The Scoop - http://www.bobharris.com/ May 2, 1999 Dear friends: I've never sent an email intended solely to be forwarded before, and I hope never to do so again. This isn't about a computer virus, free trips to Florida, or Bill Gates giving 5 dollars to everyone with an email address. But I hope with your help, this letter will reach as many people as those silly things did. I think you'll agree this is far more important. I hope after taking less than 5 minutes to read this, you'll decide to forward it to as many people you like and respect as you can. America is facing a legitimate constitutional crisis. "The president is in violation of the law. That is clear. It does not require an interpretation of the Constitution. It is the War Powers Act of 1973." -- Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) "The representatives of the American people voted against this war in the Balkans... Yet the war continues unauthorized, without the consent of the governed." -- Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution unambiguously gives Congress the power to make and declare war. As a practical matter, the White House has always had leeway to dispatch troops short-term to tend to some crisis or another. But the Constitution is clear, and in the wake of presidential abuses of power in Vietnam and elsewhere, Congress passed the War Powers Act of 1973, laying out the specifics of the arrangement: a) The White House has 48 hours to notify Congress of any military action, and b) lacking a resolution of support from Congress, the president must withdraw troops from hostilities within 60 days thereafter. The bombing of Yugoslavia began on March 24th. On April 28th, The House of Representatives voted against a declaration of war, and in a tie vote, did not pass another resolution supporting even a limited air war. Therefore, Mr. Clinton was legally compelled to disengage our troops by May 25th. After which the continued bombing of Yugoslavia became a violation of federal law. Let that sink in for a minute. (For your convenience, I've posted copies of the War Powers Act and the relevant passage of the Constitution at http://www.bobharris.com. If you prefer, you can easily find them elsewhere as well, just as I did.) Obviously, Milosevic and the Serbs have committed terrible crimes. However, the right and power to decide when and if and how to respond to those crimes simply does not belong to the White House. That power is ours, through our elected representatives in Congress. If continued bombings and a ground war are indeed the best way to deal with Milosevic, then let that be determined in an open debate in the halls of Congress, where the Constitution insists it should be. The White House is dodging the point by pretending that the launching of cruise missiles and dropping of cluster bombs into every corner of another country, killing over a thousand innocent civilians, is not an act of "war," and so therefore the War Powers Act does not apply. We're actually expected to accept a definition of "war" from a man who claimed that what he and Monica had wasn't "sex." The White House also claims to believe that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. Perhaps, but that's simply not for them to judge. As the Constitution makes clear, that's for the courts to decide, and unless the courts someday say otherwise, the War Powers Act is the law. Which is why a bipartisan group of 26 members of Congress, led by Representatives Tom Campbell and Dennis Kucinich, has filed a motion in U.S. District Court to order Clinton to obey the War Powers Act and suspend the U.S. role in the bombing of Yugoslavia. How that motion is eventually adjudicated just might set an enormous precedent -- not just over the practical authority to declare war, but the ability even to compel the White House to obey the law. This bears repeating: the White House is now conducting a war in open violation of both federal law and the Constitution. You haven't heard about it yet because the news media simply isn't reporting it. The Washington Post has mentioned the subject exactly 3 times: twice in short items on pages A25 and A28 on the day the deadline passed, and then last Saturday in a TV listing in section C. In the last month, the New York Times hasn't mentioned the War Powers Act even a single time. Think of what this means for America's future: a federal lawsuit by 26 Congressmen in an attempt to make the courts rule that the Constitution and federal law even matter in the conduct of war has become as invisible as if it simply didn't exist. While in absolutely no way condoning a war criminal like Milosevic or the forced explusions, kidnappings, and killings committed by his government's security forces -- the majority of which have occured since the bombings began, incidentally -- there are many other aspects of this war which have also gone unreported in the mainstream American press. If all of the American people knew all of the details, I believe to the core of my being that the outcry would stop the bombings within a matter of days. In additional to the grave constitutional questions before us, consider the following: • The number of civilian deaths is far greater than the U.S. media is reporting. You've surely heard reports of major incidents, such as the bombing of a column of refugees near Djakovica, or the destruction of an encampment of refugees near Korisa, the two of which alone resulted in almost 200 civilian deaths. What you haven't heard is the sheer vast number of smaller incidents. Hospitals and retirement homes and residential neighborhoods are being hit with alarming regularity. Innocent civilians of all ages and nationalities are being killed in horrible ways. And as