← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · edward gibbon
Thread ID: 18380 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2005-05-24
2005-05-24 17:33 | User Profile
Congressman Traficant was pursued and bagged by forces that were not concerned with what he did or did not do other than what his rhetoric was about the Middle East. He was one of the few who would talk about Israel. The below is from my book and concerns the war in 1991: [QUOTE]What has been forgotten about the war in the Middle East has been that many members of Congress did not want to go on record as being for or against the war. One who never gave any doubt of his concern was the Congressman from Ohio, James Traficant. On August 2, 1990 the old line Democrat took the floor of the Congress and told the members that "Adolf" Hussein had used poison gas on his countrymen and Iran. The American military must be prepared to use force to make this dangerous man withdraw. The American taxpayer would not pay for it all, but we would provide the service if the rest of the world would pitch in and pay the bill. The following day Mr. Traficant was giving Admiral Crowe, former Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hell for saying the United States had no capability in the Gulf region. The congressman suggested hiring generals from Korea who would be cheaper and do a better job. If we were not prepared to use force, we would have to drive to Iraq to get a gallon of gas. By September 10 his rhetoric had taken a sharper edge concerning finances. The Egyptians wanted the United States to forgive $7 billion in loans for sending 2000 men to the Gulf. This came to $3.5 million per man which prompted the Congressman to ask if they were a troop of bionic soldiers. The Jordanians wanted $4 billion. The whole operation had turned into a giant piggy bank, not desert shield. For saving the assets of other countries Mr. Traficant thought it preferable that the rest of the world forgive American debt. The American people were sick and tired of being screwed. The time had come for everybody to pay their debts just like we do. The following day the Congressman thought it informative to mention that Japanese had purchased the race horse, Sunday Silence, and were shipping him to Japan. Meanwhile Clayton Yeutter, the Secretary of Agriculture, had given a few bags of rice to Japanese leaders. They declined to eat the rice and sent it to a lab for examination. Not surprisingly the American rice was found inferior to the Japanese so further restrictions on shipments of American rice were necessary. Imaginatively Mr. Traficant compared the servicing of Japanese mares by Sunday Silence to the servicing of American farmers and taxpayers by the Japanese government. That Americans were spending billions to protect the Japanese and their oil required that we demand money from Japan for burden sharing. On September 13 Mr. Traficant was incensed by Japanese banks foreclosing on American businesses. The United States should put our foot down with Japan, cut back on foreign aid and cut back on NATO. On September 17 Mr. Traficant wished the hotelier, Leona Helmsley, could get close to Saddam to kick him in the crotch and end the mess. He expressed a desire for the rest of the world to come up not only with cash, but blood to shed alongside American troops. On October 18 Israel received a tongue-lashing from the public servant for its getting $3 billion from the American taxpayers and another sum of almost $1 billion hidden in the budget. Israelis were to get all their money within the first 30 days which meant the United States had to borrow it while they invested and gained some $60 million in interest. He reminded his colleagues that they were not elected to the British Parliament or to the Israeli Knesset.
On January 10, 1991 just prior to war Mr. Traficant recounted the "police action" in Korea. Although there were 20 nations involved, 95 percent of the casualties were American, 90 percent of the soldiers were Americans, and 95 percent of the cost was borne by the American taxpayer. Where were Japan and Germany? We were letting them rip us in trade, and we are financing all their problems. Then we ask why we were going bankrupt. He was sick and tired of having American kids coming home in body bags while protecting rich people of other countries. If George Bush were to attack Iraq without an explicit declaration of war from congress, this should be considered an impeachable offense. On the following day Mr. Traficant while the House was debating a declaration of war noted the forecast of 1000 dead Americans by experts while the Pentagon had ordered 16,000 body pouches. Mr. Traficant did not like in the least that the poor from districts like his were in the front lines. On January 12 Mr. Traficant berated his colleagues in Congress for turning their back on Vietnam and Korea. They could not afford to do the same with the Persian Gulf. He thought both Yitzhak Shamir of Israel and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia were singing "[B][I]Onward Christian Soldiers[/I][/B]". On January 18 the congressman stated that he did not like the use of force with the preponderance of American troops in the front lines. However, since we were in combat, he stood behind President Bush and the troops. He took exception to Americans burning "Old Glory" and asked why they did not burn the Iraqi flag. Five days later Mr. Traficant lamented the fact that of the 12,000 sorties flown in the Persian Gulf some 85 percent of them were flown by Americans. When some shooting started, the Saudis turned tail and ran home. With allies like that American soldiers better start placing desert shields on their back. Then Israel wanted $13 billion in aid from America. Mr. Traficant did not want to start taxing mom and pop for them. He also warned that after the war there will be 200 million Arabs and 1 billion Muslims hating the United States. Another old line Democrat, Dean Gallo of New Jersey, took the floor the same day to laud the participation of Italy in the Gulf. Overall backing by Italy of Desert Storm and their minuscule participation was thought by Mr. Gallo to be exemplary and typical of how they had always been a reliable ally. These were not the most noble and eloquent sentiments, but these thoughts accurately did reflect many of the American elected representatives.[/QUOTE]All was taken from the [I]Congressional Record[/I] and is not a fabrication. Mr. Gallo carried ethnic pride beyond permissible bounds, but maybe he forgot about World War II.
2005-05-24 18:54 | User Profile
Edward,
I wasn't aware that he raised hell about this. I'm even more surprised that he was a regular on Fox News with this background.
If I remember correctly, the Italians sent a few Tornados attack fighters over to the gulf in 1991.