In the interest of peace and to avoid bloodshed, make the evidence against Iran public
In the interest of peace and with an innocent desire to do what I can with my infinitely minute and marginal influence to avoid yet another ugly war, I wish to post an open letter written by Paul Scigliano who as per his writing has served during the first Gulf War. Obviously I do not know him and can not verify that he actually served or not and do not support anything else that he may have said or done beside the content of this open letter with which I agree.
Dear Mr. Sharon:
Thank you for visiting our great land and meeting with our President. It is always a pleasure to see foreign dignitaries visiting with our President, even if it is at his home in Texas rather than the White House or Camp David. Of course, that makes it seem like it's more of a personal visit rather than an official visit, but he is our President full-time, so we won't worry too much about that.
It has come to the attention of the American people that during your visit, you presented Pres. Bush with "evidence" that Iran is developing a nuclear program. This evidence apparently includes photographic evidence as well as "other" evidence. This has been reported by the various news agencies that you have been visiting and giving interviews to during your visit, including FoxNews and CNN.
While I understand that making that evidence public might jeopardize some spy work and the such, you may want to consider making the evidence public so that we can verify the information. You see, Americans have been already led down the road to war once in the past few years based on flimsy evidence that turned out to be completely untrue. I am referring of course to the idea that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear program and that this was seen in documents from the Nigerian government. It all turned out to be a hoax and in fact American troops have not found any kind of weapons of mass destruction stockpiled by Iraq. No nuclear, biological, nor chemical weapons. So now, the tune has changed and we are there to give them "freedom and democracy".
Mr. Sharon, I served my country during the first Gulf War and I can tell you that I am very wary of attacking yet another people based on flimsy evidence. I also do not have faith that the current government can correctly evaluate the evidence that you have given them, especially given the fact that pro-Israeli groups such as AIPAC constantly lobby these people and if they don't go along with what you present, they will not receive large campaign contributions. Foreign money in the government is a sticky topic right, Mr. Sharon. Please see what Tom DeLay is going through.
The bottom line is this: we are the people that are going to have to fight for you if our government decides to attack Iran. You will not see Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, or any other members of the government dying in the Iranian battlefield if we should go to war based partially on your evidence. It will be our caskets that will be coming home and not be allowed to be broadcast by the media. It is not going to be anyone that visits the Bush ranch in Texas. So in short, we are the people that you need to be talking to because if Iraq is any indication of the kind of evidence that we are willing to go to war for, then I have to frankly say that there's a lot to be desired.
I don't have to tell you that Iran and Syria are already rumored to be nuclear powers since the Russians have already deployed Moskit nuclear missiles to both countries. I don't have to tell you that an open confrontation with Iran will most certainly mean many more deaths than in Iraq as Iran is much better armed and does not have 8 years of sanctions that have weakened it, unlike Iraq. They also do not have one crazy dictator as Iranians are much more progressive with their democracy and have an elected President in office, so the excuse that we are bringing them "freedom and democracy" is not going to wash either.
Mr. Sharon, I am not willing to support a government that goes to war based on lies and half-truths. As a Reagan Republican, I have to tell you that I am deeply ashamed of the kind of government that has taken control of Washington and I am horrified that special interest groups and corporations can lobby Washington for war and for the profits of it while the average American is the one that risks the loss of life. Corporations and lobby groups can't bleed and die on a battlefield, but we can. So please, make the evidence against Iran publicly available for scrutiny and double-checking.
Incidentally, going and doing the mass media circuit is useless these days. More Americans get their news from the Internet than the mass media now and you are appealing to a group of people that are increasingly marginalized both in voting power and spending power. While you're interviewing with Fox and CNN, most Americans (including the youth that would have to go to war with Iran) is busy reading blogs and the such and remembering the Nigerian saga.
To quote our President: "Fool me once, shame on you.. fool me twice.. can't get fooled again." I respectfully ask that Israel make as much of the evidence against Iran public so long as it does not jeopardize anyone "in the field".
Thank you for your time.
