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From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: wacwm@iserv.net world@iserv.net
Subject: Disappointed that the Council is Hosting Bush
I am writing to express my disappointment in the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan for hosting President George W. Bush at East Grand Rapids High School on Friday, April 20.
The World Affairs Council has always described itself as an organization that is open to discussion and debate of important foreign policy issues. The Council's website touts the fact that since its founding in 1949 "the World Affairs Council has been dedicated to educating people in western Michigan about other countries, cultures and regions of the world, as well as providing a forum for discussion of critical foreign policy issues facing this country." However, allowing President Bush to deliver "a major policy speech on Iraq" is not consistent with this mission. Based on past appearances around the country, President Bush will not use this appearance as a place to have a "discussion" of the situation in Iraq, rather he will use his speech to defend the initial invasion, ongoing occupation, and recent escalation of the war ("the surge"). Moreover, there will be no room for "debate" over this issue, we can be sure that a speaker critical of the occupation of Iraq will not be allowed to rebut the President's comments after he is finished. Instead, we will hear no mention of the war's substantial human cost (655,000+ Iraqi civilians killed, 3,300+ US soldiers killed, countless Iraqis wounded, and up to a million Iraqis displaced), the fact that the war was based on well-documented lies and distortions, and the illegality under international law of the war and occupation.
I was pleased to see that the issue of whether or not the Council should be hosting President Bush was briefly addressed in a Grand Rapids Press article titled "Bush to speak on Iraq at EGR High School Friday." However, the comments by the Council's Executive Director Dixie Anderson were disappointing. She was quoted as saying "We cover the whole spectrum. We are not here to take sides. We are not advocacy." Anderson is wrong, allowing President Bush to use the Council to defend his Iraq policy is advocacy and is taking sides. The article also highlighted Anderson's comments saying that in the week previous they hosted President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense William Cohen "who offered considerable criticism of the war in Iraq." However, Cohen is not a serious critic of the occupation of Iraq. In a Press article from April 8 ("Ex-defense secretary to speak in GR this week"), Cohen opposed leaving Iraq "precipitously." It is also important to remember that Cohen served in an administration that had an incredibly destructive policy towards Iraq, with frequent bombings of the country's "air defense sites," a three-day sustained bombing campaign in 1998 that Cohen himself led, the codifying of a policy of "regime change" in Iraq via the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998, and an economic sanctions program that was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of 5. The Press' April 12 article covering Cohen's talk ("Foreign policy speaker urges moral decency"), confirmed that his opposition was of a technical nature, objecting to the fact that the Bush administration failed to anticipate the "worst-case scenario" rather than opposing the overall policy.
In closing, I would like to reiterate my disappointment in the Council for their role in hosting President Bush in East Grand Rapids. This will not be an event that allows for the type of debate and discussion that the Council has hosted over the years, rather it will be a highly political speech designed to defend a highly unpopular and illegal war. Critics will not be allowed to challenge Bush's policy, nor will he be required to debate his opponents.
Your Name
Your Organization
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Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
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To: wacwm@iserv.net world@iserv.net
Subject: Disappointed that the Council is Hosting Bush
I am writing to express my disappointment in the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan for hosting President George W. Bush at East Grand Rapids High School on Friday, April 20.
The World Affairs Council has always described itself as an organization that is open to discussion and debate of important foreign policy issues. The Council's website touts the fact that since its founding in 1949 "the World Affairs Council has been dedicated to educating people in western Michigan about other countries, cultures and regions of the world, as well as providing a forum for discussion of critical foreign policy issues facing this country." However, allowing President Bush to deliver "a major policy speech on Iraq" is not consistent with this mission. Based on past appearances around the country, President Bush will not use this appearance as a place to have a "discussion" of the situation in Iraq, rather he will use his speech to defend the initial invasion, ongoing occupation, and recent escalation of the war ("the surge"). Moreover, there will be no room for "debate" over this issue, we can be sure that a speaker critical of the occupation of Iraq will not be allowed to rebut the President's comments after he is finished. Instead, we will hear no mention of the war's substantial human cost (655,000+ Iraqi civilians killed, 3,300+ US soldiers killed, countless Iraqis wounded, and up to a million Iraqis displaced), the fact that the war was based on well-documented lies and distortions, and the illegality under international law of the war and occupation.
I was pleased to see that the issue of whether or not the Council should be hosting President Bush was briefly addressed in a Grand Rapids Press article titled "Bush to speak on Iraq at EGR High School Friday." However, the comments by the Council's Executive Director Dixie Anderson were disappointing. She was quoted as saying "We cover the whole spectrum. We are not here to take sides. We are not advocacy." Anderson is wrong, allowing President Bush to use the Council to defend his Iraq policy is advocacy and is taking sides. The article also highlighted Anderson's comments saying that in the week previous they hosted President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense William Cohen "who offered considerable criticism of the war in Iraq." However, Cohen is not a serious critic of the occupation of Iraq. In a Press article from April 8 ("Ex-defense secretary to speak in GR this week"), Cohen opposed leaving Iraq "precipitously." It is also important to remember that Cohen served in an administration that had an incredibly destructive policy towards Iraq, with frequent bombings of the country's "air defense sites," a three-day sustained bombing campaign in 1998 that Cohen himself led, the codifying of a policy of "regime change" in Iraq via the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998, and an economic sanctions program that was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of 5. The Press' April 12 article covering Cohen's talk ("Foreign policy speaker urges moral decency"), confirmed that his opposition was of a technical nature, objecting to the fact that the Bush administration failed to anticipate the "worst-case scenario" rather than opposing the overall policy.
In closing, I would like to reiterate my disappointment in the Council for their role in hosting President Bush in East Grand Rapids. This will not be an event that allows for the type of debate and discussion that the Council has hosted over the years, rather it will be a highly political speech designed to defend a highly unpopular and illegal war. Critics will not be allowed to challenge Bush's policy, nor will he be required to debate his opponents.
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
--
Delivered by CitizenSpeak!
Report abuse to abuse@citizenspeak.org [1048]
