Where were Bush’s Critics?

I’m researching my next article for OSP about Republican attempts to draw parallels between Clinton’s war in Kosovo and Bush’s war in Iraq. A common question I’m running into is “where were Bush’s critics during Kosovo?”

Now, I was pretty sure there were a lot of liberals who disagreed with me over Kosovo (I _supported_ military intervention). So I thought I’d find one or two for the article. In fact, I found many. Too many to use. I would have found even more, but I gave up looking. Here are some examples:

bq. *Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich:* In those early days of April, as I watched news accounts of the bombing, the flight of refugees, the ongoing atrocities, I knew I had to speak out for peace–not just the absence of war, but peace through mediation, peace through negotiation, peace through thoughtful, reflective thinking. [ "What I learned from the War":http://www.progressive.org/kuc899.htm"]

bq. *Molly Ivins:* I can rarely be persuaded that military intervention will help anything, but I do think there is a moral imperative here. And I think the
main moral imperative is: “Get rid of Milosevic.” Unfortunately, as all the thoughtful correspondents on the ground have been pointing out, the bombing only cements support for Milosevic. Even the democratic opposition feels it can no longer speak out; indeed, one school of thought is that Milosevic has been so obdurate precisely in order to bring about this scenario, which ensures his grip on power. [ "It's Imperative: Get Rid of Milosevic":http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/032999/opi_milosevic.html ]

bq. *Jim Hightower:* Weapon-makers love this thinking for it uses up inventory and creates new orders. For example, all those Tomahawk missiles you see exploding on TV cost $1.2 million each, and Congress already is ordering more of them. As a result, Raytheon, which makes the Tomahawks, has seen its stock price zoom since the war began. As one happy Wall Street analyst said, “Kosovo is just the catalyst. We’re going to keep seeing money flowing into defense stocks.” [ "The Corporate War Machine":http://www.sonic.net/~doretk/Issues/99-06%20SUM/thisisjim.html ]

bq. The Nation Editorial: The search for a political solution is paramount if we are to heed those who will bear the consequences, just as they already bear the consequences of NATO’s misguided effort. [ "Destroying Kosovo":http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=19990419&s=editors ]

bq. *Howard Zinn:* [B]ombing won’t help. It can only make things worse, and that is already evident. It is creating more victims, on both sides. ["A Diplomatic Solution":http://www.progressive.org/zinn9905.htm ]

bq. *Barbara Ehrenreich:* There is a problem with all these efforts to contain our species’ genocidal tendencies. When we want to make peace, we send the weapons of war. Where we want to save lives, we deploy trained killers. Which is, from a purely logical perspective, a little like recruiting your local arsonists into the volunteer fire department. [ "Don't Send the Air Force to do an Angel's Job":http://www.progressive.org/flip9906.htm ]

bq. *Mother Jones Wire Staff:* After more than a month of bombing, the State Department released its first report on human-rights violations in Kosovo. The report, titled, “Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo,” documents mass expulsions, the looting and burning of villages, and the killing of over 3,000 civilians in just seven weeks. But noticeably absent from the 20-page document is any mention of genocide. Why? [ "Reality Check: Genocide":http://www.motherjones.com/total_coverage/kosovo/reality_check/genocide.html ]