Not often do we have the chance to truly make a difference. This year, the South Dakota Legislature is being presented with an opportunity to support our soldiers in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. A bill being sponsored by District 16 Representative Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes is targeting the divestment of funds invested by the South Dakota Investment Council in companies that are doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Why should the South Dakota Investment Council divest itself of funds in companies doing business with Iran? The primary answer is that Iran is a prime supporter of terrorism. Iran supplies terrorists with both supplies and money, which in turn are used against OUR young men and women in uniform who are fighting for freedom. One of the main weapons being supplied by the Iranians to the terrorists is called an Improvised Explosive Device or IED. The IED's armor piercing capability is incredible. The following is a list of several of South Dakota’s sons who have been killed in Iraq by these devices:
Daniel M. Cuka, 27, of Yankton, was killed Dec. 4, 2005, in Iraq after roadside bombs went off near his unit's Humvees.
Army Spc. Patrick Herried, 29, of Sioux Falls was killed Feb. 6, 2006, in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.
Army Spc. Allen Kokesh Jr., 21, of Yankton died Feb. 7, 2006, at an Army hospital in Texas of injuries suffered in a Dec. 4, 2005, roadside bombing that killed two other members of his unit.
Many others have been killed but these casualties can be directly attributed to Iran's support of terrorism. Can we look at their brothers and sisters in uniform, protecting us, and look them in the face and say that we did all that we could at home to aid them? The passage of this bill will be a definite YES!
Who will be against this bill? The SDIC in a letter to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council has already indicated that they do not want any oversight or prohibition on investing whatsoever. The majority of the letter is about the specific costs but I think their main argument is that this is “social investing”. I see it as nothing of the sort. I do not consider doing all we can to protect our service men and women, whose lives are in harm's way, to be “social investing”. With regard to their argument concerning costs, can they put a price on those people’s lives? Should they??
I hope that whoever reads this blog will contact their state legislators and voice strong support for the bill. If you belong to an organization, please consider passing a resolution supporting our service people and Iranian Divestment.
We truly have a unique opportunity. We can stand up and be counted. We can do our small part in this war on terrorism and the protection of our men and women in uniform. With everyone's help we can truly make a difference.
This is a great idea. But how do you go about finding an unbiased list of companies doing business with Iran? The only unbiased source I can think of is the US Federal Government and I don't think the Feds have created a list.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that the Feds haven't created a list because some of the companies doing business with Iran are working with our government to infiltrate Iran.
As I said this is a great idea, but very hard to implement.