"Sandman" wrote in message ...
U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, delivered the
following remarks on Sunday at 138th anniversary celebration of The Nation
magazine.

Ah yes, Senator Byrd. Former Grand Kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan. Voted
against the Civil Rights Act 0f 1964 (like most of his democratc
collegues). He of the racist "White Ni__er" comments on sunday morning
talks shows just a few years back...

A real paragon of virtue you got there, Sandi...

And he's the guy you've chosen to spin Bush's foreign policy triumphs?

What, Cynthia McKinney wasn't available?



Early this morning came news of the capture of Saddam Hussein. That is good
news. Despite his fall from power many months ago, the specter of a possible
return to power had cast a constant shadow over Iraq and the Iraqi people. I
applaud the tenacious work of the military and intelligence communities for
their success today.

But that success does not diminish the challenges that remain in Iraq, and
it certainly does not tamp the passions inflamed against the United States
throughout the Muslim world by our actions in Iraq. The capture of Saddam
Hussein will not be the keystone for peace in that volatile region. This day
's news does not lessen the danger that the Bush doctrine of preemptive
strikes poses to international peace and stability.

In order to bring lasting stability to Iraq, that nation needs the help of
the entire world, not just America and her fighting friends.

As each day passes and as more American soldiers are killed and wounded in
Iraq, I become ever more convinced that the war in Iraq was the wrong war at
the wrong time in the wrong place for the wrong reasons. Contrary to the
President's rosy predictions - and the predictions of others in the Bush
Administration - the United States has not been universally greeted as a
liberator in Iraq. The peace - if one can use the term "peace" to describe
the chronic violence and instability that define Iraq today - the peace is
far from being won. Iraqi citizens may be glad that Saddam Hussein is no
longer in power, but they appear to be growing increasingly resentful that
the United States continues to rule their country at the point of a gun.

What a huge price we are now paying for the President's bullheaded rush to
invoke the unwise and unprecedented doctrine of preemption to invade Iraq,
an invasion without provocation, an invasion without the support of the
United Nations or the international community.

It would be tragic enough if the casualties of the Iraq war were confined to
the battlefield, but they are not. The casualties of this war will have
serious repercussions for generations to come. Truth is one casualty.
Despite the best efforts of the White House to contort the invasion of Iraq
into an extension of the war on terror, there was never a connection between
Saddam Hussein and September 11. Not a single Iraqi was among the 19
hijackers of those four planes. Despite dire warnings from the President,
Saddam Hussein had at his fingertips neither the means nor the materiel to
unleash deadly weapons of mass destruction on the world. Despite
presidential rhetoric to the contrary, Iraq did not pose a grave and
gathering menace to the security of the United States. The war in Iraq was
nothing less than a manufactured war. It was a war served up to a
deliberately misled and deluded American public to suit the neoconservative
political agenda of the Bush White House.

A lasting casualty is the international credibility and reputation of the
United States of America. We have squandered the good will that had rallied
to our side after the attacks of 9-11, attacks that struck just a few short
blocks from where we sit tonight. At the end of that fateful day, the world
was with us. The French newspaper "Le Monde" proclaimed, "We Are All
Americans." But we squandered that good will. We turned our sights on Iraq
and turned our back on the United Nations. As a result, in some corners of
the world, including some corners of Europe and Great Britain, our beloved
nation is now viewed as the world bully.

Finally, and most disheartening to me, Congress allowed the Constitution to
become a casualty of the Bush doctrine of preemptive strikes. Congress
allowed its Constitutional authority to declare war to fall victim to this
irresponsible strategy. Just a little more than a year ago, in October 2002,
the Senate obsequiously handed the President the Constitutional authority to
declare war. It failed to debate; it failed to question; it failed to live
up to the standards established by the Framers. Like a whipped dog, the
Senate put its tail between its legs and slunk away into the shadows, slunk
away from its responsibility. Congress - and I mean both houses - Congress
delegated its constitutional authority to the President, and effectively
washed its hands of the fate of Iraq. It is a dark and despicable mark on
the escutcheon of Congress.

The roots of this travesty can be traced directly back to the President's
doctrine of preemption, that cock-eyed notion that the United States can
pre-emptively attack any nation that for whatever reason may - may! - appear
to pose a threat in the future. Not only is the doctrine of pre-emption a
radical departure from the traditional concept of self-defense, but it is
also a destabilizing influence in world affairs. The Bush doctrine of
pre-emption is a dangerous precedent. The Bush doctrine of pre-emption is a
reckless policy. The rising tide of anti-Americanism across the globe is
directly attributable to the fear and distrust engendered by this Bush
doctrine of pre-emption.

Yet, too many Americans are willing - yes, even eager - to swallow the
Administration line on pre-emption without examining it, without questioning
it, without challenging it.

Thank God for courageous institutions - like this one - which are willing to
stand up to the tide of popular convention. I commend The Nation magazine
for filling this vacuum, and I urge you to continue in your mission, without
fear, without constraint, and with an unyielding commitment to truth.

Today, for better or worse, the United States has embroiled itself in the
future of Iraq. But that does not mean that we need to continue to be the
lone wolf in Iraq. Unfortunately, the Administration's latest edict to
freeze out French, German, Russian, and Canadian companies from Iraq gives
me little reason to hope that the President is even remotely interested in
internationalizing the political, economic, and security reconstruction
effort. As a result, the White House continues to feed the perception
throughout the world that Iraq's reconstruction is a spoil of war.
Reconstruction contracts, funded with $18.6 billion from the American
taxpayer, seemingly have become kickbacks to those countries which dared not
speak out - as Germany, France, Russia, and Canada did speak out - against a
policy of preemptive war.

Like all roads to peace in the Middle East, the path to stability in Iraq
may still face obstacles. We cannot precisely predict what those obstacles
will be. But we must demand accountability from the Bush White House. We
must continue to raise questions. We must continue to seek the truth. We
must continue to speak out against wrongheaded policies and dangerous
strategies.

I am reminded of the closing lines from Tennyson's Ulysses:

tho' We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are, -
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will,
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
For my part, I will continue to speak out. I will continue to challenge, to
question, and never yield in defense of the Constitution, the United States
Senate, and the American people. For your part, I hope that The Nation
magazine will sail on, always serving as an advocate for the truth and an
antidote to the tide of imperialism that threatens to encompass our
government. Congratulations on your remarkable achievements.