Kevin
Zeese: Attack On Iran
May Lead To WWIII!
By William Hughes
21 August, 2006
Countercurrents.org
“Our ‘Neocons’
are neither new nor conservative, but old as Babylon and, evil as Hell.”
- Edward Abbey
Kevin
Zeese got right to it in his opening remarks at a Forum, entitled, “Independent
Solutions for the Middle East Crisis.” It was held in the town’s
City Hall on Thursday evening, Aug. 17, 2006, in the Council Chambers.
Zeese said: “The dividing line between peace candidates and pro
war candidates is no longer opposition to the Iraq War. It is whether
they oppose the premeditated destruction of Lebanon and a military attack
on Iran.”
Zeese, the “Unity
candidate” for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, was one of six speakers
at the event. He has received the endorsements of Maryland’s growing
Green, Populist and Libertarian Parties. Another speaker was Noura Erakat.
She is the National Grassroots Organizer & Legal Advocate, “U.S.
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.” Erakat recently spoke
at protest actions, in Washington, D.C., opposing Israeli evildoing
in Occupied Gaza and Lebanon, on July 25, 2006, at the Israeli Embassy;
(1) and on July 31, 2006, at the State Department. (2) The other four
presenters were Dr. Bash Pharoan, President of the Baltimore Chapter
of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Jerry Raitzyk,
Tikkun Maryland; Bob Kaufman, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate
in Maryland; and Steve Warner, a Green Party candidate for the U.S.
Congress, in the 5th district of Maryland. The moderator was Eric Bond,
who is the Publisher/Editor of the Takoma/Silver Spring Voice newspaper.
Zeese, relying in part on
an article by investigative reporter, Sy Hersh in the New Yorker, charged
that the Bush-Cheney Gang was in cahoots with the Israeli regime, led
by the extreme Far Rightist, Ehud Olmert, with respect to the Israeli
Occupation Forces’ (IOF) decimation of Lebanon. It was planned,
he said, long before the July 12th capture of the two Israeli soldiers,
which was just “an excuse” for the invasion. (3) He cited
the “Clean Break Document,” co-authored by the Neocon, Richard
Perle, as further evidence of that design, along with reports that appeared
in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Christian Science Monitor. (4)
Zeese underscored that a military attack on Iran could lead to “a
regional war or even WWIII.” He said the U.S.’ desire to
dominate the Middle East is all about the vast “oil resources”
in that area. Zeese said America is moving in the “wrong direction.”
Erakat told the audience,
in her wide ranging comments, that the war in Lebanon has been “devastating
on a humanitarian level...The cease-fire is not the end. The worst is
not over for Lebanese civilians and survivors and for Palestinians,
who are continuing to live under occupation; and for Iraqis who continue
to live under occupation and resist. This is just the beginning, the
beginning of a misery at our door...Two million Lebanese are unemployed.
How will they feed their families? How will they rebuild their homes
and their lives? The attack on Lebanon has destroyed almost all forms
of infrastructures” in that country. Erakat also strongly denounced
Zionist Israel as “an Apartheid state.”
Takoma Park is a breath
of fresh air in a country dominated by a bellicose War Party. It’s
a town of about 20,000, situated just north of the District of Columbia
line, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Decades ago, it bravely declared
itself a “nuclear free zone,” which sent some of the state’s
reactionary politicos into a high orbit. It’s laid back, California-like,
and enjoys putting on free concerts and other fun events. I’ve
been there a few times, over the years, to join in the jambe drumming
circles, held in the town’s center. Takoma Park is an authentic
slice of fast-fading Americana. It has the Spirit!
Closer to home, the Baltimore
Sun published an unsigned editorial on August 15, 2006, entitled, “An
Imperfect Cease-Fire,” dealing with Israel’s unjust invasion
of Lebanon, which took the lives of over 1,100 Lebanese and left a million
of its people, one third of the nation, homeless; along with tens of
billions in damages. It must have been ghostwritten by Sen. Joe Lieberman,
a flaming Likudnut. It stated, contrary to all the well-know facts:
“Israel was dragged into this war by Hezbollah in early July.”
Offering such an absurd opinion is like arguing that Israel was “dragged
into” attacking a clearly identified USS Liberty, on June 8, 1967,
and killing 34 of its crew, because it couldn’t stand any state
of the art intelligence vessel, flying the American flag, and sailing
in international waters, 14 miles off the Sinai coast. The Israelis’
dubious excuse for that murderous assault was that it thought the USS
Liberty was an out-of-service Egyptian horse carrier transport boat,
El Quseir. (5) If anyone expects to read the truth about a habitually-deceiving
Israel, vis-à-vis the Middle East, don’t look to the Baltimore
Sun’s editorial page to find it. (6) By the way, talking about
proportionality, if Israel can destroy Lebanon because two of its soldiers
were captured, what should the U.S. have done to the Zionist state for
slaughtering 34 of her bravest sons and injuring 174 more on the USS
Liberty?
Getting back to the Forum.
Candidate Kaufman gave an erudite history lesson on the Middle East
from a Marxist perspective, which ended up with him, essentially, blaming
the present mess on U.S. Imperialism and Zionism. Raitzyk argued for
a “new bottom line” where we all can begin to see our common
humanity and to seek a decent life for ourselves, our children and grandchildren.
Candidate Warner said he has been deeply upset about the “foreign
policy” of this country, particularly with regards to the Iraqi
conflict and our one-sided support of Israel. Dr. Pharoan, who was born
in Damascus, Syria, expressed his objections to the discrimination that
Arabs have faced and are still facing in this country. He also pointed
out that when the Israelis “pushed” the Palestinians out
from their homeland over the years, they were also creating “instability
in the surrounding countries.” Dr. Pharoan added that Israel was
in violation of at least 29 UN Resolutions, “including UN Security
Council Resolution 242.”
After the six speakers spoke,
a question and answer session was opened up for audience participation.
The lively event was cosponsored by the Maryland Independent Voters
Forum and the Takoma/Sliver Spring Voice.
Zeese concluded his remarks
by saying that it is time to bring the troops home from Iraq and to
do so “quickly.” He emphasized, “We can not bring
stability to that country. The U.S. has made so many mistakes in Iraq.
We can not win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. Our being there is
the cause of most of the problems. The more we stay, the more our fears
will come true; the more likely there will be a civil war...a theocratic
state and terrorism. If we don’t get out of Iraq in an organized
way, we will get out in a dangerous way. It will be like Vietnam all
over again.”
Notes:
1. http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/13213/index.php
2. http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/186739/index.php
3.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact
4.
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9533
http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk08152006.html
http://www.irmep.org/Policy_Briefs/
3_27_2003_Clean_Break_or_Dirty_War.html
http://batr.net/neoconwatch/archives/
2004_12_01_neoconswatch_archive.html
5. http://www.ussliberty.org/
6. http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/32357
William Hughes
is an attorney and writer from Baltimore, MD.