Questioning government
So there's this big, world-wide ruckus about how a piece of evidence cited by both President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to justify war in Iraq is apparently bogus. It turns out that someone forged a document in which Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium in Niger. A White House aide is taking responsibility for it, admitting that the CIA had sent him two memos about the credibility of the uranium document. Despite the two memos, the evidence was still included in Bush's State of the Union address, and the aide, the CIA and the White House are now doing damage control.Also in Britain, a fire of questions and accusations regarding the apparent suicide of a scientist is still raging. David Kelly committed suicide two days after he was grilled by a government committee concerning whether he was an anonymous informant for the British Broadcasting Corporation. After his death, the BBC confirmed that, yes, he was the source who said the government had 'sexed up' a report on Iraq's weapons last fall. Prime Minister Blair is blaming the BBC for Kelly's death, while the BBC is now saying it has a tape of Kelly talking about weapons of mass destruction.
I do not think the uranium thing is grounds for Bush or Howard to resign (neither does former President Bill Clinton, who is on the opposite political party as Bush). I also don't think Kelly's suicide is a reason for officials to resign, unless an investigation reveals that he was threatened. I do think, however, that people should continue asking questions.
In America, we have the freedom to question those who hold the power. We have the freedom to state our opinions. Some people say that the people asking questions are merely conspiracy theorists and are out to topple the government. Others say it's a Democrat vs. Republican thing.
But it's not about conspiracy and party lines; it's much bigger than that. If we don't keep an eye on the government, we run the risk of allowing them to get sloppy. Those in power, whether it be over a tiny town or an entire country, owe it to their people to remain honest, and their people it to them to pay attention. All too often, we move up the ladder ranks and begin to lose sight of the ground. That's where we need other people to help us, and that's where the concept of government 'by the people and of the people' comes into play.
Posted by Layla at 9:11 AM, July 23, 2003
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