Jefferson County Green Party 911 Statement

The Green Party of Jefferson County condemns the use of deadly force as an acceptable means for settling differences between people . This holds just as true for the current US attack on Afghanistan as it does for the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th. Aggressive reactionary violence may avenge an initial loss of life, but does nothing to alter any of those losses. Justice is not served by international acts of reciprocal violence.

What retaliatory violence actually accomplishes is the compounding of inhumanity upon inhumanity while appealing to the most base elements of human instincts and behavior. There must be "rule of law" over the "rule of might." Much has been said about "convincing evidence" supposedly supporting the contention of Ben Laden's primary responsibility for the atrocious events of September 11th. However, according to the October 3rd edition of Time's online version, Secretary of State, Colin Powell, "...has been candid in saying that the evidence is not of the type that would stand up in an American court of law."

Therefore, we urgently demand that the US government restore rule of law and desist in its aggressive acts against Afghanistan. Especially in view of the fact that the Afghani Taliban government has repeatedly said, "Show us the evidence and we will consider your demands."

When our government refuses to negotiate in good faith with the Afghani government this is a "might makes right" position and is will not serve the ends of justice. Is it the US government's intention not to follow proper codes of international conduct? Doesn't "Innocent until proven guilty" apply? As a country we need to listen to the people of the world who have been oppressed by our government's foreign policies. We have a solemn responsibility to take appropriate actions to address their concerns. Until we learn to live as brothers and sisters on this planet, we will remain enemies with people whose lives have been negatively impacted by our government's actions.

The events of September 11th require thorough investigation, followed by any living perpetrators and abettors being apprehended, tried and sentenced in an international court of law. This is the appropriate remedy for the events that occurred in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Without adhering to the rule of law, we risk losing the support of moderate Muslims, Christians, Jews and others around the world.

Let us study our Middle East policies, listen to those who oppose us or have grievances against us, and reformulate our policies so they are fair to all concerned. Then we can hope to live in peace.

- As drafted by Coordinating Council Members: Steve Hamm, Doug Milholland, Dave Sheehan, and Pete Von Christierson