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US threatens world peace, says Mandela (Read 47 times)

Ayinde

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US threatens world peace, says Mandela
Sep 11^th, 2002 at 8:38pm

BBC - One of the world's most respected statesmen, Nelson Mandela, has condemned United States intervention in the Middle East as "a threat to world peace".

In an interview with the US magazine, Newsweek published on Wednesday, the former South African president repeated his call for President George Bush not to launch attacks on Iraq.

He said that Mr Bush was trying to please the American arms and oil industries.

And Mr Mandela, 84, called some of Mr Bush's senior advisers, including Vice President Dick Cheney "dinosaurs".

He said that the United States' backing for a coup by the Shah of Iran in 1953 had led to that country's Islamic revolution in 1979.

On Afghanistan, Mr Mandela said that US support for the mujahideen (including Osama Bin Laden) against the Soviet Union and its refusal to work with the United Nations after the Soviet withdrawal led to the Taleban taking power.

"If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace," he said.

No evidence

Mr Mandela said that the US was clearly afraid of losing a vote in the United Nations Security Council.

"It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W Bush's desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America," he said.

He said that no evidence had been presented to support the claim that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, while former UN weapons inspector in Baghdad Scott Ritter has said there is no such evidence.

"But what we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction. Nobody mentions that," he said.

The former South African leader made it clear that the only member of the Bush team he respects is Colin Powell.

He called Mr Cheney a "dinosaur" and an "arch-conservative" who does not want Mr Bush "to belong to the modern age."

Mr Mandela recalled that Mr Cheney had been opposed to his release from prison.

Reproduced from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2251067.stm

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Ayinde

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Re: US threatens world peace, says Mandela
Reply #1 - Sep 12^th, 2002 at 10:12am

Nelson Mandela: The United States of America is a Threat to
World Peace
In a rare interview, the South African demands that George W. Bush win United Nations support before attacking Iraq
From: www.msnbc.com

Sept. 10 - Nelson Mandela, 84, may be the world’s most respected statesman. Sentenced to life in prison on desolate Robben Island in 1964 for advocating armed resistance to apartheid in South Africa, the African National Congress leader emerged in 1990 to lead his country in a transition to non-racial elections. As president, his priority was racial reconciliation; today South Africans of all races refer to him by his Xhosa clan honorific, Madiba. Mandela stepped down in 1999 after a single five-year term. He now heads two foundations focused on children. He met with NEWSWEEK'S Tom Masland early Monday morning in his office in Houghton, a Johannesburg suburb, before flying to Limpopo Province to address traditional leaders on the country's AIDS crisis. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Why are you speaking out on Iraq? Do you want to mediate, as you tried to on the Mideast a couple of years ago? It seems you are reentering the fray now.

Nelson Mandela: If I am asked, by credible organizations, to mediate, I will consider that very seriously. But a situation of this nature does not need an individual, it needs an organization like the United Nations to mediate. We must understand the seriousness of this situation. The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken. Unqualified support of the Shah of Iran led directly to the Islamic revolution of 1979. Then the United States chose to arm and finance the [Islamic] mujahedin in Afghanistan instead of supporting and encouraging the moderate wing of the government of Afghanistan. That is what led to the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the most catastrophic action of the United States was to sabotage the decision that was painstakingly stitched together by the United Nations regarding the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace. Because what [America] is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world. That must be condemned in the strongest terms. And you will notice that France, Germany Russia, China are against this decision. It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W. Bush's desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America. If you look at those factors, you'll see that an individual like myself, a man who has lost power and influence, can never be a suitable mediator.

What about the argument that's being made about the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and Saddam's efforts to build a nuclear weapons. After all, he has invaded other countries, he has fired missiles at Israel. On Thursday, President Bush is going to stand up in front of the United Nations and point to what he says is evidence of...

…Scott Ritter, a former United Nations arms inspector who is in Baghdad, has said that there is no evidence whatsoever of [development of weapons of] mass destruction. Neither Bush nor [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair has provided any evidence that such weapons exist. But what we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction. Nobody talks about that. Why should there be one standard for one country, especially because it is black, and another one for another country, Israel, that is white.

So you see this as a racial question?

Well, that element is there. In fact, many people say quietly, but they don't have the courage to stand up and say publicly, that when there were white secretary generals you didn't find this question of the United States and Britain going out of the United Nations. But now that you've had black secretary generals like Boutros Boutros Ghali, like Kofi Annan, they do not respect the United Nations. They have contempt for it. This is not my view, but that is what is being said by many people.

What kind of compromise can you see that might avoid the coming confrontation?

There is one compromise and one only, and that is the United Nations. If the United States and Britain go to the United Nations and the United Nations says we have concrete evidence of the existence of these weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we feel that we must do something about it, we would all support it.

Do you think that the Bush administration's U.N. diplomatic effort now is genuine, or is the President just looking for political cover by speaking to the U.N. even as he remains intent on forging ahead unilaterally?

Well, there is no doubt that the United States now feels that they are the only superpower in the world and they can do what they like. And of course we must consider the men and the women around the president. Gen. Colin Powell commanded the United States army in peacetime and in wartime during the Gulf war. He knows the disastrous effect of international tension and war, when innocent people are going to die, young men are going to die. He knows and he showed this after September 11 last year. He went around briefing the allies of the United States of America and asking for their support for the war in Afghanistan. But people like Dick Cheney… I see yesterday there was an article that said he is the real president of the United States of America, I don't know how true that is. Dick Cheney, [Defense secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, they are people who are unfortunately misleading the president. Because my impression of the president is that this is a man with whom you can do business. But it is the men who around him who are dinosaurs, who do not want him to belong to the modern age. The only man, the only person who wants to help Bush move to the modern era is Gen. Colin Powell, the secretary of State.

I gather you are particularly concerned about Vice President Cheney?

Well, there is no doubt. He opposed the decision to release me from prison (laughs). The majority of the U.S. Congress was in favor of my release, and he opposed it. But it's not because of that. Quite clearly we are dealing with an arch-conservative in Dick Cheney.

I'm interested in your decision to speak out now about Iraq. When you left office, you said, "I'm going to go down to Transkei, and have a rest." Now maybe that was a joke at the time. But you've been very active.

I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it's difficult to say no.

© 2002 Newsweek, Inc.

Reproduced from:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/806174.asp?cp1=1

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Ayinde

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Dick Cheney's Record On Civil Rights/Mandela
Reply #2 - Sep 13^th, 2002 at 2:25pm

"We've reached the point where affirmative action has been taken so far that, in fact, it's become an abuse." -- Dick Cheney. [CNN's "Capital Gang, 6/3/95]

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1983: Cheney Voted Against the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 1983, Cheney voted against the Equal Rights Amendment, which read, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1985-88: Cheney Repeatedly Opposed Sanctions on South Africa.

In 1985, 1986 and 1988, Cheney repeatedly opposed economic sanctions on South Africa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1986: Cheney Voted Against Resolution Calling for Nelson Mandela's Freedom.

In 1986, Cheney voted against a resolution expressing the sense of the House that the President should urge the South African government to, among other things, grant immediate and unconditional release to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners.

1986: Cheney Opposed Raising Minority Contract Set Asides for Defense Department to 10 Percent.

In 1986, Cheney opposed increasing from 5 percent to 10 percent the proportion of Pentagon contracts that must go to minority-controlled firms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1988: Cheney Was One of Only 29 Members to Oppose Collection of Hate Crime Data.

In 1988, Cheney was one of only 29 House members to oppose legislation that provided for the acquisition and publication of data about crimes that manifest prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHENEY OPPOSED SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA

Cheney Opposed Sanctions on South Africa on 10 Separate Occassions.

Cheney opposed imposing economic sanctions on South Africa on 10 separate occassions. Cheney's votes against sanctions included: postponing sanctions for one year, opposing banning bank loans to the South African government, opposing prohibiting the sale of computer goods and nuclear power equipment and supplies, opposing banning new U.S. business investment in South Africa, opposing barring importation of South African coal, steel and agricultural products, opposing ending U.S. landing rights for South African airliners and allowing U.S. investors to continue to invest in South Africa. In 1988, Cheney "paired against" final passage of a bill to impose sanctions on South Africa. [1985 CQ Almanac, p. 44-H, votes #129, #130; p. 84-H, vote #262; 1986 CQ Almanac, p. 110, vote #390; p. 98-H, vote #350; p. 100-H, vote #351; p. 110-H, vote #390; 1988 CQ Almanac, p. 89-H, vote #282; vote #288; 1985 CQ Almanac, p. 38-H, vote #110]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1986: Cheney Voted Against Resolution Calling for Nelson Mandela's Freedom.

In 1986, Cheney voted against a resolution expressing the sense of the House that the President should urge the South African government to engage in political negotiations with the country's black majority, grant immediate and unconditional release to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and recognize the African National Congress (ANC) as a legitimate representative for the black majority. [1986 CQ Almanac, p. 86-H, vote #304]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHENEY VOTED AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

Cheney Repeatedly Voted Against Civil Rights Programs.

Cheney repeatedly voted against civil rights programs in the 1980s. His votes included: opposing allowing a bill that sought to ensure application of four major civil rights laws to reach the House floor; voting against overriding Reagan's veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, which provided broad coverage of four civil rights laws: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [1984 CQ Almanac, p. 74-H, vote #233; S. 557. vote #2041, 3/22/88; 1983 CQ Almanac, 16-C, Vote #14; 1983 CQ Almanac, p. 52-H, vote #162]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENERAL CIVIL RIGHTS

1983: Cheney Opposed Federal Funds to Help Pay for SchoolDesegregation.

In 1983, Cheney voted against authorizing a program of grants to local school districts in FYs 1984-86 to help them offset the costs of school desegregation. [1983 CQ Almanac, p. 52-H, vote #162]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1983: Cheney Voted Against the Equal Rights Amendment.

In 1983, Cheney voted against the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The Amendment read, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex." [1983 CQ Almanac, 16-C, Vote #14]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1986: Cheney Opposed Raising Minority Contract Set Asides for Defense Department to 10 Percent.

In 1986, Cheney opposed increasing from 5 percent to 10 percent the proportion of Pentagon contracts that must go to minority-controlled firms. [1986 CQ Almanac, p. 90-H, vote #323]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

1988: Cheney Was One of Only 29 House Members to Oppose Collection of Hate Crime Data.

In 1988, Cheney was one of only 29 House members to oppose legislation that provided for the acquisition and publication of data about crimes that manifest prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. [1988 CQ Almanac, p. 46-H, vote #138]

Reproduced from:
http://bush-cheney.net/issues/civilrights.html

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CONVERSION ON FREEDOM FOR NELSON MANDELA

* Cheney Voted against Resolution Calling for Nelson Mandela's Freedom. In 1986, Cheney voted against a resolution expressing the sense of the House that the President should urge the South African government to engage in political negotiations with the country's black majority, grant immediate and unconditional release to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and recognize the African National Congress (ANC) as a legitimate representative for the black majority. Motion rejected 245-177. [1986 CQ Almanac, p. 86-H, vote #304]

* First, Cheney Distorted Mandela Vote. When first questioned about his vote against releasing Nelson Mandela from prison, Cheney said he voted against the measure because it would have imposed economic sanctions on South Africa. According to the Washington Post, "Mr. Cheney's response was that he had been opposed to the imposition of economic sanctions on South Africa. But the resolution made no mention of such sanctions." [Washington Post, 7/28/00]

* Now Cheney Claims He Supported Mandela's
Release All Along. In an interview on July 30, 2000, Cheney was asked about his vote in opposition to releasing Nelson Mandela from prison. Cheney answered, "Well, certainly I would have loved to have Nelson Mandela released. I don't know anybody who was for keeping him in prison. Again, this was a resolution of the U.S. Congress, so it wasn't as though if we passed it, he was going to be let out of prison." [NBC, "Meet the Press," 7/30/00]

Reproduced from:
http://www.politicsandelections.com/usa/butts/gorejul31.htm

http://www.ngltf.org/elections/cheney.htm

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