Bombing Iraq by Howard Zinn — Read

In February of 1998, as the United States was on the verge of sending bombers over Iraq, three of the government's leading propagandists-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, and National Security Adviser Samuel Berger-spoke at a town hall meeting in Columbus, Ohio to explain why the United States had to bomb Iraq. But the question period, which the organizers of the gathering had tried to control, got out of control when an opponent of the bombing took the floor to question Madeleine Albright. He asked why the United States had singled out Iraq for bombing when other nations-allies of the United States-possessed weapons of mass destruction and did not face punishment. Albright stammered, unable to coherently answer, and this was seen on television screens across the country. This incident apparently called a temporary halt to the plans for bombing, although ten months later, the bombers went into action, prompting this op-ed piece of mine, which appeared in several newspapers around the country.

All of us who have been taken aback by our government's hysterical rush to violence in the Middle East can now be taken forward by the courage of a lone voice in Congress speaking out against the madness. The voice was that of Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, who, on Newshour with Jim Lehrer last week, faced off, with facts, logic, and passion, three fellow legislators who stammered and stuttered vainly to defend aggressive action against Iraq.