2/6/03 Green Party Rebuttal (excerpt)

America can wage peace, not war, by breaking the hold of the oil corporations on Congress and the White House. It's time to kick the oil addiction. Right now. America has the technological know-how and the renewable resources to make the break from fossil fuel dependence. We can and should build up our solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources now. America can wage peace, not war, by putting a stop to the global trade in weapons. We must stop it at its source. That's here, at home, in the United States. U.S.-based corporations are the prime suppliers of weapons to the world. It's time to beat swords into plowshares. It's time to put the arm profiteers out of business.

America can wage peace, not war, only if we are consistent in our support for democracy. The foreign policy of supporting "our" dictators against "their" dictators has been a failure. Saddam Hussein is in power today because the U.S. government once supported him, just as it once supported bin Laden. Thank you, Mr. Rumsfeld.

It is time to consistently support democracy. Perhaps it is unfair to expect George W. Bush to understand democracy, much less promote it, but that's the agenda that will win America trust and allies in an uncertain world. America can wage peace, instead of war, by helping the economies of the poorer countries of the world. Exploitation breeds poverty, poverty breeds hatred, and hatred breeds terror. Unrestricted corporate power has caused massive unemployment and environmental destruction across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and today threatens the United States as well. The Green Party calls for a global economic policy whose goal is the elimination of poverty, the creation of sustainable industries, and support for real democracy based on the empowerment of working people.

Americans want security, not unending war. In its eagerness to invade Iraq, the political establishment has revealed its true purpose. Not security for Americans, but control over oil. Not peace in the Middle East, but military bases across the globe. Not rule of law, but violation of the Constitution. Bush is no reluctant warrior, he is a warmongering draft-dodger, and together with a weak and compliant Democratic Party in Congress, he is threatening American interests.

The President claims the inspections have failed. He is wrong. In fact, his attempts to drum up a war fever are what has failed.