McKinney criticizes Bush, Iraq War
By Andrew Metcalf, published 12/7/06 in the GW Hatchet
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U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) headlined a panel of four advocates
who criticized the Bush administration and its justifications for the
Iraq War in a discussion hosted by a very liberal organization Monday
night in Funger Hall.
Sponsored
by World Can’t Wait – Drive out the Bush Regime, the panel discussion
featured a journalist, a CIA veteran and activists who spoke about
President George W. Bush. The panel attracted about 150 people.
McKinney
criticized Bush’s response to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina,
which devastated the Gulf Coast in August 2005, as well as ongoing
international conflicts.
“In the United States, those guilty of
crimes must pay, especially when they live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,”
she said. “If we can’t be held accountable at home, how do we expect to
hold others accountable abroad?”
McKinney, who had charges
against her dropped for allegedly striking a Capitol Hill police
officer in April, lost Georgia’s Democratic primary. She will not
return to office after her term expires in 2007.
Titled, “It’s
Worse Than You Think: Where the Bush Regime is Taking the World and Why
They Still Must Be Stopped,” the panel also included former New York
Times foreign correspondent Chris Hedges, who spoke about the Christian
right movement.
Hedges, a member of the Presbyterian Church
and son of a minister, criticized the evangelical movement’s
intolerance towards opposing views and warned of an emerging global
Christian empire.
“This ideology has the seeds of religious
fascism,” he said, comparing the Christian right to Nazism because of
its intolerance of opposing groups and viewpoints.
“All Americans must give up passivity and defend tolerance,” he said in conclusion.
Debra
Sweet, national coordinator of World Can’t Wait, called on Congress to
drive out the Bush administration. She expressed her regret that
pre-emptive war and war crimes had been carried out in the name of
protecting America and its citizens.
“If war crimes, torture and
crimes against humanity are not grounds for impeachment, than what is?”
she asked over thunderous applause from the audience.
In an
interview, Sweet also explained that Democrats had not done enough to
oppose Bush and that more needed to be done politically on college
campuses before any major changes can take place.
“Everyone is
aware that campuses today are quiet and passive. We can’t have social
movement without the youth interested in seeing things broken apart and
changing,” she added.
World Can’t Wait has organized protests against the Bush administration since its formation in the summer of 2005.