Theos-Talk Archives (March 2003 Message tt00266)

>Missouri GOP 
>Chairman's Resignation Letter 
>3-9-3 
> 
>"I grieve for our nation, and the untold suffering that will be 
wrought. As history has 
>shown, you can possess the greatest armaments in the world, but if 
your cause and 
>motives are not right, only catastrophe will result." -- Jack 
Walters 
> 
>March 8, 2003 
>Our Country Above Politics 
> 
>As the Bush administration moves toward certain war in the Middle 
East-a 
>war which I believe nothing good will come from, a war which is 
unjust, 
>unnecessary, and a war which will undoubtedly widen, perhaps even 
into 
>world war, thereby placing our nation in dire peril-I have made a 
>decision regarding my position as Boone County Republican Chairman. 
> 
>Wars are easy to get into, but very difficult to get out of. They 
can sap 
>the moral and spiritual fiber of a nation, squander lives and 
resources, 
>deplete scarce funds, cause undue hardship on all involved, destroy 
>families, and engender hopelessness. 
> 
>I have questioned both the motives for military action at this time, 
and 
>the ever-changing, illogical justifications presented to us in what 
has 
>to be one of the greatest media propaganda blitzes ever force-fed a 
>populace. Any time ground troops are deployed, serious questions 
must be 
>asked and real answers demanded. The jingoistic rhetoric we are 
receiving 
>does not constitute legitimate answers. 
> 
>The consequences of our planned attack on Iraq (and also probably 
Iran, 
>given the size of our forces and their location in proximity to 
Iran), 
>should cause us all to pause. The Pentagon has announced that we 
will hit 
>Baghdad with a force almost equal to the bombing of Hiroshima. 
Obviously 
>many thousands of civilians will perish, with untold thousands 
maimed. 
>And for what? To liberate them? To bring them freedom? Or democracy? 
Or 
>is it to really secure the world's second largest oil reserve and 
>establish a base from which to subjugate other Middle Eastern 
nations? Is 
>it also the plan for Israel to use the cover of war to forcibly 
relocate 
>the Palestinian population (as has been publicly stated by some 
members 
>of Israel's current government)? 
> 
>How on earth have we arrived at this crucial juncture in our 
country's 
>history? How has a war on terrorism been converted into an attack on 
>Iraq? What threat does Iraq pose to us? We must lay the blame 
squarely on 
>our congress, who according to our Constitution, only has the power 
to 
>declare war. For congress to cede it's war-making power to the 
executive 
>branch is unconstitutional on the very face of it and effectively 
>destroys our three branches of government. Circumventing our 
Constitution 
>is very bad, and the undeclared wars, which have resulted in our 
recent 
>history, have had disastrous results. Undeclared wars have no 
declared 
>objectives, and therefore can widen at will, and our foray into the 
>Middle East will likely set in motion a long-term wave of 
retaliation. 
>Indeed, I believe that the administration would like to entice Iraq 
into 
>firing the first blow so some justification could be paraded at the 
>United Nations. If the United States government can adopt this 
unreal 
>doctrine of preemptive attack on any nation, anywhere, at any time, 
so 
>can other nations! This is how world wars begin. If the President 
goes 
>into Iraq alone without a UN resolution, he will be in violation of 
the 
>war powers given him last October by congress which was contingent 
on UN 
>approval. A constitutional crisis will occur. 
> 
>What we are about to do in the Middle East is abhorrent to me. It is 
made 
>doubly so since this is a contrived and fraudulently justified war 
with 
>hidden objectives. The coming mass slaughter of innocents, the harm 
our 
>own troops are being placed in, and the potential for wars on 
several 
>fronts have brought home to me the sobering realization that by 
remaining 
>Boone County Republican Chairman, I would be giving tacit approval 
to 
>this imminent war, and tacit approval to the belligerent and 
reckless 
>language coming from the White House. The safety and integrity of 
our 
>country outweighs politics. 
> 
>I therefore resign as Chairman of the Boone County Republican 
Central 
>Committee effective at noon, March 10, 2003. I do not wish to be 
Chairman 
>when this tragedy starts. I am not resigning to placate those who 
have 
>demanded same .I do not fear them in the least. I was quite willing 
to 
>stand and face an ouster vote. I am resigning because I cannot 
support 
>the Republican position on this war. I only sought the position of 
>Chairman originally in the hope that I could recruit God-fearing, 
>thinking, pro-life believers in our Constitution to stand for 
office. 
> 
>I grieve for our nation, and the untold suffering that will be 
wrought. 
>As history has shown, you can possess the greatest armaments in the 
>world, but if your cause and motives are not right, only catastrophe 
will 
>result. 
> 
> 
>Jack Walters