Dennis Kucinich - the best VP money cant buy!!

[The Sushi Bandit]

Dennis and I in Santa Ana Califoria several wyears ago


A Message From Qana
CLEVELAND, September 8, 2006

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, ranking member on the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, and his wife Elizabeth have just returned from a personal peace-building initiative in the Middle East. Their mission included war-torn Lebanon, where they met separately and at length with Lebanon Prime Minister Fouad Siniora; President Emile LaHoud; General Michel Aoun, former Prime Minister and now leader of the Progressive Patriotic Party; Fawzi Salloukh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants; Yacoub Sarrat, Minister of the Environment; and former Prime Minister Selim Al-Hoss.

There was unanimity among Lebanese leaders that now is the time to explore multiparty talks with hopes of achieving a breakthrough agreement for peace in the entire region. All felt that political negotiations were key, as opposed to use of force. Each official spoke of the necessity of lifting the blockade, addressing the status of the Shebaa Farms, engaging in an exchange of prisoners with Israel, and obtaining maps of areas mined by the Israeli army.

The couple toured the heavily damaged suburban Beirut area, where they witnessed the ruins of thousands of apartment dwellings and hundreds of businesses. Kucinich became perhaps the first US official to cross the Litani River, accompanying a humanitarian mission from the American University in Dubai delivering food, water, and medical supplies deep into southern Lebanon.

"Village after village was reduced to piles of rubble. We saw thousands of destroyed homes. We also saw bombed out hospitals, schools, factories, churches, mosques, fire stations, gas stations, cars, bridges, roads, water systems, electric systems, banana plantations, and lemon groves," Kucinich said.

"In several villages we stopped and walked through piles of concrete and dust from what had once been homes. Public areas were littered with unexploded cluster bombs and land mines. The smell of death was everywhere. Homes still standing, upon closer inspection, had holes in the walls from artillery shells."

One of the most emotionally wrenching moments came at 10 o'clock at night as they arrived in the village of Qana, the Cana of biblical lore where Christ performed the first of his miracles, changing water into wine. One of the greatest tragedies of war befell a house in Qana where a 1,000-pound bomb exploded and collapsed the structure, crushing dozens of women and children who had sought shelter in the basement.

Kucinich and his wife went to pay respects to the dead, as a graveyard in the center of the village was lit by automobile headlights. They walked by several rows of graves, each with a picture of someone killed in the bombing. One picture was of four members of the same family. Buried were a mother and her three children. As Kucinich quietly wept, a hand reached around his shoulder to console him. It was the very man who had lost these family members, his wife and three children.

Kucinich and his wife were led away from the graves across the road and down a very narrow street, over piles of debris from the blast, and to the scene of the disaster. Some childrens' clothing and bomb fragments were still visible in the rubble. A crowd quickly gathered, as it was learned that an American congressman had come to the village. Soon nearly 50 villagers surrounded the couple, including many who had lost family members through what they believed was an American-made bomb.

Elizabeth Kucinich said, "Dennis and I will never forget what followed. There we stood in the darkness, surrounded by people who had suffered great loss, who had every right to express anger or even rage, yet instead they expressed remarkable depth of forgiveness, compassion, and a desire for peace and reconciliation, speaking calmly from the crowd through interpreters. 'We do not hate America. We love the American people. We do not like what your government does; it could have saved our families. Please tell the American people that we are not terrorists. We do not hate Israel. We want to be safe in our village. We want to be left alone. We want peace.'" The couple promised to take the message of hope and peace from Qana back to the United States.

After trying to arrange air transit for two days, the only flight, scheduled for 5:30 pm, was cancelled just as they were about to board. Determined to visit Israel, they spent five hours preparing the correct paperwork and searching for a car and driver who were eligible to journey through three countries to take them to the Jordan-Israel border. They left at midnight and traveled 11 hours by car, overnight and without sleep, across Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. After waiting two and a half hours at border control between Jordan and Israel, near to Jericho, they finally entered Israel. The Kuciniches, having lost one and a half days through travel complications, asked Israeli officials to help them make a hurried journey to the Northern areas; unfortunately, help was not at hand and instead they were told that there was very little to see. The Kuciniches were extremely disappointed to have missed an opportunity to visit the Northern areas, which suffered casualties, and to speak with the people as they had in Lebanon.

They continued with their itinerary and spent seven hours in extensive meetings with directors and policy advisors of the State of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, discussing the war, nuclear proliferation, human rights, security, Israeli casualties, and the prospects for peace talks. In the Palestinian town of Ramallah, they met with a small group of government officials and representatives of NGOs. They also met with Suheil Dawani, Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, and his wife. Details of their visit to Israel and Palestine will be included in reports to follow.

In July, when the war broke out, Kucinich quickly organized a group of 36 House members who sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 450, which called upon the administration to seek immediate ceasefire and to help convene multi-party talks in the region, with no preconditions. Kucinich also called for an end to the blockade of Lebanon, which did end on September 8. He met with officials of the Israeli Embassy in Washington on September 8 to discuss the end of the blockade, as well as to make plans for a follow-up visit to Israel.

When the war broke out, Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich convened a large group of 10th District civic and religious leaders, representing Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities. The group, without any scripting or prompting, united in a call for a ceasefire, multiparty talks without preconditions, and a desire to seize the moment for a new peace plan. Each week since then, the group has reconvened at the 10th District Congressional Office, forming a focus group on the Middle East, employing principles of Truth and Reconciliation, sharing life narratives, fears, and hopes openly and expressively with each other.

"We now have about 25 regular participants each week, working through their differences, striving for unity and peace. This process was instrumental in encouraging Kucinich to make his first trip to the region, taking with him the intent and support for peace from his own constituents."

Elizabeth Kucinich first visited the region for the Millennium celebrations.

Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich plan to issue a series of reports on their visits to the region, as part of their effort to craft the elements of a peace plan. They plan to return to the Middle East as soon as possible. In the meantime, they are conducting meetings in Washington with key diplomatic figures from all countries in the region.

Congressman Kucinich is the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Kucinich joined a small congressional delegation which met with members of the Russian Duma in Vienna in 1999 to help craft the points of a peace plan that were later adopted by the G-8 countries to end the Serbian conflict, 1999.

Kucinich is the author and primary sponsor of legislation HR3760, to create a Cabinet Level Department of Peace and Nonviolence, now with 74 co-sponsors. He has also won a number of peace awards, including the Gandhi Peace Award, 2003; the Heart of Humanity Award, 2003; the Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker Award, 2002; the Cranbrook Peace Prize, 2003; the Serbian Unity Congress Integrity Award, 2002; and the William Moses Kunstler Racial Justice Award, 1999.

Elizabeth Kucinich has advanced academic training in International Conflict Analysis; Conflict Transformation; Peace and Reconciliation and Human Rights Fieldwork. The final exam of her Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis (University of Kent at Canterbury, UK) was taken on September 11, 2001 -- the subject, "Conflict Resolution in World Politics."

[LeftishBrit]

1. I wish people like them were in power

*The final exam of her Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis (University of Kent at Canterbury, UK) was taken on September 11, 2001 -- the subject, "Conflict Resolution in World Politics."*

Sadly, her president took an exam in the same topic at the same time - and failed miserably!!! With disastrous consequences for the world.

[boobooday]

2. I would like to thank Dennis

It is because of people like him that these people who have suffered so much can still say they love the American people.

I support him for VP. I support him for President.