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How
in the Name of God Dare We?
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How
in the Name of God Dare We?
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Last
week, President George W. Bush announced that he might take serious
action against Iraq because some American jet fighters had been fired
upon by Iraqi missiles. The missiles missed their target. No surprise
there, the Americans having far more sophisticated weapons than those
darned Arabs.
What is surprising, however, is that Bush plans serious action. As opposed to the non-serious action he has been taking since he came into office and which his father and Bill Clinton also took. Such as the constant bombing of cities, villages and people. People. Men, women, children and babies. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE DOESN'T LIEEven livestock. There is photographic evidence that aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars are dropping bombs worth tens of thousand of dollars on cattle, sheep and oxen owned by impoverished people whose only means of food is their animals. As one brave American fighting man said, from the comfort of his office and far away from any angry man who might hurt him, "We're going to bomb these people back into the Stone Age." Well said, sir, and a Purple Heart is on its way to you. With ribbons. Nor should Britain be forgotten in all this. Its air force has been involved in hundreds of raids over Iraq. An armed force that earned glory defending democracy against Nazism now pounds peasants for politics. Margaret Thatcher befriended dictators, Tony Blair bombs the innocent. The issue is really not particularly complex. Here's how it started ... A vile despot in Baghdad is propped up by the western powers because he fights Iran, a country that has humiliated the United States. He is also seen as a bulwark against the great chimera of Islamic fundamentalism. The fact he used poison gas and torture on his own people is ignored. Saddam Hussein is also supported in his war against Iran by the wealthy Arab oil states. They will fight the Persians to the last Iraqi. They also promise compensation when the war is over. Yet when the bloody conflict does end, the likes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait refuse to help Iraq rebuild. Hussein hints to the Americans he wants to invade Kuwait. The Americans appear to give consent. But no. Things rapidly change. The New World Order stands firm and assembles what is literally the mightiest army in history to take on a substandard collection of outdated tanks and badly trained men. A third-rate thug is compared to Adolf Hitler and it becomes the duty of every good person to stop the Iraqis before the Iraqis stop you. What utter nonsense! Every lie told by Kuwait is suddenly believed, every horror story suddenly becomes absolute truth. American generals appear on television being whimsical about the destruction of people's homes and families. This is hell, but at least a hell that might result in the removal of Hussein. The Iraqis rise up, and wait valiantly for the Americans or the British to come to their aid. Instead, we now know that American intelligence actually warned Hussein and his general staff of rebel movements and intentions. The result was slaughter. Rarely was a people so betrayed, so badly, by so many hypocrites. THE WEST WANTS A BOGEYMANThe West wants a bogeyman in the Middle East and Hussein will do nicely. It wants someone who will not embrace Islamic fundamentalism, and Hussein will do nicely. It wants political instability in the region and Hussein will do nicely. The Iraqi regime could have been removed long ago by the West, but this is not the desired end. Instead, we bomb and apply sanctions that lead to children dying of malnutrition. If the bombs don't kill you, the lack of food will. Hussein and his gang don't go hungry, but the people certainly do. The White House claims the reason for the sanctions is that Iraq will not allow United Nations supervisors to inspect the country because it has illegal weapons. The UN has been in many times, however. As for illegal weapons, half of America's closest allies have such stockpiles, to a far greater degree than sad little Iraq. The bombing has become so intense that even deserts are being bombed. The sanctions are so rigid that some now speak of genocide. How dare we? How in the name of God dare we! |