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Authors: Lawrence John Brown
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inside. In the weeks that followed the invasion, men between the ages of fifteen and fifty-five were rounded up and taken to detention centers by the American troops. Thousands of university professors and cultural, labor, and political leaders were also arrested.
While the Pentagon said that Panamanian casualties were no higher than 550, the estimates from the U.N. and human rights’ organizations ranged from 2500 to 4000 killed. In his speech proclaiming victory, President Bush said, “Every human life is precious.” After the war hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves, including those of women, children, the old, and the disabled.
It appears that the goal of the Bush administration was to install a government that would be friendly to U.S. business interests and that would allow American troops to remain in Panama beyond the year 2000, when by treaty, the U.S. is required to turn the Canal Zone over to the Panamanian people. How else can the murders, arrests, and detentions of civilians who might be critical of U.S. domination of Panama be explained?
In the summer of 1990 President Bush sent American troops to the Middle East to protect the West’s oil pipeline on the Arabian Peninsula. Suddenly our ally Saddam Hussein had become the new Hitler—an example of how those in power can twist facts to fit their purposes. (It has been said that many of Saddam Hussein’s weapons were purchased with money from U.S. loans.) Bush rejected all offers to negotiate; a peaceful settlement could have resulted in an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait without the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
During the Gulf War allied planes devastated the infrastructure of Iraq. A U.N. embargo on trade with Iraq is still in effect, as I write these words in 1994. The consequence of the destruction of the infrastructure and the embargo will be the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, mostly children, from malnutrition, diseases related to unsanitary living conditions, and lack of medical care. And for what reason will these children die? Because President Bus drew a line in the sand, and so that his friends in the Kuwaiti monarchy (Bush had American troops rebuild the palace) could return to rule a nation the British carved out of Iraq.
I understand that America and her allies successfully fought for the freedom of Europe from the Nazi war machine and the freedom of Asia from Japanese militarism, and that without the U.S. presence in the world after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and China may have overrun Europe and Asia. But the defeat of Germany and Japan, and the containment of the Soviet Union and China does not justify our slaughter of the people of the Third World on the altars of anti-communist hysteria, capitalism, national interest, and secure borders.
I believe the lesson of Vietnam, Central America, the Persian Gulf, and other U.S. foreign interventions is that all life is sacred. I believe all people have the right to choose their own government. I believe the principles of the Declaration of Independence are universal: All men and women, no matter what race, religion, or nationality, are created equal.
A nation or government which kills, tortures, represses or assists in or encourages the killing, torture, and repression of citizens of foreign lands is committing international murder and other crimes, for which the political and military leaders involved should be held accountable in a world court of law.
My hands have been stained with innocent blood because I am an American, and the crimes of America are my crimes too. The abuses of the rights of people of other nations by the people and the government of the United States prove that no nation can be trusted with great power.
One Human Race, One Earth:
Guidelines For A Universal Mythology
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us, and the
While the Pentagon said that Panamanian casualties were no higher than 550, the estimates from the U.N. and human rights’ organizations ranged from 2500 to 4000 killed. In his speech proclaiming victory, President Bush said, “Every human life is precious.” After the war hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves, including those of women, children, the old, and the disabled.
It appears that the goal of the Bush administration was to install a government that would be friendly to U.S. business interests and that would allow American troops to remain in Panama beyond the year 2000, when by treaty, the U.S. is required to turn the Canal Zone over to the Panamanian people. How else can the murders, arrests, and detentions of civilians who might be critical of U.S. domination of Panama be explained?
In the summer of 1990 President Bush sent American troops to the Middle East to protect the West’s oil pipeline on the Arabian Peninsula. Suddenly our ally Saddam Hussein had become the new Hitler—an example of how those in power can twist facts to fit their purposes. (It has been said that many of Saddam Hussein’s weapons were purchased with money from U.S. loans.) Bush rejected all offers to negotiate; a peaceful settlement could have resulted in an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait without the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
During the Gulf War allied planes devastated the infrastructure of Iraq. A U.N. embargo on trade with Iraq is still in effect, as I write these words in 1994. The consequence of the destruction of the infrastructure and the embargo will be the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, mostly children, from malnutrition, diseases related to unsanitary living conditions, and lack of medical care. And for what reason will these children die? Because President Bus drew a line in the sand, and so that his friends in the Kuwaiti monarchy (Bush had American troops rebuild the palace) could return to rule a nation the British carved out of Iraq.
I understand that America and her allies successfully fought for the freedom of Europe from the Nazi war machine and the freedom of Asia from Japanese militarism, and that without the U.S. presence in the world after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and China may have overrun Europe and Asia. But the defeat of Germany and Japan, and the containment of the Soviet Union and China does not justify our slaughter of the people of the Third World on the altars of anti-communist hysteria, capitalism, national interest, and secure borders.
I believe the lesson of Vietnam, Central America, the Persian Gulf, and other U.S. foreign interventions is that all life is sacred. I believe all people have the right to choose their own government. I believe the principles of the Declaration of Independence are universal: All men and women, no matter what race, religion, or nationality, are created equal.
A nation or government which kills, tortures, represses or assists in or encourages the killing, torture, and repression of citizens of foreign lands is committing international murder and other crimes, for which the political and military leaders involved should be held accountable in a world court of law.
My hands have been stained with innocent blood because I am an American, and the crimes of America are my crimes too. The abuses of the rights of people of other nations by the people and the government of the United States prove that no nation can be trusted with great power.
One Human Race, One Earth:
Guidelines For A Universal Mythology
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us, and the
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