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Dear George, You ask, now that the war has begun, what can we do to support our troops. And, of course, how do we react to the war. Senator Byrd, speaking to an empty Senate chamber yesterday, spoke truth yesterday when he said: "Today I weep for my country . . .No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. ... Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. . . .We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. . . .After war has ended the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe. . . .and may we somehow recapture the vision which for the present eludes us." The Washington Post reports that: "As the white-haired senator concluded his remarks, a number of people in the visitor's gallery rose and applauded before they were admonished to be quiet." We are all now "admonished to be quiet" by the false patriots who will tell us, at every turn, that to criticize our government's policy is to betray our fighting men and women. They have already been betrayed. They are now, in fact, pawns being manipulated by President Bush and his colleagues who "flaunt our superpower status with arrogance" to achieve a purpose that the world believes could have been achieved cooperatively and peacefully. For these next few days, perhaps weeks, we who share Senator Byrd's understanding
will watch and listen and hope for the safety of our fighting men and women
and the women and men of Iraq whom they have been ordered to kill and maim.
We shall have a flood of calls to action from those who oppose the war.
Sorting out these calls to action and deciding which among them are likely
to meet our needs will be a challenge for all of us as we are "admonished
to be quiet."
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