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Cynthia McKinney
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Iraq and Foreign Policy
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From McKinney's 2006 Articles of Impeachment: "In direct violation of Articles 41 and 42 of the United Nations Charter, a treaty ratified by the United States Senate in 1945 and therefore the supreme law of the land as according to Article VI of the Constitution, George Walker Bush has advanced and executed a policy based on so-called pre-emptive or preventive war, whereby the United States of America claims the right to unilaterally assault, invade or occupy other nations without first engaging in collective measures with other member states of the United Nations or first gaining the prior assent of the United Nations Security Council."
Supports H. Con. Res. 473 which warns that unilateral United States military action against Iraq "may undermine cooperative international efforts to reduce international terrorism and to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001." The proposed resolution goes on that "unilateral United States military action against Iraq may also undermine United States diplomatic relations with countries throughout the Arab and Muslim world and with many other allies." H. Con. Res. 473 also says a "preemptive unilateral United States first strike could both set a dangerous international precedent and significantly weaken the United Nations as an institution."
"Sudan is not a new crisis. It has been with us for years, and the United States and western nations have been negligent with respect to ending this crisis for almost 2 decades by formulating weak and impotent policies, one after the other. The war in Sudan is as brutal today as it ever was...For example, we all know that the United States has placed certain trade restrictions on Sudan. Yet, gum Arabic is exempted, and it is the number one export of Sudan. Coca-Cola and the other major soft drink conglomerates need gum Arabic. So what do we do? We proudly proclaim that we have got sanctions on Sudan, but we exempt gum arabic...All these major international corporations are trading in Sudan and generating billions of dollars of oil revenue. Many of them are among the world's most powerful and influential corporations in the oil industry. If they all acted together with the international community and genuinely sought consensus to end the suffering in Sudan, then I am sure that much more could be done to end the suffering in Sudan. Either we, the Congress of the United States and the Bush Administration, are serious about Sudan's suffering or we are not. How much longer will we allow it to go on? When will we demand accountability from these corporations? When will we demand an end to their complicity in the slaughter in Sudan? Does Africa even exist for the Bush Administration? Where does human rights fit in the foreign policy of the Bush Administration? Where are the State Department representatives who ought to be here today?"
"It [the Bush Administration] told us to expect war for the next generation and targeted 60 countries around the world. It has now initiated gunboat diplomacy against Iran, is saber rattling against Syria, taunting North Korea, and has actually dropped bombs on the poor, defenseless people of Somalia. Ethiopia, a country with a proud heritage of never having succumbed to any colonial power is now firmly a Bush vassal, part of the Administration's war machine against fellow Africans."
"Cynthia for Congress" Website, July 15 2008
"The US ought to be an honest broker. Now we are definitely NOT an honest broker in the affairs of the Middle East. We've got to stop our weapons transfers to countries over there--all of them. We gave "bunker-buster" missiles to Israel--this is inflammatory. With regards to 1-state or 2-state, I would listen to the voices that are there. I would strip away the influence of AIPAC and listen to the human rights advocates who are there."
Voted NO on H. Res. 392 the "Israel Solidarity Bill"
Q: "You've been criticized by pro-Israel quarters...for being hard on Israel...Most recently, you voted for the Campbell Amendment [to the foreign aid bill] to decrease aid to Israel. Can you share your thoughts about Israel and the peace process?" A: "...What happened to me there was the President made a request and his request included money promised as a result of the implementation for the Wye Accords. I am not an expert on the politics of the Middle East. But I will be supportive of the peace process. Absolutely 100 percent. The Appropriations Committee put an additional $50 million in - $30 million for Israel and $20 million for Egypt - and the Campbell Amendment struck the additional funding, the $50 [million], which was not the President's request."
"Deconstructing Cynthia McKinney," Atlanta Jewish Times, Nov. 5, 1999
" Despite her strained relationship with AIPAC, her votes on their issues rates a 'pretty good' from Mark Moskowitz, AIPAC regional director in Atlanta. But for two years now, McKinney has voted in favor of amendments to reduce U.S. aid to Israel. Last year, the amendment called for some of the funding earmarked for Israel to be redirected to African nations, and so to some, McKinney's vote was an understandable decision by a black congresswoman with a burning interest in helping Africa. This year, though, she was one of just 35 House members who voted for the proposed $30 million reduction (from a total package of $2.88 billion); and this time, the proposal did not call for redirecting the money anywhere."
Voted Yes on H.R.2662 "To Lift the Trade Embargo on Cuba, and for Other Purposes"
McKinney co-sponsored a bill allowing Americans to travel to Cuba
Voted YES on keeping Cuba travel ban until political prisoners released
Voted YES on an amendment that would transfer $156 million from foreign military financing to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries [HIPC] Trust Fund. The HIPC Trust fund is designed to help debtor countries pay off the money they owe to multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Voted YES on a bill to provide $15.2 billion for foreign operations in FY 2000. Among other provisions, the bill would provide $1.82 billion over three years for implementation of the Wye River peace accord in the Middle East. In addition, the measure would provide $123 million in multilateral debt relief and would contribute $25 million to the United National Population Fund.
