[MLUG - DISCUSSION] [POLITICS] Cindy Sheehan on Bill Kristol

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

It is good to attack pro-war writers and politicians on their service 
record and on the records of their children.  How many wars would we have 
if the law forced all children (between ages 18 and 40, say) of 
congressmen to serve in the war zone?  That will never happen because 
Congress makes the laws, and they make laws that suit their needs.  At the 
very least, I would like to see an analysis of the numbers:  How many 
offspring of Congressmen, Senators and Presidents serve in the military? 
Of those that serve, how many have gone into a war zone?

Mike


Below is a response from Cindy Sheehan to an attack article by William 
Kristol, in which he calls to "Kill the Die-In" on September 15th. The 
Die-In is a symbolic funeral organized by members of Iraq Veterans Against 
the War at the conclusion of the September 15th Mass March. We hope to see 
everyone at the demonstration. People are coming from over 100 cities.

***************

ANOTHER DISHONORABLE CHICKEN-HAWK
by Cindy Sheehan

I know just a little bit about Mr. William Kristol:

He is the son of one of the founders of the "neo-conservative" movement, 
Irving Kristol.

He is a commentator on Fox News.

He was Chief of Staff for one of the political "geniuses" of our time: VP 
Dan Quayle.

He is editor of another Rupert Murdoch war-propaganda rag, "The Weekly 
Standard."

He is a member, and signer, of the Project for the New American Century, 
which is a game plan for US global hegemony based on military strength and 
one of its goals and objectives was the over-throw of the Hussein Regime 
in Iraq with a next stop in Iran and Syria (because the PNAC plan is going 
so well, so far).

By all accounts, Mr. Kristol is a brilliant man, who like his father 
before him, uses his brilliance for destruction. He is a shameless 
supporter of a failed, murderous, and miserable strategy in Iraq and 
Afghanistan and one of the "mushroom cloud" crowd.

One thing Mr. William Kristol is not, is a combat vet.

Although he was born in 1952, he never served during Vietnam. I am sure 
while at Harvard he was a staunch supporter of the American effort to 
enrich the war profiteers while ostensibly stopping that war's "enemy" 
communism from spreading across Asia. Secure in his studies during that 
quagmire, Kristol joins a long line of neo-con chicken-hawks who are 
drenched in other people's blood and love to send other people's children 
to die for their lies.

I don't know anything, or care to know anything about Mr. Kristol's 
private life. I don't care if he is another closeted gay Republican or is 
a happily married hetero with children. I do suspect, however, that if Mr. 
Kristol is married, his children are not serving in Iraq, being misused by 
the very same incompetent and cowardly Commander in Chief (who also did 
not serve in Vietnam) that Mr. Kristol shamelessly supports while the 
entire administration and Republican hypocrites are crumbling from 
corruption and scandal.

I do know one thing for sure about Mr. Kristol, he does not like to be 
bothered with those pesky little things called facts. On February 20, 
2003, Mr. Kristol incredibly gushed: "If we free the people of Iraq, we 
will be respected in the Arab world." This statement shows an amazing lack 
of knowledge of the Arab world or any kind of foreign policy 
sophistication (but does show a great use of Rovian-Foxian expolitation of 
emotion). No one in the Arab world (except maybe, Israel, which is 
geographically located in the "Arab world") was calling for the US to 
"free" Iraqis. No one from Iraq except "Curveball" or the slimy and 
profit-motivated, Ahmad Chalabi, both Iraqis who weren't even living in 
the country at the time of the invasion were calling on the USA to 
liberate them. In fact, after many years of murderous sanctions against 
Iraq, a fierce nationalism arose in opposition to the US-UN led sanctions. 
According to National Intelligence Estimates, since the illegal and 
immoral invasion of Iraq, Islamic Jihadism has increased. Mr. Kristol is 
also incredibly ignorant of human nature and human history. No peoples 
like to be occupied. No child, brother or sister, or mother or father, who 
sees a loved one blown away by American or insurgent's bombs will love the 
oppressor. In fact, violence only creates more violence and more life-long 
enemies.

Now Mr. Kristol is safe behind his desk and computer calling for another 
attack against Iran. I think he hears the non-existent cries of the 
Iranian people to be liberated from their regime. The Iranian people are 
directly next-door to Iraq and they see what US "liberation" brings. It 
comes with the awful price of high civilian casualties; hospitals bombed, 
Doctors killed; no electricity or clean water; and eternal occupation.

In a recent op-ed for The Weekly Standard, Mr. Kristol makes many more 
tactical and fundamental errors. The ANSWER Coalition is calling for mass 
mobilizations begining the week (Sept. 15) that the White House authored 
Petraeus report on the surge is due. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the 
War (IVAW), who are leading the September 15th march, are calling for a 
"die-in" to end the march and begin the rally. The vets, unlike the 
chicken-hawk neocons, have actually served in war, particularly the one 
that Mr. Kristol imagines is such a success. IVAW is asking activists to 
represent a killed service-member and at an appropriate time lie down. 
Taps will be played and also a simulated 21-gun salute. It sounds 
respectful to me, being the mom of one of the soldiers, and I will 
proudly, yet sorrowfully, be lying down for my son that day. Many of the 
march/rally participants will be "dying" to represent the hundreds of 
thousands of Iraqis who have been killed for Mr. Kristol's deceptions.

Mr. Kristol calls on the "honorable" members of the anti-war movement to 
denounce the die-in and lumps MoveOn.org with other organizers of the 
die-in. MoveOn is not associated with the die-in as they do not support 
non-violent, direct civil disobedience. What I find so amusing is that Mr. 
PNAC-Fox News-Chicken-hawk has made himself the judge of what is 
honorable.

Mr. Kristol has a problem with the anti-war movement using the names of 
the fallen without the permission of the families. No one got my 
permission when my sons portrait was used in the pro-war memorial at 
Arlington Cemetery. Casey's name and likeness has been used by pro-war 
people all over the nation without my permission. Why is that okay, Mr. 
Kristol? I know for a fact such memorials as Arlington West, Eyes Wide 
Open and our memorial at Camp Casey would remove names of soldiers at the 
next of kin's request. If any family member so requests, I am sure IVAW 
will do the same thing---but a word of caution:

Even though the members of IVAW (all my adopted sons and daughters) have a 
big problem with the occupation of Iraq and with the Bush crime family, 
they served their country honorably (unlike Mr. Kristol) and they all 
fought side-by-side with the fallen. They love their brothers and sisters 
and they would themselves have died to take the place of any one of them. 
Do not, never, ever, claim that we families, or the Iraq Vets are 
dishonoring our sons and daughters killed by the lies of The Weekly 
Standard, Fox News, BushCo., et al. That is the biggest lie of all, or 
maybe it's this one that Mr. Kristol told on March 1, 2003:

"Very few wars in American history were prepared better or more thoroughly 
than this one by this president."

I would laugh if I weren't crying so hard.

If Mr. Kristol gets his PNAC way, by this time next year, we will need a 
lot more people at a die-in.

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