An Open Letter To Hillary Clinton
By Rosemarie Jackowski
22 August, 2015
Countercurrents.org
Dear Mrs. Clinton:
I congratulate you on your candidacy. It gives voters a choice. Many more choices are necessary if we are to maintain the mirage of democracy.
You have been admired for many years. No one can question your dedication to hard work.
This is turning out to be a fascinating campaign season. Meantime, there are questions about the advice you are receiving about your campaign strategy. In your first TV spot you threw your grandparents under the campaign bus. Your harsh criticism of them left many wondering. You not only alienated an entire class of grandparents, but also the dead. And we know, that after every election there are assertions about the dead voting. All family matters are private and should be off limits in any political campaign.
The question about your use of personal E-Mail for official government correspondence is leading headline news that just won't go away. Seems like you have painted yourself in to a corner. You are now caught between Iraq and a hard drive. But let's face it, the E-Mail conundrum is not the worse thing a public official has ever done. It all depends on the meaning of the words 'Top Secret'.
About your vote for the war. That is a major problem. Voting for an unnecessary war is the most serious mistake an elected official can make. You have admitted that it was a mistake. You based your vote on erroneous information. Millions of ordinary citizens knew that the info being released was false. How could you not know?
This brings up the one question I have. Since you now know that the war was wrong, what action will you take to secure reparations for Iraq? This is sort of the china shop argument. Since the USA broke it, we should pay to fix it. What is our responsibility, not only under International Law, but more importantly under universally held Humanitarian Principles?
Millions of innocent Iraqi citizens were killed because of the illegal US invasion and occupation. 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of US imposed sanctions. The official position was 'that we think the price was worth it' - as stated by Madeleine Albright. The war crimes, and crimes against humanity, that resulted from your vote - and the votes of many others - cannot be ignored. History will remember. Voters will remember. Everyone, for generations to come, will know how you voted.
If you are elected president, what action will you take to compensate for the destruction of Iraq and the deaths of the civilians? Do you support reparations for Iraq?
Your answer, or the lack of an answer, will give voters a clue to your sense of justice.
Rosemarie Jackowski is an Advocacy Journalist, Peace and Justice Activist, and author of BANNED IN VERMONT. Email: [email protected]
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