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FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2003

" I am opposed to a war with Iraq. I would like to see the 240,000 brave soldiers and officers who are now posed for war, brought home, safe and sound. The Iraq War is not a just war.

In Anishinaabeg teachings, there are teachings about Ogitchidaag (those who defend the people), but there is no set of teachings for a pre-emptive war which will likely destroy thousands of people, and devastate a country, for what at best, can be considered ulterior motives.

Don’t mistake me, I am not a fan of Saddam Hussein. He is seemingly an evil man, but honestly, I can not tell the truth anymore, since the media biases are so overwhelming and our motives have become so ulterior. For instance, the Bush administration has sought to link Saddam Hussein to the events of 9/11, without any success. If the Bush administration was to bomb a country as retaliation for 9/11 (in addition to Afghanistan), Saudi Arabia might be better suited for that campaign, where 11 of the highjackers, as well as Osama bin Laden came from. One might ask the question, "why are we not invading Saudi Arabia," and one might get the response, "because they are our friends."

I also believe we need to transform U.S. foreign policy, and not fund terrorists. The United States is promiscuous with its weapons sales. It sells and gives weapons to 91 countries, and trains the militaries of 151 countries. We are the country with the infamous School of the Americas (now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security and Cooperation) which has trained 60,000 terrorists in the Americas. These include the death squads of El Salvador and Guatemala, and the militaries, paramilitaries and just about everyone in Columbia where vast human rights violations continue to occur and where we lost our family member Ingrid Washinawatok El Issa, to a bullet paid for by my tax dollars four years ago."

Get the Story:
LaDuke: The case against the war (Indian Country Today 4/4)
LaDuke Speaks About Environment; War (The Rocky Mountain Collegian 4/4)

Related Stories:
LaDuke sickened by '7th Calvary' march into Iraq (03/24)