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Mandela in 2002: 'America Is a Threat to World Peace'

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Mandela in 2002: 'America Is a Threat to World Peace'
Mandela in 2002: 'America Is a Threat to World Peace'
By Newsweek Staff / December 05 2013 5:43 PM
mandela-bush_0.jpg

Nelson Mandela and George W. Bush together in 2001. REUTERS
Nelson Mandela, 84, may be the world’s most respected statesman. Sentenced to life in prison on desolate Robben Island in 1964 for advocating armed resistance to apartheid in South Africa, the African National Congress leader emerged in 1990 to lead his country in a transition to non-racial elections. As president, his priority was racial reconciliation; today South Africans of all races refer to him by his Xhosa clan honorific, Madiba. Mandela stepped down in 1999 after a single five-year term. He now heads two foundations focused on children. He met with Newsweek’s Tom Masland early Monday morning in his office in Houghton, a Johannesburg suburb, before flying to Limpopo Province to address traditional leaders on the country’s AIDS crisis. Excerpts:



NEWSWEEK: Why are you speaking out on Iraq? Do you want to mediate, as you tried to on the Mideast a couple of years ago? It seems you are reentering the fray now.



Nelson Mandela: If I am asked, by credible organizations, to mediate, I will consider that very seriously. But a situation of this nature does not need an individual, it needs an organization like the United Nations to mediate. We must understand the seriousness of this situation. The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken.

Unqualified support of the Shah of Iran led directly to the Islamic revolution of 1979. Then the United States chose to arm and finance the [Islamic] mujahedin in Afghanistan instead of supporting and encouraging the moderate wing of the government of Afghanistan. That is what led to the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the most catastrophic action of the United States was to sabotage the decision that was painstakingly stitched together by the United Nations regarding the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan.



If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace. Because what [America] is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world.



That must be condemned in the strongest terms. And you will notice that France, Germany Russia, China are against this decision. It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W. Bush’s desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America. If you look at those factors, you’ll see that an individual like myself, a man who has lost power and influence, can never be a suitable mediator.



What about the argument that’s being made about the threat of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and Saddam’s efforts to build a nuclear weapons. After all, he has invaded other countries, he has fired missiles at Israel. On Thursday, President Bush is going to stand up in front of the United Nations and point to what he says is evidence of...



. . . Scott Ritter, a former United Nations arms inspector who is in Baghdad, has said that there is no evidence whatsoever of [development of weapons of] mass destruction. Neither Bush nor [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair has provided any evidence that such weapons exist. But what we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction. Nobody talks about that. Why should there be one standard for one country, especially because it is black, and another one for another country, Israel, that is white.



So you see this as a racial question?



Well, that element is there. In fact, many people say quietly, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and say publicly, that when there were white secretary generals you didn’t find this question of the United States and Britain going out of the United Nations. But now that you’ve had black secretary generals like Boutros Boutros Ghali, like Kofi Annan, they do not respect the United Nations. They have contempt for it. This is not my view, but that is what is being said by many people.



What kind of compromise can you see that might avoid the coming confrontation?



There is one compromise and one only, and that is the United Nations. If the United States and Britain go to the United Nations and the United Nations says we have concrete evidence of the existence of these weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we feel that we must do something about it, we would all support it.



Do you think that the Bush administration’s U.N. diplomatic effort now is genuine, or is the President just looking for political cover by speaking to the U.N. even as he remains intent on forging ahead unilaterally?



Well, there is no doubt that the United States now feels that they are the only superpower in the world and they can do what they like. And of course we must consider the men and the women around the president. Gen. Colin Powell commanded the United States army in peacetime and in wartime during the Gulf war. He knows the disastrous effect of international tension and war, when innocent people are going to die, young men are going to die. He knows and he showed this after September 11 last year. He went around briefing the allies of the United States of America and asking for their support for the war in Afghanistan.



But people like Dick Cheney . . . I see yesterday there was an article that said he is the real president of the United States of America, I don’t know how true that is. Dick Cheney, [Defense secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, they are people who are unfortunately misleading the president. Because my impression of the president is that this is a man with whom you can do business. But it is the men who around him who are dinosaurs, who do not want him to belong to the modern age. The only man, the only person who wants to help Bush move to the modern era is Gen. Colin Powell, the secretary of State.



I gather you are particularly concerned about Vice President Cheney?



Well, there is no doubt. He opposed the decision to release me from prison (laughs). The majority of the U.S. Congress was in favor of my release, and he opposed it. But it’s not because of that. Quite clearly we are dealing with an arch-conservative in Dick Cheney.



