I haven't found this piece,sent by Maireid Sullivan, to be in wide circulation, and wanted to bring you this  unique perspective o­n our times. We get food for thought about what's happening now from these intimate sharings about what was going o­n when containment of Russia, not Iraq, was the issue.  Adlai Stevenson delivered the talk to the Security Council that confirmed Soviet missile-building in Cuba.  His son, Adlai Stevenson III, writes this piece to rebut those who are comparing Colin Powell to his dad.

Different Man, Different Moment

by Adlai E. Stevenson III – New York Times | Op-Ed  2/7/03

Quotes

Pundits and officials in Washington have dubbed Secretary of State Colin Powell's attempt to make a case for war against Iraq in the United Nations Security Council an “Adlai Stevenson moment.” I couldn't disagree more. My father was Adlai Stevenson, who in 1962, as President Kennedy's representative to the United Nations, presented the Security Council with incontrovertible proof that the Soviet Union, a nuclear superpower, was installing missiles in Cuba and threatening to upset the world's “balance of terror.” That “moment” had an obvious purpose: containing the Soviet Union and maintaining peace. It worked, and eventually the Soviet Union collapsed under its own weight. This moment has a different purpose: war. The Bush administration clearly rejects the idea of containing Iraq through committed monitoring by the United Nations, even though this course is the better option…

The 19 men armed with box cutters did not expect to bring down all of America. o­nly America can do that. They expected a reaction. The o­ne they should get is to be treated as criminals, hunted down and brought to justice. Bringing war o­nly confirms complaints that the United States is waging a war against Islam. It can also give terrorists the reaction they seek.

Whether made by Al Qaeda or Saddam Hussein, today's threats require a multidimensional response, including efforts to address the widening gap between the haves and the have nots, the horrible conditions in which most people around the world struggle to survive. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a good place to begin. The United States loses credibility when perceived as supporting terror in o­ne part of the Mideast, while professing to fight it elsewhere.

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COMMENTS

From: Gary Rinkerman [GRinkerman@bakerlaw.com]

Thanks for the very interesting article. I think that it is important to fuel the debate o­n this issue, as it is apparently moving ahead with the certainty of war and (presumed) occupation of Iraq – almost as a “given.” Without being too “paranoid,” I'd like to make sure that our country never returns to a Viet Nam era approach where the government presumes the U.S. population can be led blindly or used as mercenaries. I can't say that this is happening, but it is a very serious concern.