WASHINGTON -- January 24 -- Greens responded to President George W. Bush's January 20 inaugural address with sharp criticism of his pledge that the U.S., under his second term leadership, will stand with "[a]ll who live in tyranny and hopelessness" and "not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors."

"President Bush's vision of the U.S.'s mission to spread freedom globally should be understood as a justification for the invasion of Iraq -- initially based on lies that Iraq possessed WMDs, had colluded with al-Qaeda, and was an imminent threat to the U.S. -- and for possible future attacks on Iran and Syria," said Rebecca White, 2004 Green candidate for the New York State Senate (17th District). "Such a vision is a threat to global peace and security, because of its false premise that democracy and freedom can be imposed on a nation from the barrel of an invader's gun."

Greens charged that Mr. Bush's vision of democracy and freedom has little to do with liberation for oppressed and disenfranchised people, and listed numerous first-term Bush policies and accomplishments that consistently demonstrated hostility to these
principles:

• The USA Patriot Act, canceling numerous constitutional protections.
• Abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib and disregard for the Geneva conventions and other international agreements.
• The White House's doctrine of official secrecy, evident in Vice President Cheney's closed-door policy meetings with corporate energy chiefs and Mr. Bush's initial refusal to cooperate with 9/11 investigations.
• Mr. Bush's zeal for Attorneys General and federal judges willing to rescind constitutional protections; his support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
• The Bush Administration's continued friendly relations with murderous tyrants in Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Equatorial Guinea; reluctance to criticize China, Israel's treatment of Palestinians, and the erosion of democracy in Russia; support for the 2004 coup in Haiti; hostility to the democratically elected government in Venezuela.
• Approval for trade pacts that allow antidemocratic international authorities to overturn vital environmental, labor, and human rights protections.

Greens also noted the 2000 Florida debacle and 2004 election irregularities, documented in Ohio and New Mexico during the recounts launched and led by Green presidential candidate David Cobb, which revealed the Republican Party's penchant for manipulating elections.

"President Bush's idea of global democracy and freedom is the spread of U.S. military dominance around the world and permission for U.S.-based corporations to gain control over foreign economies and resources, such as oil and fresh water," said Pat Driscoll, California Green candidate in a special election for Congress (5th Congressional District) <http://www.driscollforcongress.org>.
"This doctrine was applied in Iraq after the U.S. 'victory' in 2003, when Iraq occupation administrator Paul Bremer issued an order opening up Iraqi businesses and resources to foreign -- i.e., chiefly American corporate -- ownership. The result was massive unemployment and the collapse of locally-owned Iraqi businesses, which fueled the Iraqi insurgence."

Hundreds of Greens participated in the Inauguraton Day protests, and Mr. Cobb and 2004 Green vice presidential candidate Pat LaMarche spoke at several rallies.

"Americans will remember that the Bush Administration threw an extravagant $40 million inaugural celebration while many U.S. troops in Iraq remain ill-equipped -- and that Mr. Bush never bothered to acknowledge all the American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan during his inaugural speech," said Tony Gronowicz, New York Green and editor of the policy writings of Oswald Garrison Villard in the book 'The Dilemmas of the Absolute Pacifist in Two World Wars.'

###