Posted on 03/21/2003 6:49:38 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
(Hartford-WTNH, Mar. 20, 2003 10:08 PM) _ Some people recognized for their efforts in the name of world peace spoke out Thursday night about the U.S. led war with Iraq. Three Nobel Peace Prize laureates took part in a forum.
When a group known as the Connecticut Forum had planned this event two months ago, they had no idea how timely it would be.
During a time of war, three Nobel Peace prize recipients spent the evening at the Bushnell, speaking to an audience about their reservations about war.
"Whenever people suffer, we must intervene," said Elie Wiesel.
Wiesel is a holocaust survivor who received the Peace Prize for his work on behalf of oppressed people. Although he is against war, he supports President Bush's policy to get rid of international terrorism.
Wiesel says Hussein must go. The question is how.
"I'm not impressed with what's happened, of course not, but I don't know what to offer since negotiations failed."
Before Thursday night's panel discussion, Wiesel, Jody Williams and Oscar Arias sat down with students from the Connecticut Youth Forum, and members of the media.
Wiesel feels U.S. support would have prevented the war.
"I'm convinced that if France and Germany and the others had applied pressure on Saddam Hussein, would have yielded, would have opened everything."
Jody Williams was awarded the Peace Prize for her work to ban land mines.
"It's not about winning. It's about winning at what cost," she said. "I think that we have left a ruin of alliances and a ruin of diplomacy. I feel frightened as an American citizen."
Oscar Arias received his Peace Prize for organizing the 1987 Central American peace agreement. He says America was the hero of the 20th century.
"Fighting two world wars, and bearing two totalitarian ideologies -- nazism and communism. But if you keep acting unilaterally with so much arrogance, you might become the villain of the 21st century."
Elie Wiesel says it is known that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, and has used them, so he says there was no way that Hussein could be left to decide when to use those against the U.S. Still, he contends war was not the answer.
Like Ronald Reagan?
Thanks for the laugh!
What is the answer: a pillow fight?
You mean false alliances. Where is the diplomacy when our "allies" take the side of dictators and terrorists? I feel proud as an American citizen. Go change your underwear.
Oscar Arias received his Peace Prize for organizing the 1987 Central American peace agreement. He says America was the hero of the 20th century.
And now we have to be the heroes of the 21st century, because no one else will. When the UN sits back and lets horrors like Rwanda, North Korea and Iraq (to name a few) persist without action, they prove themselves to be a useless body.
"Fighting two world wars, and bearing two totalitarian ideologies -- nazism and communism. But if you keep acting unilaterally with so much arrogance, you might become the villain of the 21st century."
Terrorism is the third totalitarian ideology. Why does this buffoon fail to see this? Was it arrogant to liberate France (okay, maybe), Europe, the countries behind the Iron Curtain or Afghanistan? I bet if you ask those people, you will get a completely different interpretation of our actions.
Why is it that the award of a Nobel Peace Prize signify some sort of special knowledge or insight? It is constantly proven otherwise (see Carter).
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