Zufall? Kritischer US-Senator tot

Die Republikaner nutzten einiges an Rhetorik, um die Demokraten vor der Abstimmung über einen Präventivkrieg gegen den Irak einzuschüchtern. Bush selbst behauptete aufgrund des wachsenden Widerstands im Senat, dass der Senat nicht an der Sicherheit des amerikanischen Volkes interessiert sei. Auch die US-Presse drescht seit Monaten unablässig auf Kriegsgegner ein. So wurde z.B. der Besuch von drei demokratischen Abgesandten (und Veteranen), die sich vor einigen Wochen ein Bild vom Irak vor Ort gemacht hatten, in Newsweek als bizzare behavior abgetan, einfach weil "Baghdad is not the place to wage the debate". Die Drohung wirkte: laut Washington Post haben viele Demokraten allein aus Angst um Wählerstimmen für Bushs Präventivkrieg gestimmt.

Aber wie so oft stimmt die vorherrschende Meinung der US-Medien nicht mit der Mehrheit der Bevölkerung überein. Obwohl Wellstones demokratische Freunde und seine republikanischen Gegner ihn gleichermaßen gewarnt hatten, dass Widerstand gegen Bush ihn seine Wiederwahl im November kosten würde, folgte Wellstone seinem Herzen. Und gewann über Nacht an Beliebtheit. Das bisschen Vorsprung, das Wellstone vor der Abstimmung in der Irak-Frage vor seinem republikanischen Konkurrenten genoss, baute er mit seiner einsamen Gegenstimme deutlich aus. Es bestand kaum mehr Zweifel, dass er wiedergewählt würde.

As I write this there is not a single shred of physical evidence - that the public is aware of - to suggest foul play in his death. But I must say, this does not look right.
Marc Ash, Herausgeber von truthout.org

Seine Wiederwahl war um so wichtiger, da das System der "checks and balances" mit den bevorstehenden Wahlen außer Gefecht gesetzt werden könnte, denn die Exekutive ist republikanisch, die Gerichte auch (die ja 2000 per richterlichen Erlass dafür sorgten, dass Bush ins Wie?e Haus einziehen konnte) und die Legislative zur Hälfte: Im Repräsentantenhaus haben die Republikaner die Mehrheit, im Senat die Demokraten - das aber erst seit der Republikaner Jeffords nach der Wahl Bushs aus seiner Partei ausstieg. Es ist also knapp. Und wenn die Demokraten nur einen Sitz im Senat verlieren, werden die Republikaner kaum noch aufzuhalten sein.
 
ABC: Given the fact that you voted against the president, do you think this race is particularly meaningful to the White House?
Wellstone: I think the race is definitely particularly meaningful to the White House. I think the president has been here four times, the vice president has been here once and Karl Rove is coming out this weekend and they're saying the president might come back again.
Aus dem letzten Interview mit Wellstone am Tag vor seinem Tod  
 
Zwei Lektionen

Neben der Einsicht, dass die Mehrheit der Amerikaner gegen einen Alleingang der USA gegen den Irak sind, zeigt der Fall Wellstone vor allem eines: Die Kritik an Bush und den Republikanern wird immer lauter. Die ersten Stimmen, die "foul play" hinter Wellstones plötzlichem Tod witterten, meldeten sich nach wenigen Tagen. Am eingehendsten ist wohl der am Montag bei AlterNet.org erschienen Artikel Was Paul Wellstone Murdered?. Der Autor Michael Niman listet eine Reihe seltsamer Zufälle und vergleichbarer Todesfälle kritisch denkender Menschen auf, unter anderem: Mel Carnahan, der 2000 als klarer Favorit in die Endphase der Senatorenwahlen in Missouri gegen John Ashcroft (!) ging, starb drei Wochen vor den Wahlen in einem Flugzeugunglück. John Ashcroft war jedoch so unbeliebt, dass Carnahans Witwe Ashcroft anstelle ihres Mannes schlagen konnte. Und die Liste der seltsamen Zufälle ist lang...