the bombing accelerates, the number of civilians killed by NATO will inevitably exceed the 2000 figure commonly attributed before the bombings to the Milosevic government itself, very possibly within the next several weeks. • Just as in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein's hold on power is greater than before the Gulf War, Milosevic is now more firmly entrenched in office than before the NATO campaign began. Opposition in Belgrade is now virtually nonexistent. As to the Albanian refugees, it was the bombing campaign which greatly accelerated their deportation, just as we now know CIA analysts had predicted in advance. And thanks to the bombing, much of the Kosovo we are allegedly trying to save has already been destroyed. • Relations with both China and Russia have now deteriorated to Cold War levels. Ethnic conflicts throughout the region are heightening, and other nearby governments, particularly that of Macedonia, are now less stable. More wars are becoming all but inevitable. America's reputation around the world is worsening by the day. • The KLA/UCK contra organization that U.S. warplanes are supporting were dismissed as "armed ethnic Albanian extremists" by the State Dept. as recently as last August 28th. Why? Just as the concept of a "Greater Serbia" is profoundly destabilizing to the region, the KLA/UCK calls for a "Greater Albania" -- including not just all of Kosovo, but pieces of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Greece. Even if all of the stated NATO objectives are met, the conflict will not end. • In addition to the U.S. Constitution and federal law, the bombings are also a clear violation of the NATO and UN charters, which consent to military operations for defensive purposes only. And the repeated dropping of anti-personnel cluster bombs in areas known to carry great risk of civilian fatalities -- littering many Kosovo villages with unexploded ordnance which, in the best case, will likely kill and maim returning Albanian refugees for years to come -- qualifies quite plainly as a violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. International law is in shreds. • The claim that the bombings have substantially changed the Yugoslav government's position regarding future peacekeeping in Kosovo is a bald lie. As a rationalization for escalating a clearly failed policy, the claim is reminiscent of the fictitious light at the end of the Vietnam tunnel. Prior to the bombings, the Yugoslav government made clear they were willing to accept the political terms of the U.S.-dictated, non-negotiable Rambouillet agreement, but rejected the terms of implementation: while NATO insisted on a NATO occupying force, Belgrade insisted on a force organized around the UN, OSCE, and/or other neutral, multinational parties. As Madeleine Albright proudly reminds us, it is NATO which absolutely refuses to negotiate the point. Ms. Albright's posture is utterly absurd if the sole purpose of the war is to improve the lives of the refugees. If peace is the sole objective, there is no valid reason NATO must be in charge of it. I ask you to read the Rambouillet agreement for yourself. Supposedly drafted because of our concern for the refugees, it contains only one section of 352 words (out of 20,000) concerning how to assist the poor Albanians, offering not a single specific. The entire section on relief aid is approximately the length of an earlier subsection describing the uniforms to be worn by occupational police forces. Appendix B of the agreement -- the implementation terms Belgrade refused -- contains language turning the entire nation of Yugoslavia into little more than a NATO colony. The terms are, frankly, quite hard to believe, but there they are. Former State Dept. Yugoslavia desk officer George Kenney reports in the June 14th issue of The Nation that a State Department official admitted to the press, off the record, that the U.S "deliberately set the bar higher than the Serbs could accept," intentionally creating a climate for war. I would personally prefer not to believe that. But I ask you to read the implementation terms in Appendix B. Decide for yourself. (Again, for your convenience, I've posted both the full text of Rambouillet, a page containing just Appendix B, and a section-by-section analysis on my website, http://www.bobharris.com, although you can find the Rambouillet documents elsewhere quite easily if you prefer.) In any case, it is inexcusable that the Washington Post and New York Times, which routinely run the full text of everything from State of The Union addresses to the Unabomber manifesto, have yet to print the full text of the document over which the United States is now at war. Think about that. And then realize that the American news media is, regarding this war at least, almost completely dysfunctional. The tragedy that the NATO bombing has become -- to civilians in the region of all nationalities; to any hope of dislodging the Milosevic government; to a reduction in tension between the world's nuclear powers; to the credibility of the U.S., NATO, and international law; and yes, even to the United States Constitution -- simply cannot be allowed to grow further. But grow further it will, unless you and I act to stop it. As you read this, right this very moment, bombs continue to fall. More civilians will die by the time you try to sleep tonight. And the situation worsens by the day. After two months of insisting that the air bombardment was succeeding, NATO and the White House are preparing for a ground invasion, with neither a clear objective nor an exit strategy. Now American lives, too, are about to be wasted in this illegal and illogical war. No one outside the United States can stop this. No people