The children of Iraq. 13-year-old Charlotte Aldebron spoke at a peace rally in Maine a few weeks ago. It is wonderful that she was willing and able to address a crowd of mostly adults, and I'm willing to assume she wrote her own speech. It is ignorant and naive, and I would be willing to attribute that to her relative immaturity, except for the fact that too many adults are just as blinkered. So I'll respond not so much to Charlotte as to the adults standing with her:
I notice Charlotte doesn't mention the toddler whose feet were crushed by Saddam's torturers in front of her mother, or the mothers raped by the secret police in front of their children, or all the children left homeless because their parents were imprisoned or killed by Saddam, or the children malnourished because Saddam spent his oil-for-food money on palaces. Or the children maimed and killed by suicide bombers in Israel whose families get reward money from Saddam, or the children all over the world that could be killed or left homeless if the terrorism funded by Saddam and the people he inspires is not checked.
Charlotte gave this speech before the war began, but let me add a few more facts about children in Iraq right now:
The are given rifles and told to fight and their mothers used as human shields. They are kidnapped to force their fathers to fight. They are hungry because humanitarian relief ships can't get through because of Iraqi mines in the harbor, and because Iraqi soldiers hijack relief convoys and take all the food for themselves.
FYI:
Ricin Found in London: An al-Qa`ida Connection?
In January, British authorities arrested seven men suspected of producing ricin in their north London apartment. At least one had attended an al-Qa`ida training camp in Afghanistan.
Created: January 23, 2002
I notice Charlotte doesn't mention the toddler whose feet were crushed by Saddam's torturers in front of her mother, or the mothers raped by the secret police in front of their children, or all the children left homeless because their parents were imprisoned or killed by Saddam, or the children malnourished because Saddam spent his oil-for-food money on palaces. Or the children maimed and killed by suicide bombers in Israel whose families get reward money from Saddam, or the children all over the world that could be killed or left homeless if the terrorism funded by Saddam and the people he inspires is not checked.
Charlotte gave this speech before the war began, but let me add a few more facts about children in Iraq right now:
The are given rifles and told to fight and their mothers used as human shields. They are kidnapped to force their fathers to fight. They are hungry because humanitarian relief ships can't get through because of Iraqi mines in the harbor, and because Iraqi soldiers hijack relief convoys and take all the food for themselves.
FYI:
Ricin Found in London: An al-Qa`ida Connection?
In January, British authorities arrested seven men suspected of producing ricin in their north London apartment. At least one had attended an al-Qa`ida training camp in Afghanistan.
Created: January 23, 2002
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