Conghaileach
27th March 2003, 18:28
Cuba Support Group - Ireland
15 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 8436448 087 6785842
Pat,
As I watched the commencement of the attack on Baghdad last weekend I
wondered if I was losing my sense of reasoning. I used to think that I had
a reasonably educated concept of international affairs - now I am not so
sure. And as the invasion goes on I have become less sure about my capacity
for rational thought.
WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THIS WAR? US Security? Ousting a dictator? Weapons
of mass destruction? Prospect of a nuclear attack? Human rights?
Democracy? Regime change? Saving a natural resource for humanity? I still
do not know the official reasons why the US and Britain started the war or
what they hope to achieve. Now that the invasion has started all sorts of
interesting concepts torture my mind:
INVASION: Iraq is not being invaded - it is being "liberated". Iraq is not
being invaded - coalition forces (also known as allied forces) are
"advancing" on Baghdad. Iraq is not being invaded - it is having "civilised
values" visited upon it. Two very large and powerful armies are rampaging
their way across Iraq and yet nobody can understand why the Iraqi army and
people are "resisting".
DEMOCRACY: The above mentioned civilisation (also known as democracy)
appears to be specially designed for Iraq. However, you do not have to be a
democracy to participate in the delivery of democracy or for membership of
the "coalition of the willing". This is one statement I can stand over
because I have checked with countries such as Pakistan, Qatar, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and even with the un-elected US president George
W Bush.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH: The Iraqi people cannot demonstrate against the policies
of their government. True. The American people can demonstrate against the
policies of their government. True. Exceptions: San Francisco - 1,400
arrested last weekend; more than 1,000 other strange people (non-nationals)
interned on a permanent basis & & &....
PRESS FREEDOM: US journalists (Monday night) wondering why Iraqi TV had not
been bombed yet at a Pentagon press briefing and the new rulers of the
world not ruling out such a possibility (for the prevention of the
spreading of propaganda by Iraqi authorities).
PROPAGANDA: Iraqis are subjected to propaganda. The rest of us are not.
TERRORISM: This is something that only effects westerners. The people of
Baghdad and Iraq generally (even the children) are not terrorised by
missiles flattening their cities or by the prospect of invading armies. On
the contrary, they are bolstered in the sure and certain knowledge that the
good guys are coming to save them. They also feel reassured by the news
that US vice-president Dick Cheney is against violence (in Hollywood
movies). Meanwhile, in the US good terrorists are given refuge while people
trying to prevent terrorism against their countries - such as the Cubans
known as the Miami Five - find themselves sentenced to long periods in
prison.
TREATMENT OF PRISONERS: Prisoners should not be paraded on TV. Exception:
if they are Iraqi and are surrendering to the invading armies. And are
presumed to be very happy to be doing so. US prisoners are not happy to be
surrendering so should not be shown on TV. The Geneva Convention should be
respected by all sides and prisoners should not be subjected to degrading
treatment or denied their rights. Exception: if you have had your Muslin
head shaved, are dressed in an orange boiler suit, shackled, locked in an
open cage, not been charged with any offence, denied legal representation,
interrogated, denied visits and moved thousands of miles from your home to
sunny, exotic Guantanamo Bay (a US controlled enclave in Cuba which is
apparently the only place on earth which is not subject to any law).
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS: Colin Powell demanded that all Iraqi diplomatic
missions, embassies, etc in Europe and elsewhere should be immediately shut
down by the host countries because, he contended, they no longer represent
Iraq. This idea must be a direct follow-on from the US position whereby the
US insisted that Pol Pot and his gang be the official Cambodian
representatives at the United Nations for almost a decade after he was
ousted from power in Cambodia.
FIGHTING BY THE RULES: The Iraqis are not fighting by the rules. