In my opinion, Bush is using a kind of emotional terrorism to win support for his very unpopular war. By imposing code orange he is capitalizing on fear of the unknown; after all, he was slipping in the polls until he began this latest campaign to scare Americans into supporting a pre-emptive strike.
If the US has so much intelligence that Iraq is capable of and willing to stage an attack, then why isn't it being shared with the UN investigators? Isn't the US just as guilty of secrecy and deceipt by keeping whatever is "known" under wraps?
Why are almost every nation in the UN plus dozens and dozens of American city and town councils and county governments opposed to this strike? Because there is no evidence of either capacity or intent on the part of Iraq to initiate a conflict from which it cannot hope to emerge a victor.
The US is the largest consumer of Iraqi oil. That's what this is about. That's all Bush knows about. He neither knows nor cares one whit about the needs of the American people or the degradation of our schools, the non-existance of health care for the majority of our citizens, the exportation of jobs, or the hideous conditions our elderly and poor live in.
I urge you not to be afraid, but to be angry and to demand what every American citizen has a right to: self-determination and a voice with which to express it.
Sorry for the soap box, but we are some of the most empowered and strong-willed folks I know--we can survive Cathe workouts!--so it just hurts me to see any of us fall victim to scare tactics. I am afraid, to; but I will speak up for peace until the thugs from homeland security come and lock me up.
--Ann
