Jesse, Bishop: 'Bush using Iraq as hit list'

Accusing President Bush of using Iraq for "target practice," the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, said war is not the answer to the Middle East crisis that has turned into a nightmare for the families of the slain and kidnapped soldiers.

Calling the attack on Iraq a "tragedy on television," Jackson, who held a press conference with Sprague, from the United Methodist Church, at Dr. King's Workshop over the weekend, called the military strike an act of "savagery.

"Our nation's heart is heavy with emotion as bombs burst over Baghdad," said Jackson calling the war "unnecessary."

Jackson, who said he is ready to go to jail in protesting this war, said these preemptive strikes against Iraq amount to war crimes and that "those who engage in war crimes must pay the price for it."

Both men offered prayers for those soldiers who were killed, others kidnapped, and for the journalists who were caught in the crossfire of the Iraqi conflict.

Sprague, and Jackson, prayed for those PUSH members who came to the altar petitioning for the safety of family members fighting in Iraq.

Sprague said most U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraqi War are African American.

"I thought that was a compelling statement, for those who are fighting this war are Black, brown and poor whites," he said.

"We see those who have suffered the most finding themselves in harm's way," Sprague said: "The death of an Iraqi is as much an abomination in the eyes of God as the death of a precious U.S. citizen...."

"Why does the Islamic world have such disdain for those in the West generally and in the U.S. in particular"? Sprague asked "They hate us because of the four 'M's": McDonald's, Michelob, MTV and militarism," he said.

Sprague called Bush's plans to rebuild Iraq by giving lucrative contracts to firms once tied to Vice President Dick Cheney "problematic."

He said the next battle with the U.N. is France's refusal to approve Bush's plans to rebuild Iraq because it would give credence to the attack which France refused to sanction.

Referring to Cheney's old company Halliburton reportedly set to receive a $900 million "clean-up" contract after the war, Jackson said: "This is not just regime change. It's region control."

Jackson said the clean-up of Iraq will be paid by U.S. taxpayers and said "those countries that did not participate in tearing Iraq up, cannot wreck their budgets in trying to resurrect Iraq; so, they're going to make us pay the price for Bush's unilateral foreign policy."

Sprague said this "inconsistent" policy keeps the U.S. and world citizens "off-balance" in terms of the Bush policy. "We need a multilateral peacekeeping force and a multilateral response to our needs."

However, Sprague said in Afghanistan the United States has not rebuilt one house in a nation America helped to bomb searching for the Taliban.

Given America's mounting $301 billion deficit and a $400 billion defense budget, Sprague asked "where will the money come from, given the plight of our schools, homelessness and rising AIDS cases?"

"The White House intends to shock and awe the Iraqi people into submission," said Jackson. "We believe American leaders should submit to the awesome power of God," said Jackson.

Rev. Clay Evans, founder of the Fellowship Baptist Church, said the war is "nonsense, foolishness, and a lot of our men are going to get killed. I don't think it is for the same purpose they say it is in trying to liberate them (the Iraqi's). I think it is oil."

Jackson concurred saying: "So far, the weapons of destruction have come from the U.S. and Britain. Today, we see we were given to a fear that has not been founded. It was really exaggeration to justify what is happening today."

However, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in time the world will see that Saddam Hussein had been hoarding weapons of mass destruction.

"We pray for our troops, that they come home and pray that the hostilities cease," said Jackson.

He childed the media he says "have been almost totally controlled by the government" and criticized Bush for asking questions from "pre-screened media with pre-screened questions."

In addition, Jackson criticized the television airing of the war, likening it to "a July 4th celebration; a Nintendo game."

"They are pouring out Coca-Cola, burning up McDonald's; American brand names are under attack as American tourists will be under attack," said Jackson, referring to the growing anti-U.S. sentiment around the world.

But, he warned "while the obsession is with Iraq" and its 22 million people, "next door is Iran, a nation of 70 million, with some suggesting Iran as the site of the next conflict."

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