Congresswoman Speaks Out
BY REP. CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY (D-GA.)
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Authorities tell us that the world changed on Sept. 11. As a result, university professors must watch what they say in class or be turned in to the "speech" police. Elected officials must censor themselves or be censured by the media. Citizens now report behavior of suspicious-looking people to the police. Laws now exist that erode our civil liberties.

America, the world's only superpower, is stifled in its ability to defend human rights and democracy abroad because it has failed the fundamental test at home. We might be feared because of our military, but we are loved because of our ideals.

Sadly, we have put American goodwill at risk around the world because of an imbalance in our foreign policy. In 1994, the Clinton administration purposely failed to prevent the genocide of one million Rwandans. Jonas Savimbi helped the U.S. protect the minority rule of racists in South Africa. The continued plunder of Africa's rich resources with the knowledge and support of powerful people in the U.S., serves as the foundation of the particular terrorism that victimizes Africans.

And now, Bush administration experts seem prepared to link African diamonds with anti-U.S. terrorism, thus "necessitating" tightened U.S. control over Africa's resources.
And so, with no concern at all for the effects on others of U.S.-supported terrorism, the U.S. embarks on a worldwide crusade against terrorism that Bush says likely will last as many as 20 years. The list of target countries is long with Afghanistan, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, the Philippines and Iraq offering the starters.

HOLD OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE

In November 2000, Republicans stole from America our most precious right of all: the right to free and fair elections. Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his Secretary of State Katherine Harris created a list of convicted felons-57,700 to be exact-to "scrub" from the state's voter rolls. We now know that most of the people on that list were innocent of crimes.

And worse, the majority of these rightful voters were people of color and likely Democratic voters. Eighty percent were African American. Had they voted, the course of history would have changed: Harris declared Bush the victor by only 537 votes.
Consequently, an administration of questionable legitimacy has been given unprecedented power to fight America's new war against terrorism.

Before Sept. 11, two million Americans found themselves behind bars: 80 percent of them people of color. All over America, unarmed black men are targeted by rogue police officers.

After Sept. 11, we are targeting and profiling certain groups of people in America while not arresting in any way the racial profiling and discrimination that existed prior to Sept. 11. Mass arrests, detention without charge, military tribunals and infringements on due process rights are now realities in America. Even more alarming are the calls in some circles to allow the use of torture and other brutal methods in pursuit of "justice."
Moreover, persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits off America's new war. Former President Bush sits on the board of the Carlyle Group. The Los Angeles Times reports that on a single day last month, Carlyle earned $237 million selling shares in United Defense Industries, the Army's fifth-largest contractor.

Now is the time for our elected officials to be held accountable. Now is the time for the media to be held accountable. Why aren't the hard questions being asked?

Sept. 11 erased the line between "over there" and "over here." The American people can no longer afford to be detached from the world, as our actions abroad will have a direct impact on our lives at home. In Washington, D.C., decisions affecting home and abroad are made [by] people whose interests are not our own. It is now also clear that our future, our security, and our rights depend on our vigilance.

This article is excerpted from Rep. McKinney's statement which appears at www.war-times.org. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) also made a strong anti-war speech. See www.house.gov/kucinich.