http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=47775
VHeadline.com commentarist Mary MacElveen writes: In my piece concerning John
Edwards which ran this past week, I wrote: "In the November 28, 2005, issue of
'The Nation,' John Edwards was quoted as saying: "I voted for the resolution ...
it was a mistake."

I have to add that I respect anyone, regardless of what decision they made in
the past, when they see that it was wrong.  I have deep respect when they come
out of the political closet and with humility to state that their vote was a
"mistake."

With that said, I want to make a public apology to Ms. Cindy Sheehan after
writing this piece on my personal blog: Cindy Sheehan went too Far in Comparing
Clinton to Bush.  As a member of the Democratic Party here in the United States,
I allowed politics to get in the way of the truth ... as a journalist allowing
one's politics to formulate one's writing is wrong.
http://blog.radioleft.com/blog/MaryMacElveen/_archives/2006/1/26/1724573.html

If I am truly going to be the people's voice, I cannot allow politics to get in
the way.

After Ms. Sheehan made this remark: "And about Bill Clinton... You know, I
really think he should have been impeached, but not for a blow job. His policies
are responsible for killing more Iraqis that George Bush. I don't understand why
to rise to the level of being president of my country one has to be a monster. I
used to say that George Bush was defiling the Oval Office, but it's been held by
a long line of monsters."

The person who submitted that quote said: "No one in the Democratic Party should
support Cindy Sheehan" ... and against my better judgment I followed her lead.  
Rule number one as a journalist is to follow your own instincts and find the
basis of why someone has stated an opinion.  Rule number two is if you are a
member of a political party, do not let it get in the way of reporting the facts
as you see them and if you have a belief contrary to what your party states,
hold true to those beliefs.

Today a fellow foreign journalist sent me an email stating of Bill Clinton: "I
actually don't think Clinton -- nor anybody of any nationality in his way of
life -- can 'walk on water.'  I have to say that he is correct.  There are many
times that people do follow leaders where they suffer a God complex.  No leader
or government is infallible and knowing how much in danger a woman's right to
choose is within this country, I stand firm for a woman's right to choose.

   Upon doing further research and opening my eyes, the war with Iraq never
ended. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, that was the start of our war with
Iraq through the Gulf War and it has continued to this very day.  Bush Sr.
should have finished the job and taken Saddam out when he had the chance.  Since
he failed in that mission, both the United States and the United Nations placed
sanctions on Iraq where far more innocent Iraqis died during that decade than in
Operation Iraqi Freedom.

So, while many would just love to blame Bush, the blame does not lie solely on
his shoulders.

According to: "We Think the Price Is Worth It."  When former US Secretary of
State, Madeline Albright (who served during the Clinton administration) was
asked by Leslie Stahl: "We have heard that a half million children have died. I
mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price
worth it?"  This is what Madeline Albright had to say: "I think this is a very
hard choice, but the price -- we think the price is worth it."

   *

     No words can adequately express my anger where a former Secretary of State
would say that the murder of a half a million children is a price worth paying.

I used to hold Albright in high regard, but, after reading that, it turned my
stomach.  She that owes the Iraqi people an apology ... anyone with small
children would quickly anger upon reading this: "UN Food & Agriculture
Organization (FAO) report that 567,000 Iraqi children under the age of five had
died as a result of the sanctions."

As I read: The Sanctions War this quote stood out: "We call on the president of
America, the vice president and the congressmen to come to Iraq and see the
little children, and Tony Blair, the UK government and Kofi Annan to come and to
go to the cancer ward and give us an answer...what was their crime?" -Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez-Esquivel of Argentina who traveled to Iraq in
March (AP, March 9, 1999)

   It is then I remembered George Galloway's statement before the (United
States) senate subcommittee looking into the oil for food scandal where he said:
"Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose the  policy that you promoted.
I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the  mass killing of Iraqis by
the sanctions on Iraq which killed one million Iraqis,  most of them children,
most of them died before they even knew that they were  Iraqis, but they died
for no other reason other than that they were Iraqis with  the misfortune of
being born at that time." Mr. Galloway stated this on May 17, 2005.  

In reading the list of items banned in the "Sanctions of War" this one hit
particularly close to home where medicines for epilepsy were being denied to
innocent Iraqis.  You see, I do have epilepsy and know all too well how it feels
to have a seizure. I find it horrific that epileptics in Iraq were denied life
saving medications during these sanctions.  Yes, people can die from epilepsy.

I was horrified to read: "Iraq is being collectively tortured for its defiance
of American and Israeli domination plans for the region. Even official UN
reports document that nearly 1 million Iraqis -- mostly the young and the
elderly -- have died in the past eight years as a direct result of American
policies. Other expert estimates put the number at somewhere between 1.5 and 2
million -- half under the age of 5."

I cannot wrap my brain around that one.  Can you?

While some will say this was all Saddam's fault, it was not ... you do not
punish an innocent people because of their leader.

As I reported in my piece "Blow Back," the United States government used the CIA
to topple foreign leaders who were perceived as being unfriendly to our
interests ... the use of the CIA in these programs did not only happen under
Republican administrations, they also happened under Democratic ones as well.

   * If I am to be true to journalistic ethics, I have to hold both parties
accountable when I see injustices done around the world by this (USA)
government.

As I fear that my government can topple Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and
take hold of his country ... while that may not happen right now under Bush, it
can very well happen in the future under a Democratic president.  I will equally
lash out at that administration when I see it meddling in affairs that do not
concern the United States.

   I think if we, as a people, are horrified where we see the taking of
innocent human life through sanctions, wars, the toppling of governments as
being abhorrent, then it is up to both Republicans and Democrats alike to speak
up against this (USA) government.  If we do not like an elected official's
beliefs and actions within our own parties, then we must work to replace them.

In closing, I again want to express my apologies to Cindy Sheehan.  Through her
words, she shook my belief system to the core, but it was up to me as a
journalist to see how she came about formulating that opinion.  While out of
respect for the other moms', dads', wives and husbands who have lost loved ones,
I wish she would not use the term "freedom fighter" to describe those who have
killed American soldiers, she is entitled to her opinion.

Violence begets violence and we must all remember that.

Mary MacElveen

Alan

"Can't you see we're still here,
Can't you see we're still here,
Singing loud; Singing clear,
We shall not go under,
We're still here."

Nemesis Peace Centre

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