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Dear Fan Forum Members and Whomever Else This May Concern,
I realize there is an extensive debate as to the pertinence of celebrity
opinion on the war. It has never been my intention, as any of you who know
me or who have followed me know, to assume my opinion to be more important
than others' opinions, as the media world would have you believe.
I consider myself a citizen of the world as well as a proud American. I love
my country and all it has to offer. I believe in the pathos it was founded
on...the right to express what one feels without loss of freedom, the right
to worship, the right to vote, the right to bear arms in a respectful manner,
etc. I am not un-American in my stance but simply exercising my right to
free speech. Because I am in the public eye, I receive more attention than
perhaps the average antiwar activist. However, I have never claimed my opinion
to outweigh the opinions of others. It is my belief that the dialogue is as
important as the side being defended.
It is my philosophical belief that we are at this point in history not
because of any great leadership or because of any great evil. I believe
history has brought us to this point and that the matter at hand is that we
be armed with truth. For what is in our leaders: the desire for peace, the
desire to control, the desire for wealth and power, greed, fear, etc., is in
all of us. It is time for us to decide what it is, as people, that we stand
for. Are we a nation that was founded on imperialistic ideals? Or are we a
nation that is part of a fabric made up of all other countries existing on
the same planet, respecting this organism that sustains our lives? Do we
ignore the relationships we have worked hard to build with our allies and do
we try everything in our power to rid the planet of evil using nonaggression,
or are we a country that will use force and in the meantime, be responsible
for the loss of innocent lives in the name of freeing oppressed people and
insuring our own security, when this war is not solely based on those ideals
but on the ideals of controlling the oil industry and our interests in
Israel. We did not go in to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, or Angola when these
countries were suffering catastrophic genocide and human rights infractions
beyond our understanding. Where was our humanitarian nature then?
We must be certain of what we stand for as a people and as a nation.
It is conceivable that in the long view, the outcome, whatever that may be,
could heal a wound that has been festering between Muslims and Christians for centuries, because history would lead us in that direction. There will
be a price to pay..environmentally and financially. The question of recovery
is one that no one can speculate.... and more than likely, the bill we be
paid by generations to come.
It is my concern and my hope that the citizens of this country
will think for themselves, educate themselves, find out all there is to know about why we are considering attacking Saddam now without the support of our
allies. It is my belief that there is an abundance of information that is public record that actually addresses these issues....the issues of preemptive strikes, preventive strikes, our philosophy on creating and
ruling a world empire, our necessity to have a military unchallengable by any other military, our plan to keep a military operation in Iraq to protect our
interests in Israel. It is my desire that we be an awake nation that
investigates what it stands for and that as people, we define what we stand
for. It is my dream that the arrogance that represents us as a nation can be
changed in the eyes of the world and that we will rise up as a nation of
peaceful people who will work at finding other ways of eliminating
enemies....perhaps by consciously not creating enemies in the first place,
after all, we have distinct ties to Saddam in his becoming leader of Iraq.
There are many questions that beg to be asked. Some are being asked
rhetorically by many journalists, including a great writer at the New York
Times by the name of Daniel Friedman. For example-if we are claiming that we are
going into Iraq to save it's people from such an oppressive regime and such
heinous human rights infractions, then why are we not addressing these
situations in other Middle Eastern countries that are our allies? What is
the standard? Is there a way to justify the human loss that we can expect
from this war....our own as well as innocent Iraqis?
If this is a war not based on our own interests in oil, then why is it that
our government is offering tax cuts to businesses who purchase SUVs as
company cars?
(I would challenge all those who support this war, which is over
three-fourths of this country, to trade in your gas guzzlers and buy a small
car or a hybrid or at least a more economical car, that way we ensure that we
are never reliant on overseas oil supplies. That is the least we can do to
support our soldiers who are fighting on our behalf for the freedoms we
enjoy. I own a hybrid and although it is not the fanciest, most powerful
car, it gets us around. I am currently selling my BMW SUV).
I would also encourage all of you to look up the PAX Americana. This is the
doctrine which has been adopted, in part, by our Security Council and is
public record as the National Security Strategy, a document in which each
administration outlines its approach to defending the country. It clearly
states our stance on our position in the world. It was drawn up by Paul
Wolfowitz, under George Bush, Sr., who is now serving under George Bush, Jr.