McKinney co-sponsored the Hunger to Harvest bill that sets a five-year and ten-year strategies to achieve a reversal of current levels of hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, including a commitment to contribute an appropriate U.S. share of increased bilateral and multilateral poverty-focused resources for sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on health (including HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment), education, agriculture, private sector and free market development, democratic institutions and the rule of law, micro-finance development, and debt relief.
House Resolution Sponsorship 01-HCR102 on Apr 4, 2001
Voted NO on reforming the UN by restricting US funding.
Voted NO to adopt an amendment that would require that the United States be restored to its seat on the UN Human Rights Commission before the payment of $244 million in funds already designated to pay UN back dues.
"Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment effectively lay out the case against a lawless, degenerate regime that places corporate power and profits above the good and welfare of the U.S. Citizenry. In great detail they show that Bush & Co. ... tore up the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other binding international treaties to which the U.S. is signatory..."
"We want to live in a peaceful world where the global community considers the United States a key partner for peace and development. We want the United States to adopt the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights, recognizing that we cannot have peace until we start with our own history here at home. We want the United States to be a leader in research, development, technology, and innovation in the things that uplift people and help us to live more harmoniously with natural forces of this planet."
A longtime peace activist, she opposes all research, testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons and calls for rapid, mutual nuclear disarmament. She supports immediate ratification and signing of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and complete honoring of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and any other treaties banning or limiting research, development, testing, or deployment of any nuclear weapons. She would reverse the Bush administration's sabotage of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. She would ban the manufacture and use of depleted uranium, as well as biological, chemical and anti-personnel weapons such as cluster bombs and mines. She opposes the "Nukes in Space" and "Star Wars" programs.
Chicago Tribune Issues Comparison
"In 2006, I voted no on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. I consistently opposed every regular and supplemental appropriation meant to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Green Party 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire Feb 3, 2008
"We ought to demand an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I voted for that while I was in Congress. But the problem is not just Iraq--the problem is the militaristic turn that our foreign policy has taken. So I wouldn't just say bring home the troops from Iraq, but bring home, period, from all over the world."
Voted NO on declaring Iraq part of 'War on Terror' with no exit date
"Two years ago we gathered all across America to say no to war. We were joined by people all over the planet who know that there is an alternative to war. But war is about the only option available when the real motive is to steal natural resources that belong to someone else... The American people, and our children over there fighting, still haven't been told the real reason the US is at war with the Iraqi people. And against the people the US war machine has turned. Thousands of Iraqis, especially children, have been killed by our sanctions and our bombs. This is an immoral and illegal war and we need to bring our troops home now."
Those of us who oppose the war, who believe that all U.S. troops should be withdrawn and the network of permanent bases in Iraq dismantled, have only two options in the coming presidential elections—Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney.
"Not only do we need an immediate, orderly withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, we need an end to the militarism that has placed US troops on the soil of over 100 countries."
The Green Party and Green candidates support an immediate and full withdrawal of US troops and military contractors from Iraq, and control over Iraqi oil resources returned to the Iraqi people.
Cynthia McKinney believes that the necessary funds to hire new teachers can be found beginning with efforts to eliminate wasteful government spending, most notably resources improperly devoted to the war in Iraq and corrupt and fraudulent military contractors.
"The appropriate thing for our country is to not send troops into Afghanistan..."
Q: What do you make of Senator Obama’s trip to Iraq and Afghanistan to talking about a timetable for pullout, Nouri al-Maliki saying he shares his view, though he was castigated, it looks like, by the President, and Senator McCain saying Barack Obama has the most extreme record in the Senate, suggesting perhaps he’s a socialist? A: Well, of course, we understand bombast. And that’s what we’re going to be subjected with throughout the remaining period of this election, is a lot of bombast. At the end of the day, though, I think that what Maliki was saying is that nobody wants to see their country occupied. And so, the withdrawal as quickly as possible from Iraq, also withdrawal from Afghanistan—as Rosa has pointed out, this withdrawal is not really a withdrawal, it’s just a shift over to Afghanistan. Let us remember what the late foreign minister of the UK reminded us all of about al-Qaeda. He reminded us that al-Qaeda was the CIA’s rolodex. So, let’s understand exactly what we are dealing with. We need a different foreign policy. We need a foreign policy that is grounded in the respect for human rights, that respects self-determination, that respects democracy and the will of the people. That is the foundation for a peaceful, forward deployment of US assets and resources around the world in such a way that we are actually helping people, lifting people up. We do not have to deliver bombs and missiles and military technology and nuclear technology to countries in order to submit—make them submit to US will in fear. We can make friends with peace.