RETURN TO SENDER:(via Stuart Buck)

Ramsey Clark Letter to UN: Do Not Support Attack on Iraq (Ramsey Clark, September 20, 2002)

General Clark long ago wrapped up the voting for grand marshall of the nitwit parade, so we'll not even bother to quote him. You know how itgoes already anyway: " The United States, focus of all evil in the universe, must be stopped from perpetrating war crimes against the singular man of peace (fill in the name of your favorite murderous dictator choice here). Previous "victims" of American aggression include Chairman Mao, Fidel Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, Daniel Ortega, Manuel Noriega, all of the later leaders of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, Muammar Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein in '91, the Taliban, etc., etc, etc., ad nauseum.

So rather than join in singing the victimology of the barbarians, let's just take a quick peak at why there is a United Nations in the first place:
PREAMBLE (United Nations Charter)

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and

to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and

to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and

to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and

to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and

to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations.

There. That's pretty straight forward. And how does Saddam score out on that checklist?

(1) Save us from the scourge of war? Not too good considering he launched unprovoked attacks on Iran and Kuwait.

(2) Human Rights? Ouch. Even worse. He's the most repressive ruler currently in power.

(3) Justice? Respect for International Law? Strike three. Strike Four.

(4) Social progress, standard of living, freedom? Rats.

(5) Good neighbor? Oof.

(6) International peace? D'oh.

(7) Armed force not be used? You mean no gassing the Kurds or no attacking neighbors or no launching Scuds at non-belligerents?

(8) Economic advancement? Boy, the drafters of this document were redundant, eh?

That's looking like an 0-fer to me. Saddam Hussein does not run his country in accord with a single purpose of the United Nations. His is, by definition, a lawless regime. No international purpose can possibly be served by allowing him to flagrantly flout the revered UN Charter. By its very
terms he is an illegitimate figure.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 23, 2002 8:16 AM