he had been reading "the daily reporting
that I get in Washington" and that "more time and .
. .energy . . should be given to the good stories." How
absurd ; but not as absurd as his claim about liberation. "Our
history over the last 50, 60 years is quite clear" he said.
"We have liberated a number of countries . . " Like
Vietnam, Somalia and Haiti, I suppose. Does he never listen to
himself? Have his former common sense and decency been completely
swamped by his lust for power? He might zoom round Iraq lighting
candles, but the light of his honour has been extinguished.
Brian Cloughley
writes about defense issues for CounterPunch, the Nation (Pakistan),
the Daily Times of Pakistan and other international publications.
His writings are collected on his website: www.briancloughley.com.
He can be reached at: beecluff@aol.com
Weekend
Edition Features for Sept. 13 / 14, 2003
Michael Neumann
Anti-Americanism:
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Jeffrey St. Clair
Anatomy of a Swindle
Gary Leupp
The Matrix of Ignorance
Ron Jacobs
Reagan's America
Brian Cloughley
Up to a Point, Lord Rumsfeld
William S. Lind
Making Mesopotamia a Terrorist Magnet
Werther
A Modest Proposal for the Pentagon
Dave Lindorff
Friendly Fire Will Doom the Occupation
Toni Solo
Fiction and Reality in Colombia: The Trial of the Bogota Three
Elaine Cassel
Juries and the Death Penalty
Mickey Z.
A Parable for Cancun
Jeffrey Sommers
Issam Nashashibi: a Life Dedicated to the Palestinian Cause
David Vest
Driving in No Direction (with a Glimpse of Johnny Cash)
Michael Yates
The Minstrel Show
Jesse Walker
Adios, Johnny Cash
Adam Engel
Something Killer
Poets' Basement
Cash, Albert, Curtis, Linhart
Website of the Weekend
Local Harvest
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