During the run up to the war in Iraq, and during the occupation stage of the war, there were few public figures who acted honorably. These people stood up and went against the flow, against the mainstream media and politicians, with the fear of being branded a traitor, and stated: "I have not seen proof that Iraq is a threat to us. We are attacking a sovereign nation without provocation."
People may have other champions to add to my list, but here are my six honorable Americans:
Senator Robert Byrd - byrd.senate.gov/byrd.email.html
Gov. Howard Dean - democracyforamerica.com/contactus.php - 802-651-3200
Paul Krugman, NY Times - Krugman@nytimes.com
Michael Massing, Columbia Journalism Review - editors@cjr.com
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout.org - editor@truthout.org
Congressman Henry Waxman - 202-225-3976
Now, with news of the U.S. army torturing children, with America still running secret prisons across the globe, with the South of Iraq in open revolt, and America bombing civilian centers of Najaf, I find congress and the American media inhumanely silent again.
Let me be clear: I am a pacifist. I marched before the war, and called my congressman and Senator and asked them not to vote for the war. Now I will contact all the people on my list and ask them to speak up again. If someone has better contact information for these people I would appreciate it. As an anti-war activist I am tired and depressed, but I must try to get someone to listen once more.
Imagine what the rest of the world's media is showing them. Imagine what will happen when the average American citizen wakes up to find that Iraq as split into three countries, and all three hate the U.S.