Mary Ellen Marino, Princeton
To the editor:
It is outrageous that Barack Obama and Senator Menendez can so blatantly lie to the entire world about chemical weapons. Almost everyone knows that the U,S, used Agent Orange in Vietnam in the ‘60s and ‘70s and gave or sold chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein to use in the Iran/ Iraq in the ‘80s.
We should know that the U.S. has used white phosphorus and several other chemical weapons in our wars with Iraq and Afghanistan and likely Vietnam. Obama blatantly lied to the nation Tuesday night stating that Syria has the largest stock of chemical weapons in the world. The U.S. has the largest stock of chemical weapons in the world. We sell it to other countries. Menendez doubled down on these lies while stating that having chemical weapons is a violation of international law. Yes, and the U.S. leads that list!
My worst fears are being realized as the U.S. arms one of the rebel groups and has in no way given up its desire for and action to achieve regime change in Syria.
The Congress and administration would do very well to seriously pare back unneeded and/or dangerous weapon systems starting with outdated and unneeded nuclear weapons. This would go a long way to resolving the deadlock over the budget, the sequester and the outrageous team up between Obama and the war mongering Republicans in Congress.
Saved would be unconscionable assaults on Social Security, food stamps, preschool programs and earned income tax credits which savage the most vulnerable in this country without enabling corporations and the top 1 percent to pay their fair share.
Mary Ellen Marino
NJ Chair, Progressive Democrats of America
Princeton
