King denounces 'insane war' with Iraq as SCLC convenes

MLK III denies threat, warns costs drain on federal domestic programs

10/17/02 By CHALLEN STEPHENS Times Staff Writer challens@htimes.com

Martin Luther King III arrived in Huntsville Wednesday with peace on his mind, denouncing President Bush and his "insane war" on Iraq.

Speaking at Fellowship Presbyterian Church, King said Iraq doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction. He said the war is a ruse for

"There really is no threat," he said, moments before a speech on the same topic. "We feel it is a dangerous proposition to go to war while our economy is challenged."

Money to pay for combat will have to come from federal welfare, health and education programs, he said. Those programs combat what King sees as America's chief problems, what his father once called the "triple evils" - racism, poverty and violence.

King's speech kicked off the annual convention of the Alabama chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Atlanta-based civil rights group that his father helped found in 1957 and that he now leads. The SCLC is meeting in Huntsville to try to spur interest in creating a chapter here.

Some 250 to 300 Alabama members of the SCLC will attend forums here today and Friday. The Rev. Henry Sterling, executive director of the Alabama SCLC, said the group's main goals for the coming year in Alabama will be revealed later in the week.

Wednesday, all ears turned toward King.

King spoke softly, warmly. He moved with ease before the service, chatting with children and shaking hands with older men who knew his father. But behind the podium, King changed. His hands flew, he rocked back on his heels and railed. That soft voice found some bass.

He began by imploring all to vote in the national and local elections next month. Vote for peace, vote against war, he said.

King said Americans need to dig for truth. He said the Army's plans to burn stockpiles of mustard gas and nerve agents are a form of "domestic terrorism" for Anniston. There should be a war to protect Anniston, he said.

He said racism is alive in the nation's banks, where blacks struggle to secure loans.

He said blacks make up 50 percent of the nation's prison inmates, but only 13 percent of its citizens.

He said most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, but the United States bombed Afghanistan. Why? [See whattamean? Parallel universe. Actually, this sob knows exactly why we're in Afghanistan but his constituency probably hasn't the slightest.]

He said Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney never revealed the contents of their meetings with Enron officials.

And King repeatedly said the U.S. economy is in tatters.

"The only thing the president seems to find joy in is mobilizing to attack. He's going to take him out," King said of Saddam Hussein. "All of this is really about oil."

Some 50 people listened. [BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] There was little publicity before the open service. Fellowship Presbyterian didn't use the overflow parking reserved across the street. But King's speech started and ended with a standing ovation.

He was criticized last year for not taking a lead role on national issues. He was placed on leave for a week from his position atop the SCLC. But several prominent leaders threw their support behind King. Today, he remains president of the group and has no problem speaking out.

"Poppycock," King said of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Earlier, he said weapons inspectors for the United Nations should be allowed to handle the situation. The SCLC is historically opposed to war.

King warned the audience that a war would create permanent instability in the Middle East. He predicted Arab nations would band together against the United States in the face of an invasion.

Still, he said he'd pray for Bush, a president "selected, not elected" by the people.

"We've got to turn him around so he understands life and the preservation of life," he told an audience of all ages.

True to his father's methods, King preached that only love could defeat violence, only light could chase away darkness. He said he could understand what caused the anger that led to terrorist attacks on the United States, a country that has repeatedly cooperated with foreign dictators. At least that anger made more sense than the motive behind the sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., he said.

To defuse that anger, King said, the United States must stop exploiting foreign countries.

He recounted some of those exploitations, such as the slaughter of American Indians or the past cooperation with Iran and Iraq.

Plus, he said the United States doesn't need to forget about the pain of slavery, which earned a round of applause. He called for more talk of slavery reparations.

"We don't want to hear truth in America," King said. "We want to hear fairy tales."

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2002

Answers

"We don't want to hear truth in America," King said. "We want to hear fairy tales."

And King is very good at them, too.

-- Anonymous, October 18, 2002

"At least that anger made more sense than the motive behind the sniper attacks in Washington, D.C."

Am I reading this wrong? Sounds like he's saying he knows the motive behind the sniper attacks. Should we have BATF spend some time with him?

-- Anonymous, October 18, 2002