Posted on 02/08/2003 11:52:44 PM PST by mandingo republican
Dave Matthews Speaks Out About the War I hope this letter finds you all well and that in these uncertain times you find moments to be joyful.
I want to speak my mind about this war with Iraq, or I will choke on my conscience.
What is the motivation? Regime change? Shouldn't that be up to the people of the region and the people of Iraq? The only real threat from Saddam Hussein is to his neighbors and none of them support a U.S. invasion. Is it to stabilize the Middle-East? Wouldn't it only do the opposite by causing further death and suffering in a country that has had more than its share?
Is it to weaken Al Qaeda? Saddam Hussein is a genocidal maniac but he is not Al Qaeda. He is certainly more visible though. Is he our target because he is easier to identify than the illusive terrorist network? Surely it is more likely that an attack on Iraq would only strengthen Al Qaeda by feeding Anti-American sentiment. Putting out the fire with gasoline, so to speak. It is certainly not to liberate the people of Iraq who suffer under Hussein's rule, unless we call killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis liberation.
Saddam Hussein is a barbaric murderous dictator. I wish the world were free of him. But the answer is not to bomb this great culture of Iraq out of existence to stop him. Why must the children of Iraq die by the thousands to stop a tyrant? It is not justice. And if we kill him what will we achieve? We will have taken the most unpopular leader in the Middle East and turned him into the greatest martyr radical Islam has ever had. The U.N. weapons inspectors must be allowed to do their job thoroughly and any military action should be internationally agreed upon. We must not allow our government to turn us into a rogue nation.
I fear that our true motivation is about oil and our own flailing economy; about the failure to destroy Al Qaeda and about revenge. It is criminal to put our servicemen and women in harm's way and to put the lives of so many civilians on the line for the misguided frustrations of the Bush administration.
Bottom line: this war is wrong and this war is un-American.
Peacefully submitted, Dave Matthews
"What is the motivation? Regime change? Shouldn't that be up to the people of the region and the people of Iraq?"
Duh - like in all dictatorships through out history, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Cuba, Iraq, the people have never been able to revolt. There are no private institutions, citizens are not allowed to own guns, form militias - there are no free elections, and there is no freedom of speech and no media freedoms - people get thrown into jail, tortured, or killed if they go against the dictatorships. That is what happens in Iraq.
"The only real threat from Saddam Hussein is to his neighbors and none of them support a U.S. invasion."
You South African dummy - how selfish of you! So you would let Saddam be a threat to his neighbors and not do anything about it? How selfish you become when you live in never never land, getting rich, playing music, getting BJ's from blond college girls!
E-mail this creep at: fanmail@davematthewsband.com webmaster@davematthewsband.com
Oh and what about Kuwait - they want the US to take down Saddam. And Israel? Remember in the last war how Iraq bombed Israeli cities?
This guy is a jerk
Through my son I learned of your life, and the tragedies your family endured. While hospitalized from a major disease my son often commented on you as an inspiration to him. From this I developed an appreciation of you as a person and have even started enjoying some of your music. Aaron enthusiastically told me about your own support of our troops through the USO which only increased my admiration for you.
It was with an element of sorrow that I read your statement today. Like you, I must act upon my own convictions.
In your statement you say that Saddam Hussein is only a threat to his own people and his neighbors, and that the United States should not be involved in regime change in Iraq. I cannot help but remember the terrible struggle in your native country.
Had not other nations, in particular the United States, not involved itself in a regime change in South Africa I am not sure what conditions would exist there today. Regime change may not have occurred, but surely not as soon as it did which was far too late. I am also convinced that the cost of the change would have been far bloodier and lasting.
"It is criminal to put our servicemen and women in harm's way . . . for the misguided frustrations of the Bush administration."
As an officer with over thirty years service I am confident that I speak for the vast majority of my comrades when I say your hollow concern for our welfare is not welcomed. Do not dare to presume to use our service in the pursuit of your political agenda.
I will follow my own conscience now and will no longer welcome your music into our home.
Your entire letter was beautifully stated. This is my favorite part. Eloquently phrased, indeed.
This SOB has been on a couple of USO tours in the last year. Everyone should contact the USO and demand that this scum be kept of their invite list. As much as I would like to see him in the middle of a group of Marine's right now I don't want the USO to be soiled by his presence.
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BAD DAVE!!! All these celebrities who have NO terror intelligence information, who don't know what our President knows .. are starting to make me gag. The President doesn't tell Dave how to arrrange the music on his latest CD .. DM shouldn't presume to know what goes into defending our country against brutal maniacs with deadly chemical and biological agents who are our sworn enemies or presume to know the outcome of any potential military action. God, his arguments are so naive and uninformed. He speaks as if he's an American .. I thought he was Australian?? My note to Dave: Just sing, Dave. Regards, Your fans' Mom
Dave feels safe from chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks. When the fit does hit the shan, Dave will be among those who cry that the President didn't do enough to stop it and is playing up the innocents' deaths just for politics.
I've heard that one element of higher ticket prices is increased security (e.g. setting off a bomb at a Rolling Stones' concert).
On 9.10.2001 many didn't think that we could be so effectively hit either.
Chalk him up as just another simple mind and useful idiot.
What the hell do 'thousands of children' have to do with it? And since he brought it up, more children die from Saddam's own misallocation of resources than could possibly die at the hands of coalition troops.
It gets so tiresome answering these kinds of arguments. For one thing, the points are so loaded with arguments from emotion and arguments that take huge assumptions as fact (like the 'dead children' bit). And secondly, the points are so easily refuted, and yet the people making them absolutely refuse to listen to reason. And that only makes them think they've won the argument when you give up in disgust.
I'm beginning to wonder if we should develop some 'test questions' to ask people to gauge their open-mindedness. There's nothing worse than investing twenty or thirty minutes talking to a person, only to find out how brainwashed they are. I'm thinking of a couple of questions that would identify a person as either someone who isn't worth talking to, or as someone who is willing to actually listen to a reasoned argument.
Perhaps that would be a worthy vanity post -- to solicit suggestions for 'how to sniff out a brainwashed liberal in two to five simple questions'.
I have a couple of questions I like to slip into a conversation when it turns to politics & current events. I will casually ask the person, who wants to argue with me, who his State Representative and State Senator are.If he doesn't know (which is alarmingly common) I know he has a limited understanding. I will then ask who his US Rep and US Senator are. If he doesn't know this, the conversation ends.
That's a good idea! You know what's funny, though, is I bet a good number of the lefties would weasel out of it by saying something like 'Oh, I don't pay attention to politics', as though they're above such vulgar activity. But in reality, they're just trying to save face. I've known a few people like this.
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