Dennis Kucinich on Remembering 9/11

Let us on this day mourn for those who tragically lost their
lives on 9/11. And let us commit that their lives not be lost in
vain, but become the basis for a new America of peace and
justice. America must regain the moral high ground in our
efforts to recover from 9/11.

Let us not forget the world was with America in our sorrow on
September 11, 2001. The world was prepared to unite with America
in a cooperative effort to challenge terrorists who attempt to
disrupt civil society. Instead, the Administration used 9/11 as
an excuse to attack a nation that did not attack us. Iraq had
nothing to do with 9/11, or with Al Qaeda's role in 9/11. Iraq
did not have the intention or the capability of attacking the
United States. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
Yet the Administration deliberately and falsely conflated 9/11
with Iraq, with the cooperation of an unquestioning media.

As a result, nearly 4,000 of our brave soldiers have lost their
lives, and tens of thousands have been permanently injured in
combat in Iraq. The subsequent occupation has fueled the
insurgency and will continue to result in more troop losses
until the United States leaves. Also, nearly one million
innocent Iraqis have lost their lives as a result of this war.
This violence against an innocent people is a tragedy of immense
proportions. It is also a violation of international law, and
those who authored this war must be held accountable for their
actions.

Americans will spend close to $2 trillion in Iraq by the time
the costs of this war are totaled, but the longer term costs
have included the undermining America's moral authority in the
world, the separation of America from the nations and the
peoples of the world, and the destruction of a domestic agenda
which is being deferred while we borrow money from China to
fight the war in Baghdad.

We need to call those who used 9/11 to take us into war against
Iraq to an accounting under the U.S. Constitution, U.S. law, and
international law. We must soon begin a period of truth and
reconciliation in our own nation. We must have forums of open
dialogue throughout the country where we can come together to
remember who we were before 9/11, to share our personal
narratives of the times when we felt most secure, most in love
with our nation, most trustful of our democratic institutions.
We must recover our capacity for civic action. We must reclaim
our nation. The only way we can do that is to tell the truth.

Dennis Kucinich