I’m interested in your decision to speak out now about Iraq. When you left office, you said, “I’m going to go down to Transkei, and have a rest.” Now maybe that was a joke at the time. But you’ve been very active.



I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it’s difficult to say no.


**********************************************************************
there is no dearth of hypocrites, war mongers mourning his death today
 
The man is right, this confirmed the earlier post about the US as an evil empire. Now where are all those members criticizing that statement? Bet they don't dare criticizing this truth since it came from Mandela himself lol
 
If I remember correctly, he was on the list of those who were a "threat" to the US till 2000.
 
Thanks man, it's from Idiocracy :P (But it's got electrolytes!)

Strange story, but that woman who died from drinking insane amounts of Coca Cola every day, apparently she died because she diluted her blood too much, and ended up with a severe potassium deficiency.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Experts say a New Zealand woman's 2-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death, a conclusion that led the soft-drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.

Natasha Harris, a 30-year-old, stay-at-home mother of eight from Invercargill, died of a heart attack in February 2010.

Fairfax Media
reported that a pathologist, Dr. Dan Mornin, testified at an inquest Thursday that she probably suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium, which he thinks was caused by her excessive consumption of Coke and overall poor nutrition.

Symptoms of hypokalemia can include abnormal heart rhythms, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

So really, more electrolytes are good. :tup: Not just Potassium but Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, all that great stuff too.
 
Ohh... I think you didn't get it.

It's a movie - Idiocracy. It has been my favorite movie for a long time.

This guy you see in my Avatar, somehow ends up 500 years in future and it's chaos. Brawndo (The thirst mutilator) has taken over all departments and water has been replaced with Brawndo (a swipe at Gatorade). Brawndo's only slogan - It's got electrolytes. People have dumbed down so badly, this guy gets branded with the name "Not Sure", wherein he was to say "I am Not Sure if it is right...", the machine took Not Sure as his name. The President of the United States is 5 times wrestling champion and a former **** superstar - Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. In short - President Camacho.

The electrolyte part is very famous actually, which is why you saw that youtube parody that you bored me with earlier lol

I do know the process of ionization as NaCl is mixed with water, and how balanced it should be to keep our bodies well dehydrated. And of course, I am not a fan of soft drinks... only beer for me... or pot some time :)

Idiocracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Idiocracy_movie_poster.jpg
 
Ohh... I think you didn't get it.

It's a movie - Idiocracy. It has been my favorite movie for a long time.

I saw the movie buddy. :P

Nobody would get the electrolytes joke unless they've watched that movie.

And that video I posted before was an actual advertisement for the movie itself, believe it or not.

Here is my favourite part though:

 
Ohh okay lol I am sorry, that youtube vid was so noisy I immediately closed the page, my cat was sleeping in my lap at that time.

Yeah, when I am in the States, some times I feel like going to Walmart and stand right in the middle and start saying "Welcome to Walmart I love you Welcome to Walmart I love you Welcome to Walmart I love you...." hahahaha
 
Ohh okay lol I am sorry, that youtube vid was so noisy I immediately closed the page, my cat was sleeping in my lap at that time.

Yeah, when I am in the States, some times I feel like going to Walmart and stand right in the middle and start saying "Welcome to Walmart I love you Welcome to Walmart I love you Welcome to Walmart I love you...." hahahaha

I love the guy's expression as well when he's saying it. :D

Honestly I thought comedy movies had died in the past decade, Idiocracy proved that one wrong though. It was the funniest thing I can remember watching in recent times.

Funnier still because it actually makes sense. People with less education tend to have more kids.
 
I love the guy's expression as well when he's saying it. :D

Honestly I thought comedy movies had died in the past decade, Idiocracy proved that one wrong though. It was the funniest thing I can remember watching in recent times.

Funnier still because it actually makes sense. People with less education tend to have more kids.

Yeah, its survival of the fittest. And who are we to say that smartest ones are fittest?

I think we are straying a bit too far from the topic here lol
 
Yeah, its survival of the fittest. And who are we to say that smartest ones are fittest?

I think we are straying a bit too far from the topic here lol

LOL, Exactly. Biological fitness is only about two factors, survival and reproduction.

It doesn't require much intelligence to survive or reproduce in the modern world. :D

The vast hordes of people watching Fox News would attest to that.
 
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LOL, Exactly. Biological fitness is only about two factors, survival and reproduction.

You don't need much intelligence to survive or reproduce in the modern world. :D

Yeah, but people want more than just survival. That's where the brain comes handy, to take up more resources than others and compete successfully against them. No wonder the few smart ones rule over the majority of dumb ones lol

And to look at it... just the few smart ones have turned this world turtle, no wonder nature makes so few of them... can't handle anymore :lol:
 
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