THE MISSILES OF AUGUST

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dim if any memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 15 -28, 1962. Just seven years old at the time, she may have learned of this brush with nuclear annihilation from history books, instead. As a politically involved high school senior, those two weeks are burned into my memory as a fortnight of angst, wondering if I was going to have a life with the war games the so-called leaders of the the US and Russia were playing on us.

It seems ours decided that removing provocative missiles Russia was erecting in Cuba, ninety miles from our shores, was worth the risk blowing up the whole world. Military hawks led by Gen. Curtis Lemay, advocated massive bombing of the emerging missile sites, a move that might well have precipitated all out nuclear war with Russia. Cooler heads prevailed and achieved a peaceful settlement, gained in part by a secret US agreement to remove provocative US missiles nearby Russia in Turkey. That deal had to remain secret for awhile, so America could claim Russia backed down simply by our might and right. Later we learned Russia's foolish move was motivated, in part, to secure their client state Cuba's security from repeated criminal attempts to overthrow the Castro regime through both invasion and contract assassination of Castro by the Mafia.

Now, forty-six years later, that former seven year old got to repeat the bizarre and foolhardy act of putting provocative missiles on the doorstep of a large, powerful country that, no surprise, proclaims them an unacceptable threat that will not stand. The agreement that Secretary Rice signed this week with Poland to install ten anti ballistic missiles, is pitched as a defense of Poland and other former Soviet bloc countries, now tilting west, from potential missile attacks from current US "axis of evil" states Iran and North Korea. Rice dismisses Russia's fears that these missiles, which will be 150 miles from Russia, are provocative. "Missile defense is aimed at no one", she said. "It is not aimed in any way at Russia".

Easy for her to say. I'm tired of Rice's endless lies and diplomatic double-talk when it comes to justifying our egregious behavior around the world, whether using pre-emptive war to cause millions of casualties and refugees in the Middle East, encouraging new client state Georgia to level the capitol of breakaway province South Ossetia, or plunking down missiles just seconds away from Russia.

Rice is also a classically trained pianist who abandoned a musical career to eventually pursue international mischief and mayhem in the roles of presidential advisor and diplomat. Unlike Rice's words, with music you can quickly tell if it's truthful.

As Duke Ellington famously said, "If it sounds good...it is good".

Originally published in Daily Herald, August 26, 2008
Also published in Glen Ellyn News, September 3, 2008

CONGRESSMAN PETER ROSKAM JULY, 2008 REPORT CARD ON IRAQ WAR

August 7, 2008

Congressman Peter Roskam
150 S. Bloomingdale Road, Suite 200
Bloomingdale, IL 60108

Dear Congressman Roskam,

Every month I write you with what I term a report card on your Iraq war record. And every month I lament the fact that you continue to not only fund this immoral, criminal war with 300 million dollars of our precious treasure daily, but you support the war without hesitation or reservation. You also avoid discussing it as much as possible because you know how toxic it is to the majority of Americans who have no difficulty recognizing its fraudulent, needless character. Checking your House website today I still find not a single mention of this war devised by bullies who have no problem causing millions of casualties and refugees in Iraq besides the tens of thousands of needless American casualties.

Please do not make the mistake of interpreting this as a partisan communication. As one who has believed for nearly half a century the need to call our elected representatives to account for grievous mistakes, I also write my two Democratic Senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama monthly, imploring them to cut funding for this war for all but the safe return of our soldiers, launch a bipartisan investigation of how we were led to this abominable war of conquest, and to punish those responsible.

I commend both that at least they opposed this exercise in self destruction from the get-go; Durbin by voting against it in the Senate and Obama speaking out publicly against going to war as an Illinois State Senator. I remind them that opposing a war is easy; anyone can do that standing on their head. The hard part is voting to defund it. The courageous part is demanding an investigation of the misfeasance and malfeasance that launched it. The noble part is bringing the wrongdoers to account.

Durbin and Obama get no slack from this registered Democrat and Dupage County Precinct Committeeman because opposing unjust war transcends party. It is not a question of Republican versus Democrat, progressive versus conservative, hawk versus dove. It’s a question of right versus wrong, humanity versus wanton destruction, sanity versus madness.

Sadly, you are AWOL from the great moral debate about this war that should be occurring in every Congressional and Senate office in this land. You’ve done the political calculus that enough voters either support criminal war or feel powerless to reverse America’s self-destructive war policies, to remain in office. Guess what? That is exactly the calculus the administration war cabinet exercised to use lies, deception, fear tactics and thuggery to launch their war of choice in the first place.

Sir, that is not good company to be keeping. Pretend all you wish that a reduction in violence justifies a war of choice that violates every precept of what a free, democratic nation should stand for and how it should conduct itself. As long as you remain under the spell of the war party, ignoring overwhelming evidence to justify your defection, we patriots of the Sixth District will continue to petition you to do better.

Yes, you can.




Respectfully yours,

Walt Zlotow