Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Title:  "Editorial: Bipartisan Support on Iraq." (900820)

Translated Title:  "Irak: Soutien Unanime des Actions du President Bush." (900820)
Date:  19900820

Text:
*TXT101

08/20/90 EDITORIAL: BIPARTISAN SUPPORT ON IRAQ (480)

(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America August 18, reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)

Democracies are supposed to be fickle. They constantly debate over the rightness or wrongness of actions and policies. These debates have often been mistaken as signs of irresolution. In fact, tyrants have sometimes tried to divide public opinion within a democracy to undermine its resolve to resist aggression.

However, some acts of aggression are so blatant that they actually help to form a consensus. Such has been the case with Saddam Hussein's unprovoked invasion of Kuwait. From across the spectrum of American political life, voices have been raised as one to denounce Saddam's brutal aggression and to support President George Bush's strong response to it.

Members of Congress, former American presidents and statesmen have unanimously endorsed President Bush's actions. Former President Jimmy Carter said, "President Bush now joins an unbroken line of his predecessors stretching back to President (Harry) Truman. Once the Iraqi invasion was launched, a firm response was his only option." James Schlesinger, a former secretary of Defense, said, "We were right to provide troops in Saudi Arabia as a deterrent to dissuade Iraq from attacking Saudi Arabia. For us to stand aside and watch Saudi Arabia be swept away would be the equivalent of standing by and watching Berlin be swept away in the 1940s."

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that the Iraqi attack is "the most blatant case of 1930s-style aggression in the entire postwar period." Congressman Ted Weiss, Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, agreed that, "What Saddam Hussein is doing bears a startling resemblance to how Hitler behaved. There were terrible consequences then, when the international community did not stand up -- it just encouraged aggression." Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that, "Saddam Hussein had to be told that if he crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, he would be picking a fight with a force that is far bigger than just Saudi Arabia."

Political activist Jesse Jackson, who twice ran for the Democratic party nomination for president, recalled what

GE 2 TXT101 strong U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been in preserving free passage through the Persian Gulf. Jesse Jackson said that, "(Saddam) Hussein broke international law. He said he would not invade, and he did. He said he would withdraw from Kuwait, and then he annexed (it). And then he began moving toward Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia asked for our help. It seems to me that we were obliged to respond."

These many voices, speaking as one, confirm President Bush's statement that, "the American people are with us. Congress is with us.... No one should doubt our staying power or determination" to uphold "the principle that might does not make right." NNNN

File Identification:  08/20/90, TX-101; 08/20/90, AE-109; 08/20/90, AR-125; 08/20/90, PX-101; 08/20/90, EU-106; 08/20/90, NE-107; 08/20/90, AS-135; 08/21/90, AF-209; 08/21/90, NA-202
Product Name:  Wireless File; VOA Editorials
Product Code:  WF; VO
Languages:  Spanish; French; Arabic
Keywords:  CONGRESS, US-FOREIGN AFFAIRS; BUSH, GEORGE/Foreign Relations: Near East & South Asia; IRAQ-US RELATIONS; IRAQ-KUWAIT RELATIONS; INVASIONS; HUSSEIN, SADDAM; FORCE & TROOP LEVELS; ARAB NATIONS-US RELATIONS
Document Type:  EDI
Thematic Codes:  1NE; 2FP
Target Areas:  AF; AR; EA; EU; NE
PDQ Text Link:  151375; 151424; 151575