Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1973 leaked what came to be known as the Pentagon Papers, has called on his fellow countrymen to have the courage to face what is being done in their name in Iraq. In an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times, Ellsberg, who was sent to jail for making official secrets public, but whose action helped bring the Vietnam war to an end, writes that if the findings of a recent poll are correct that the majority of Iraqis believes that a US withdrawal is the best thing for them, then that is what the American people should demand.
Ellsberg refers to a joint resolution referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week by Senator Barbara Boxer, which calls for the withdrawal of all American military forces from Iraq by December 31. Boxer's "redeployment" bill cites in its preamble a January poll finding that 64 percent of Iraqis believe that crime and violent attacks will decrease if the US leaves Iraq within six months, 67 percent believe that their day-to-day security will increase if the US withdraws and 73 percent believe that factions in parliament will cooperate more if the US withdraws. |