Anyone familiar with my work knows that I'm certainly not a conspiracy theorist. But to be honest, I know I wasn't alone in my initial reaction at this week's horrible and tragic news: that being my surprise that Wellstone had lived this long.... I know of many [mainstream journalists] who shared my concern.
Michael Niman

Laut Don Hazen, Herausgeber von AlterNet, war Wellstone "der Kandidat, den die Republikaner am liebsten besiegen wollten". Nun ist Wellstone aus dem Rennen - für immer. Offiziell heißt es, die Untersuchung des Absturzes wird einige Zeit dauern. Hoffentlich sind alle Zweifel unbegründet und die Verschwörungstheoretiker spinnen einfach mal wieder, denn sonst müsste man sich wirklich die rhetorisch gemeinte Frage stellen, die Republikaner Trent Lott während der Parlamentsdebatte an potentielle abtrünnige Demokraten stellte: "Who's the enemy here: the President of the United States or Saddam Hussein?"

Wellstone now joins the ranks of other American politicians who died in small plane crashes. Another recent victim was Missouri's former Democratic governor, Mel Carnahan, who lost his life in 2000, three weeks before Election Day, during his Senatorial race against John Ashcroft. Carnahan went on to become the first dead man to win a Senatorial race, humiliating and defeating the unpopular Ashcroft posthumously. Ashcroft, despite his unpopularity, went on to be appointed Attorney General by George W. Bush. Investigators determined that Carnahan's plane went down due to "poor visibility."

Carnahan was the second Missouri politician to die in a small plane crash. The first was Democratic Representative Jerry Litton, whose plane crashed the night he won the Democratic nomination for senate in 1976. His Republican opponent ultimately captured the seat from his successor in November.

While an article in the New York Times on Saturday pointed out the danger politicians face due to their heavy air travel schedules, the death of a senator or member of Congress is still relatively rare, with only one other sitting U.S. Senator, liberal Republican John Heinz, dying in a plane crash since World War II. Heinz, who entered office as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, later emerged as a strong proponent of health care, social services, public transportation and the environment. He also urged reconciliation with Cuba. He died when the landing gear on his small plane failed to function, and a helicopter dispatched to survey the problem crashed into his plane.

One former senator, John Tower, also died in a small plane crash. Tower was best known as the chair of the Tower Commission, which investigated the Reagan/Bush era Iran/Contra scandal.

Another member of a prominent government commission who died in a small plane crash was former Democratic representative and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs. Boggs was best known as one of the seven members of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The commission found that Lee Harvey Oswald was acting alone when he killed the president. Boggs, it turns out, had "strong doubts" that Oswald acted alone, but went along with the commission findings. Later, in 1971 and 1972, he went public with his doubts. He was presumed dead after the small plane carrying him and Democratic Representative Nicholas Begich disappeared in 1972.

Texas Democratic Representative Mickey Leland also died in a plane crash. In his case, the six-term member of Congress and outspoken advocate of sanctions against the apartheid government of South Africa, died while traveling in Ethiopia. Another American politician to die overseas in a plane crash was the Clinton administration's Commerce Secretary, Ronald Brown, whose plane went down in the Balkans.

Anyone familiar with my work knows that I'm certainly not a conspiracy theorist. But to be honest, I know I wasn't alone in my initial reaction at this week's horrible and tragic news: that being my surprise that Wellstone had lived this long. Perhaps it's just my anger and frustration at losing one of the few reputable politicians in Washington, but I also felt shame. Shame for not writing in my column, months ago, that I felt that Paul Wellstone's life, more so than any other politician in Washington, was in danger. I felt that such speculation was unprofessional and would ultimately undermine my credibility. In the end, my own self-interest triumphed, and I never put my concerns into print. Neither did any other mainstream journalist, though I know of many who shared my concern.

When I heard Wellstone's plane went down, I immediately thought of Panamanian General Omar Torrijos, who in 1981 thumbed his nose at the Reagan/Bush administration and threatened to destroy the Panama Canal in the event of a U.S. invasion. Torrijos died shortly thereafter when the instruments in his plane failed to function upon takeoff. Panamanians speculated that the U.S. was involved in the death of the popular dictator, who was replaced by a U.S. intelligence operative, Manuel Noreiga, who previously worked with George Bush Senior.

There is no indication today that Wellstone's death was the result of foul play. What we do know, however, is that Wellstone emerged as the most visible obstacle standing in the way of a draconian political agenda by an unelected government. And now he is conveniently gone. For our government to maintain its credibility at this time, we need an open and accountable independent investigation involving international participation into the death of Paul Wellstone. Hopefully we will find out, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that this was indeed an untimely accident. For the sake of our country, we need to know this.

Dr. Michael I. Niman teaches journalism and media studies at Buffalo State College.

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