Opinion Editorials, October 2012

The NEW Fourth Estate's Foreign Policy Questions To Presidential Candidates

By Eileen Fleming

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, October 16, 2012

The New Fourth Estate is comprised of Internet reporters who do not take orders from editors or paychecks from conglomerates. We seek the truth and report as a matter of public service.

In a true democracy with a media dedicated to seeking and reporting the truth the presidential debates would include other parties and inquiries such as these:

1. As Israel has much deeper and decades longer of nuclear secrets buried in the Middle East—will you explain why – or why not - demand of Israel what is demanded of Iran and listen to Israel's Nuclear Whistle Blower Vanunu and establish a Nuclear-Free Middle East?

2. In light of George Washington’s warning to US: "Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils."-Farewell Address - 1796 What do the presidential candidates have to say regarding an Israel media report of 24 April 2004, which was three days after Israel’s Nuclear Whistle Blower was released from 18 years in a windowless tomb sized cell jail for providing the photographic proof and telling the truth about Israel's clandestine seven story underground WMD Program in the Negev: "Everybody understands that he has no more secrets. What can a technician know after 18 years in jail, during which technology has advanced with giant steps? "But gradually it becomes clear what the security establishment is really afraid of. Vanunu is in a position to expose the close partnership with the United States in the development of Israel's nuclear armaments. "This worries Washington so much, that the man responsible in the State Department for 'arms control', Under-Secretary John Bolton, has come to Israel in person for the occasion. Vanunu, it appears, can cause severe damage to the mighty super-power. "The Americans, it seems, are very worried. The Israeli security services have to dance to their tune. The world must be prevented by all available means from hearing, from the lips of a credible witness, that the Americans are full partners in Israel's nuclear arms program, while pretending to be the world's sheriff for the prevention of nuclear proliferation."

3. Alfred Nobel’s intention was to reward people with a moral backbone and he hoped to create icons and examples to humankind. Last week the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE was awarded to the EUROPEAN UNION.

President Obama’s Nobel peer, Mairead Maguire wrote:

“Alfred Nobel was a visionary who believed in a demilitarized peaceful world. In his Will he left his Nobel peace prize to those who would work for ‘fraternity among nations’,’abolition or reduction of standing armies’, and ‘holding and promotion of peace congresses’.

“In Nobel’s will the award for Peace was to go to Champions of peace, those working to replace militarism with international order based on law and the abolition of national military forces. Nobel’s vision and dream was to replace the power of militarism and war, with the power of law. I believe the Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union, does not meet the criteria of Alfred Nobel vision and spirit, and his vision of a demilitarized peaceful world.

“In many ways the European Union has done much in the past sixty years for Peace and reconciliation amongst nations, but it has sadly done little for the demilitarization of Europe. Whilst the EU imposes severe Austerity measures upon many EU countries it simultaneously supports the growing militarisation of Europe by its support for US/NATO (guilty of war crimes against Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., ) “It continues to support the policies of USA Nuclear weapons, held in six EU States. It supports arms sales from European States (UK, Germany, etc.,) to coutries all around the world. The EU instead of upholding human rights for countries such as Palestine, has rewarded Israel by giving them special trading status and huge grants (EU tax payers money) for its Military Research and weapons thus enabling it to continue it illegal policies of occupation and Apartheid of Palestine. I cannot support this decision to give the peace prize to EU and appeal to the Swedish Foundation Authority to hold the Nobel Committee accountable for giving, yet again, a political award instead of supporting People taking courageous, and often dangerous stands to help move the human family away from military international Relations to one based on peaceful resolution of conflict….”-Mairead Corrigan Maguire – Nobel peace prize (1976)

4. The cost of American’s nuclear arsenal is projected to reach as much as $661 billion over the next decade, according to a report, released on Oct. 7 by Ploughshares Fund, a group that advocates nuclear disarmament.

The report also acknowledges, “It's not easy to know how much our nation pays for our nuclear weapons programs. There is no official nuclear weapons budget. Instead, government spending accounts are often opaque, poorly defined and always spread out over several government agencies.” The new estimate claims over the next decade the United States is looking at spending $370 billion for its “nuclear forces,”including the triad of long-range bombers, nuclear submarines, and intercontinental ballistic missiles, in addition to the laboratories charged with maintaining weapons and dismantling them.

Since the end of the Cold War America has relied more on its military capabilities rather than diplomacy in pursuit of foreign policy goals.

It has been said that America possesses power but not legitimacy to influence foreign affairs.

What would you do as President to reestablish America’s ability to lead and as a candidate for US HOUSE I suggest we begin by honoring our obligations as a member state of the UN UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS which includes holding ALL other Member States to it:

This Tuesday, the second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask the questions of the candidates. Next week, Bob Schieffer will be moderator for the last presidential debate and the topic is foreign policy.

I am Eileen Fleming for US House and I approve of all of my messages-and questions.

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