or government is strong enough to say no. Only we can. It is up to us, the American people, to stop this madness. And, quite clearly, we must. The good news is, we can. Perhaps, like many Americans, you don't think you have political power. You do. History is encouragingly clear: positive changes for all Americans -- from women's suffrage to laws protecting labor to the Civil Rights movement -- do occur, and only occur, when the people of this country demand it. Real democracy is not just about what you do in a voting booth in November. It's about what you do with your voice, with your hands, and with your heart all year long. Here's what you can do: a) Spread the word. Do a little research. Learn about the consequences of the war from something other than a CNN repetition of a NATO press briefing. If you decide to, forward this letter to others and ask them to do the same. Besides, maybe Bill Gates and Disney will give you five bucks for everyone you send it to. :) b) Do not merely ask; insist, implore, beg, withhold sex from, and otherwise manipulate the emotions of your representatives in the House and Senate until they go on record supporting Representatives Campbell and Kucinich in their effort to make Bill Clinton obey the U.S. Constitution. Do not be shy. Your elected representatives will work for you if they make it clear it's to their advantage. Email them. Fax them. Call them. Send them flowers and pizza. Stand outside with ten friends singing Kum By Yah. Do whatever it takes, within the law, to get your representatives' attention. They are human. They are approachable. And surprisingly, a lot of them would love to know what the hell their constituents want on this issue. Most of them don't know what they should do. Tell them. They will listen. (You can find House and Senate directories for contacting your representatives at http://thomas.loc.gov/ -- look in the upper left corner -- including webpages and email addresses for almost every member, and even a downloadable ready-made file for mailing labels. Or dial the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell them whose ear you want to bend.) c) Tell the White House you'd like Bill Clinton a lot better if he obeyed the Constitution and law he has sworn to uphold. (All the contact info is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/html/principals.html, where Bill, Hill, Al, & Tipper are lined up like headshots in a cheesy dinner theatre.) Whether you believe this right now or not, your individual letter, call, fax, telegram, and/or nude interpretive dance at a Hillary campaign stop in New York does matter. These guys in Washington look at total letters and calls on each side of a given opinion, so think of it this way: spelling and syntax don't count, so just turning in your homework means you get a passing grade. Turn in your homework. Early and often. This is how democracy works. d) Call your local newspapers, news/talk radio stations, TV talk shows, and any other media you can think of and let them know, in a friendly manner, that there is this small matter of a constitutional crisis in Washington and you'd like to see them give it one-tenth the attention they normally give a pile of burning tires. Talk slowly and be as gentle as you can. These are newspeople. Do not expect them to know anything. There's a good chance they simply won't believe you. Refer them to the supporting documents and give them the names of Congressmen Kucinich and Campbell as authority figures to speak to. Media people, like children, look up to authority figures. It's a lot easier for a reporter to repeat what someone else says than it is to do original work on their own. e) This Saturday, June 5th, there will be anti-war marches and demonstrations in cities across the country. Participate. Meet people. Make friends. Stand up for what you think is right. You'll have a lot more fun than you might think, as you realize that there are millions of your countrymen who feel very much as you do, and that even those who disagree do so because they care. There's a garishly-colored list of the demonstrations being organized around the country at http://www.iacenter.org/yugdemos.htm. Get in touch with these people. And then, once the war is over, maybe get them a web designer. f) Repeat all of the above treatment until symptoms subside. If discomfort persists, double the dosage. I know what you do individually may not seem like much sometimes, but if we all do it, we will win. This is actually easy to imagine, if you let yourself believe that good things really are still possible. Mr. Clinton cares about polls as much as any politician in history. If we insist, he will have to consent to a cease fire. In turn, NATO would very likely meet Yugoslavia halfway on an occupation force comprised of representatives of neutral countries and NATO nations not directly involved in the bombing. The ground war can be averted. Kosovars can begin returning to their homes, under the new constitution to which both Yugoslavia and the west have already agreed. Reconstruction can begin. The bombs will stop falling. China and Russia will feel a lot better. And the power to make war will be in the hands of Congress, where it belongs, with the constitutionality of the War Powers Act to be decided by the courts, as it should be. If we work for this, it will happen. The whole rationale for this war at the outset was: we have to do something. You and I didn't choose then what that something would be. We should have. We still can. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this. Good luck, and let us all pray and work for peace. Bob Harris Los Angeles, California http://www.bobharris.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/