Paul Scigliano
4-14-2005
Dear Mr. Sharon:
Thank you for visiting our great land and meeting with our President. It is always a pleasure to see foreign dignitaries visiting with our President, even if it is at his home in Texas rather than the White House or Camp David. Of course, that makes it seem like it's more of a personal visit rather than an official visit, but he is our President full-time, so we won't worry too much about that.
It has come to the attention of the American people that during your visit, you presented Pres. Bush with "evidence" that Iran is developing a nuclear program. This evidence apparently includes photographic evidence as well as "other" evidence. This has been reported by the various news agencies that you have been visiting and giving interviews to during your visit, including FoxNews and CNN.
While I understand that making that evidence public might jeopardize some spy work and the such, you may want to consider making the evidence public so that we can verify the information. You see, Americans have been already led down the road to war once in the past few years based on flimsy evidence that turned out to be completely untrue. I am referring of course to the idea that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear program and that this was seen in documents from the Nigerian government. It all turned out to be a hoax and in fact American troops have not found any kind of weapons of mass destruction stockpiled by Iraq. No nuclear, biological, nor chemical weapons. So now, the tune has changed and we are there to give them "freedom and democracy".
Mr. Sharon, I served my country during the first Gulf War and I can tell you that I am very wary of attacking yet another people based on flimsy evidence. I also do not have faith that the current government can correctly evaluate the evidence that you have given them, especially given the fact that pro-Israeli groups such as AIPAC constantly lobby these people and if they don't go along with what you present, they will not receive large campaign contributions. Foreign money in the government is a sticky topic right, Mr. Sharon. Please see what Tom DeLay is going through.
The bottom line is this: we are the people that are going to have to fight for you if our government decides to attack Iran. You will not see Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, or any other members of the government dying in the Iranian battlefield if we should go to war based partially on your evidence. It will be our caskets that will be coming home and not be allowed to be broadcast by the media. It is not going to be anyone that visits the Bush ranch in Texas. So in short, we are the people that you need to be talking to because if Iraq is any indication of the kind of evidence that we are willing to go to war for, then I have to frankly say that there's a lot to be desired.
I don't have to tell you that Iran and Syria are already rumored to be nuclear powers since the Russians have already deployed Moskit nuclear missiles to both countries. I don't have to tell you that an open confrontation with Iran will most certainly mean many more deaths than in Iraq as Iran is much better armed and does not have 8 years of sanctions that have weakened it, unlike Iraq. They also do not have one crazy dictator as Iranians are much more progressive with their democracy and have an elected President in office, so the excuse that we are bringing them "freedom and democracy" is not going to wash either.
Mr. Sharon, I am not willing to support a government that goes to war based on lies and half-truths. As a Reagan Republican, I have to tell you that I am deeply ashamed of the kind of government that has taken control of Washington and I am horrified that special interest groups and corporations can lobby Washington for war and for the profits of it while the average American is the one that risks the loss of life. Corporations and lobby groups can't bleed and die on a battlefield, but we can. So please, make the evidence against Iran publicly available for scrutiny and double-checking.
Incidentally, going and doing the mass media circuit is useless these days. More Americans get their news from the Internet than the mass media now and you are appealing to a group of people that are increasingly marginalized both in voting power and spending power. While you're interviewing with Fox and CNN, most Americans (including the youth that would have to go to war with Iran) is busy reading blogs and the such and remembering the Nigerian saga.
To quote our President: "Fool me once, shame on you.. fool me twice.. can't get fooled again." I respectfully ask that Israel make as much of the evidence against Iran public so long as it does not jeopardize anyone "in the field".
Thank you for your time.
Paul Scigliano
4-14-2005
posted by Hooman at 4:57 PM
2 Comments:
Paul Scigliano passed away yesterday, January 16th 2007.
As can be seen from his writing, he was a very caring and thoughtful person with a great sense of justice for all peoples of the world.
He will be dearly missed by all those who got to know him during his too short life.
Hello - thank you for reposting this article; I am glad that Paul's work and thoughts touched your life. Paul did serve the first Gulf War as part of the National Reserves.
Paul loved to write, and it's impossible to find all his forum writings, but they give me great comfort to read. If there is anything you'd like to share, please contact me.
Gina
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