Mandela accuses US of racism, atrocities

Taipei Times | 02.01.03

[Enemy Of The State]

Mandela accuses US of racism, atrocities

AP
Saturday, Feb 01, 2003,Page 1

 

Former South African president Nelson Mandela addresses the International Women's Forum in Johannesburg on Thursday.
PHOTO: AP
 

Former President Nelson Mandela on Thursday called US President George W. Bush arrogant and shortsighted and implied he was racist for ignoring the UN in his zeal to disarm Iraq.

Mandela urged the people of the US to join massive protests against Bush and called on world leaders, especially those with vetoes in the UN Security Council, to unite to oppose him.

"One power with a president who has no foresight and cannot think properly is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust," Mandela said in a speech to the International Women's Forum.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer responded to Mandela's criticism by pointing to a letter by eight European leaders reiterating their support for Bush.

"The president expresses his gratitude to the many leaders of Europe who obviously feel differently" than Mandela, Fleischer said. "He understands there are going to be people who are more comfortable doing nothing about a growing menace that could turn into a holocaust."

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mandela has repeatedly condemned US behavior toward Iraq in recent months and demanded Bush respect the authority of the UN. His comments Thursday, though, were far more critical and his attack on Bush far more personal than in the past.

"Why is the United States behaving so arrogantly?" he asked. "All that [Bush] wants is Iraqi oil," he said.

He accused Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair of undermining the UN and its head, Kofi Annan, who is from Ghana.

"Is it because the secretary-general of the United Nations is now a black man? They never did that when secretary-generals were white," he said.

Mandela said the UN was the main reason there has been no World War III and it should make the decisions on how to deal with Iraq.

The US, which dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, had no moral authority to unilaterally police the world, he said.

"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don't care for human beings," he said.

"Who are they now to pretend that they are the policemen of the world, the ones that should decide for the people of Iraq what should be done with their government and their leadership?" he said.

He said Bush was "trying to bring about carnage" and appealed to the American people to vote him out of office and demonstrate against his policies.

Mandela also criticized Iraq for not cooperating fully with the weapons inspectors and said South Africa would support any action against Iraq that was supported by the UN.

He also condemned Blair for his strong support of the US.

"He is the foreign minister of the United States. He is no longer prime minister of Britain," he said.

[Enemy Of The State]

"Mandela accuses US of racism, atrocities"

hmmm..is that the wind blowing again?

[Mr. Mojo]

Two possibilites:

1) He's certifiably insane.
2) He's being paid off (probably by Islamists).

[Mr. Mojo]

Two possibilities:

1) He's certifiably insane.
2) He's being paid off (probably by Islamists).

[Temple Owl]

Two possibilities:

1) He's certifiably insane.

2) He's being paid off (probably by Islamists).

Or he is a Tom Daschle Democrat!

[F.J. Mitchell]

I believe this was already cussed and discussed on another post, yesterday. I believe the conclusion was, that Mandella has contracted "Jimmy Carter" disease and should not be taken seriousely. Nobel Peace prize recipients seem to be especially susceptable to this disease that shrinks the brain even as it inflates the EGO, accompanied with delusions of grandeur and witless prating.

[Steel Wolf]

Nelson's done a real bang up job in South Africa. Maybe if we listen to him, we can duplicate his results up here.

Oh, what's this? His leadership, insight, and moral clarity has flushed South Africa even further down the toliet? Then why are we wasting our time listening to him again? Maybe we should start taking tips on health care reform from Castro, or economic advice from Kim Jong Il?

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Why is it that Mndela doesn't have any exmples of these atrocities. Interesting how Sadam has escaped Mandela wrath. I guess you can murder thousands of people, rape women and tourtute children with the same skin color as your own. That to Mr. Mandela isn't as bad as an act of racism or even atrocious behavior. As long as you are the Distator of the country where the people live , you aren't doing anything wrong by killing them. Is that right? What a disgrace he is to humankind.

[Steel Wolf]

How about Scott Ritter? Do you think it is the same disease, or perhaps a strain of it?

[F.J. Mitchell]

I'm not a doctor-I don't even play one on TV, but at the risk of being prosecuted for making a diagnosis without a Medical license-I must say that Ritter, despite never even being considered for a Nobel Peace prize, certainly seems to be exhibiting symptoms indicative of this devastating disease.

[muawiyah]

Where's that island they were keeping this guy earlier?

Time to take him back!

[Maedhros]

"Maedhros accuses Mandela of racism, atrocities"

[goldstategop]

Tony Blair understands better than the Eurotrash and Mandela of the gravity of the situation. Its bad enough an unstable tyrant like Kim Il Sung has nuclear weapons. God forbid if a madman like Saddam Hussein gets his hands on them. There's indeed an Axis Of Evil and God bless President Bush for standing up to it.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Don't forget...

3) Mandela's a communist that loses no opportunity to denigrate the US, undermine the concept of national sovereignty and bolster the stature of his lickspittle friends in the UN.

[MonroeDNA]

He is an idiot, of course, but for these idiotic comments, he has to be getting paid.

Wonder who just filled his bank account?

[abclily]

hmmmmm.....do they put an Alzheimer virus on those Nobel Prizes? Arafat, Carter, and now Mandela!

[Future Snake Eater]

Did anyone see "The O'Reilly Factor" last night with some idiot defending Mandela's words? When questioned by O'Reilly on what exactly were the "atrocities" committed by America on South Africa, he could only cite a past "atrocity": the nuclear bombing of Japan. When O'Reilly asked him whether we should have bombed them or invaded (and possibly losing at least 250,000 of our soldiers), this treasonous pr*ck said that we should have sacrificed our men rather than drop the nukes.

Rather excellent portrayal of our present-day enemies.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Can we export the *peace* protestors there? They love him, it would be a perfect match, and I'd like to import the farmers there that are having a hard time to here. Let's do a trade!

[TruthFactor]

This coming from a guy that has turned one of the most prosperous nations in the world into a 4th world country.

This guy is dumber than a box of rocks.

[ladyinred]

I have never liked or trusted this man. Now I know why. I am sure Clinton had something to do with this uncalled for outburst since he and Mandela are such buddies.