The doctrine was leaked in 1992 but was considered to be so ridiculous and
inscrutable by those who got wind of it that Pres Bush Sr. was forced to publicly
repudiate it. It has since been approved and adopted by the current Bush
administration, which is made up of many of the same names who served under
Bush, Sr. and who have been called "Iraq hawks." The doctrine states that
America will allow no military more powerful than it's own. It states that
we reserve the right to not only strike preemptively but preventively....in
other words, we reserve the right to strike a country to prevent it from
striking us first, even without the aid or support of our allies. This
basically means that the World Community we have worked so hard since World
War II to establish will no longer exist under any rules of fairness. Such
an approach renders international norms of self-defense--enshrined by Article
51 of the UN Charter--almost meaningless. The doctrine is based on the
desire of a few to establish America as the sole World Leader, the head of an
Empire, the Czar of the World, which is entitled to attack if anyone steps
out of line.
These are harsh concepts and I urge you to investigate (See Links at bottom of page) Mark Danner's Oct. 9, 2002 article entitled ?The Struggles Of Democracy And Empire? in the NY Times, and Todd S. Purdum's NY Times article on Feb. 1, 2003 entitled ?The Brains Behind Bush's War?, and Jay Bookman's ?The President's Real Goal In Iraq? in the Atlanta-Constitution: 9/29/02 and make your own conclusions.
As I've said, this is all public information. (The most informative article I have found
was in a publication of Foreign Affairs Sept/Oct Volume 81, Number 5 in an
article called ?America's Imperial Ambition? by G. John Ikenberry.)
I feel I must address the issue of my visit to Bosnia in 1996 for it seems to
have many people criticizing my intentions. I went to Bosnia to entertain
the American troops who had been stationed there for quite some time in our
military effort to keep a presence there. The trip was presented to me
through the then First Lady. Before traveling to Bosnia, I was briefed of
the low morale the troops were experiencing because of the open-ended
campaign there. The soldiers, men and women, were hoping to be able to
return to the States in time for Christmas but instead had learned that their
stay would be indefinite.
I learned more about war from my trip than I had ever known of it through
history books and films. The Bosnians who were forced from their homes and
villages, were unable to return without the presence of NATO troops to
protect them. They had to be protected in order to return home, or what was
left of their homes, and to return to their precincts to vote. The country
side, which we helicoptered over, was destroyed, smoking and war-torn, leaving
very little to salvage. There were landmines 3 layers deep with much looting
still going on even with the presence of stray bullets and unexploded bombs.
I was honored and glad to play for the American troops, as well as NATO
troops, not out of my support for war but for my support for my country and
the good people who protect the freedoms we enjoy. I would entertain the
troops again, even in the exchange we may be entering into now, because I
support the work our fine soldiers do.
It is more important now than ever that we align ourselves with truth. The
truth is not always clear cut. You must find it yourself and stand up for
what you believe. It is my belief that what we are entering into is bigger
than our President and his staff and Saddam Hussein. It is egotistical to think that
anyone will be able to control the outcome. The mistrust for America outside
our country has been brewing for a long time. And in the long view, as I
have said, the strife that we may be entering is an age old one, based on the
disagreements of religious peoples and the desire to control monetary
interests. It is very possible that out of this strife, generations from
now, that healing may begin between Christians and Muslims. It won't be
solely because of two leaders. Our attacking Iraq, in an attempt at making
America a safer place, has not been connected to 9-11 or to the Al Qaeda, as
some want to believe. However, many believe we will see more terrorism than
ever, under the guise of Jihad, if we attack the Muslim world.
Align yourselves with truth. Pray for our leaders. Pray for our enemies and
for our troops and their families. Pray for the generations who come after
us who will have to pay the bill for what we are about to enter. And lastly,
pray for our ailing planet. She will suffer like never before if this
disagreement turns nuclear.
I respect your opinion and as I've said, these are the opinions of one
person....famous or not. I am part of a growing dialogue including peoples
from all walks of life, not just celebrities. It's important to be in the
ongoing debate in search of truth.
Sheryl Crow
March 13th 2003
Links to the Articles...if these fail to work you will find that if you just type the article title into a search engine such as Google- it comes up pretty quick...
Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations
'The Struggles of Democracy and Empire' by Mark Danner
'The Brains Behind Bush's War' by Todd S. Purdum
'The President's Real Goal in Iraq' by Jay Bookman
'America's Imperial Ambition' by G. John Ikenberry
More in depth reading...
The Bush Administration's National Security Strategy of the United States of America
[posted 3/15/2003 U.S.A.] |
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