Posted on 09/10/2002 12:57:09 PM PDT by Zviadist
Congressman Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives
September 10, 2002
QUESTIONS THAT WON'T BE ASKED ABOUT IRAQ
Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned there are some questions that won’t be asked- and maybe will not even be allowed to be asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by those who are urging us to start this war.
1. Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?
2. Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we know it cannot retaliate- which just confirms that there is no real threat?
3. Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we cannot be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that we can be more sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?
4. Is it not true that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency was able to complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with Iraqi cooperation?
5. Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to develop a case tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the attacks on the United States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?
6. Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when he recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq’s links to terrorism?
7. Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took place?
8. Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed al-Qaeda were hiding out, is in the control of our "allies," the Kurds?
9. Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped appear to have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called allies?
10. Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total chaos, with bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and that according to a recent UN report the al-Qaeda "is, by all accounts, alive and well and poised to strike again, how, when, and where it chooses"
11. Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away from tracking down those who did attack the United States- and who may again attack the United States- and using them to invade countries that have not attacked the United States?
12. Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world's worst suspicions about the US- and isn't this what bin Laden wanted?
13. How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air force, and now has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then proved totally inept at defending the country?
14. Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is exclusively that of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the Constitution, allow Congress to concur only when pressured by public opinion? Are presidents permitted to rely on the UN for permission to go to war?
15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more likely controlled by Iran not Iraq?
16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and that thousands may have died?
17. Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war against a country that does not have the capacity to attack the United States?
18. Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to "build democracy" there?
19. Iraq’s alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions have been ignored by various countries without penalty?
20. Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the reason he could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack assert that it is the very reason we can march into Baghdad?
21. Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were set up by Britain and the United States without specific approval from the United Nations?
22. If we claim membership in the international community and conform to its rules only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our position, directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?
23. How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable when we prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military tyrants like Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically-elected president?
24. Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S. knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992- including after the alleged Iraqi gas attack on a Kurdish village?
25. Did we not assist Saddam Hussein’s rise to power by supporting and encouraging his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for his invasion of Iran, which at the time we actively supported?
26. Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of aggression, and has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?
27. Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is not the real reason we plan to take over Iraq?
28. Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that they won’t have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war than our generals?
29. What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not initiated aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?
30. Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any reason other than self-defense?
31. Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries should never go into another for the purpose of regime change?
32. Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely disagreements will be settled by war?
33. Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war and- not coincidentally- we have not since then had a clear-cut victory?
34. Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence services, was an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?
35. Why don't those who want war bring a formal declaration of war resolution to the floor of Congress?
Interesting. Who exactly has made that claim? Richard Perle? Why don't you get serious?
The questions are a rhetorical device in the speech. Ever heard of that? Sheesh!
Because there are too many lefty pinkos in the Senate, good sir.
Well heck, there you go!! I looked back on it and you know you're right!! It's right there in black and white. To quote from Article I Section 8
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; (unless there are too many lefty pinkos in the Senate)I never thought it was there, but apparently it is. Thanks Poohbah, I've seen the light!! Bomb Iraq, heck while we're at it, let's bomb Iran, North Korea, Canada, Northern Ireland, some selected parts of China, and anywhere else we want. We've got the power apparently. Right after 9/11 Congress passes a resolution that is so openended, X42's foray into Somalia looks like a walk in the park. We're apparently going to have a roving band of soldiers going anywhere and everywhere they feel there is a terrorist until the 'War on Terror' is over (God help us if it's anything like the general government's 'War on DrugsIlliteracyPovertyAnybodywedisagreewithdomestically' we'll NEVER see the end of it). I'm sure no nation within the world will have a problem hosting the United States Army rooting around in their domestic affairs. And if they do, we'll just call them terrorists and overthrow their nation as well.
I propose that your reply serve as the skeleton for an "unofficial reply to Ron Paul's list of 35 stupid questions." I do think, however, that some of my points on questions 19, 28, 32, and 33 could be profitably incorporated.
We MUST invade Iraq. Then, by the same unassailable logic, we must invade Syria. Then Somalia. Then Sudan. Then the Phillipines. Then Indonesia. Then Colombia. Then Iran. Then North Korea. Then Red China. Then Libya. Then Cuba. Then Saudi Arabia. Then Georgia. Then Yemen. Then Egypt.
And shoot, when we run out of money, we'll just print more!
Thanks, Congressman Billybob!
It's too bad Bush and Cheney are so in bed with their oil-provider that we cannot eliminate the true threat to US. Wahhabism's center of gravity is Saudi Arabia. Bush does an immense disservice to our armed forces to deploy them against an ancillary threat rather than the true threat.
Imagine an entire U.S. Navy carrier battle group on patrolling the Perian Gulf. Now blink your eyes and they're gone. Over seven thousand man and women vaporized. Imagine a nuclear warhead exploding over the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. Now imagine the entire world economy plunged into a depression because those oil fields are rendered useless for the next hundred years due to radioactivity.
Now imagine Saddam throwing his nukes or launching a biological attack at Isreal, figuring he can wipe them off the map before they have the chance to retaliate. There's only problem, they keep there nukes in hardened bunkers. Whoever is left won't hestitate to return the favor to Saddam. The initial blasts will kill millions. The region will shut down, oil production will screech to a halt, and the economic tidal wave will make the Great Depression look like a hiccup. Saddam pasttime is to watch his prisoners on tape being tortured! I will not put anything past him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.