Transcript of Ramsey Clark's Speech: Washington, Oct. 26, 2002
The only decent respect we can show for the veterans of Vietnam whose names are on this memorial on this ground, is to stop all U.S. wars. And we have to do it now. No more war memorials. Peace memorials.
Every day and in every way. You hear President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and above all the might voice of the media saying, "war now. We've got to destroy Iraq."
Where do you hear about our responsibility and our accountability for the three wars we have already destroyed Iraq with? In 1991, 110,000 aerial sorties in 42 days. 88,500 tons of bombs. 150,000 dead. The Pentagon says we lost 155, more than one-third to "friendly fire," the rest to accidents, no combat casualties. It was slaughter. You don't slaughter with impunity. It is a war crime. It is a crime against humanity.
Then we impose the unbelievable sanctions on Iraq that have killed a million and a half people. Every day it continues, every day and every day infants, children, elderly die from those sanctions. We just got back from Iraq in September, where we heard the health minister say the death rates continue to increase. The number of children born below normal weight, below 2 kilograms, are now one in four. A midget generation. We have killed 1 and a half million people with genocidal sanctions.
Who is talking about that now? Where is U.S. accountability for that? We have flown over the sovereign territory of Iraq every day since 1991. We bombed nearly every day since 1991. We've chosen our days carefully. On Jan. 17, 1993, two days before the first President Bush left office, he sent 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles he hit the Al Rashid Hotel, he took the life of Leyla al-Attar, 15 miles outside of Baghdad, with a Tomahawk cruise missile, the greatest Arab artist of the 20th century, the head of the Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad.
And even in September and October of this year, while we're talking about bombing soon, we're bombing every day. The first day we got there, eight killed in Baghdad. More than 40 killed in October. And the war goes on. And we claim they are evil. We had better pay attention.
We are destroying international law that has some potential for peace. We are destroying the United Nations which was created to end the scourge of war. We are thumbing our noses at the Nuremburg Charter. It says that for anything you cannot strike first, because Nazi Germany struck first.
Heinlich Himmler led the Gestapo. He said shoot first and ask questions afterward and I will protect you. And that's what we plan to do with Iraq and other countries. After Iraq will be more. If we don't stop this now we'll find that we'll live in chaos for the rest of our lives and god knows what will happen with the next generation.
They are destroying the Constitution of the United States. The Bill of Rights is a piece of paper that isn't worth anything anymore. The government takes as much pride in destroying the Declaration of Independence as well as the Bill of Rights as in anything else it does. It wants to end the idea of individual freedom and to make people do what the government says, even if that means martial law.
These are criminal offenses. They are high crimes. They are indictable offenses and they are impeachable offenses.
I've been a lawyer for over 50 years and if I know anything that these are impeachable offenses. Attacking Iraq will be genocide, again, it has to be prevented. Regime change needs to begin at home.
We need to separate the United States from militarism. For God's sake, don't you see what we're doing. Day after day after day, mass killing. Who has the weapons of mass destruction? We do! Who is making more money every day from more weapons? We are!.
You've got to liberate this country from militarism., You've got to liberate this country from corporate oligarchy, that is destroying our lives. This is not a democracy; it is a plutocracy. The people don't rule here. Wealth rules; the corporations rule. They rule the Congress, they elect the president, they run the Pentagon. They own the media.
We have got to liberate the United States from repression. Don't we know, we've got 2 million people in prison? Don't we know we execute more than one person a week in this country?
Don't we know? Don't we know what is right? We know what is right. We just don't stand up. Let's liberate the United States of America. Make it stand for peace everywhere.
Let's end poverty and hunger and sickness and create jobs for everybody everywhere. Let's work for justice. Let's reach out in friendship to everyone all over the world. No more wars.
[Leads chant of "No more wars."]
We have to persevere every day of our lives
When this crisis is over there will be another and another. We have to persevere until the end. We have to follow the advice Veneto Juarez,, a full-blooded Zapotec Indian, who twice became the president of Mexico, and whose words are inscribed just outside the general assembly of the United Nations chamber's auditorium, inside the UN building. Juarez found the wisdom and understanding in a few words the story of violence in our history. He said, "A respect for the rights of others is peace."
Let's respect the rights of everyone on this earth and reach out in friendship and love.
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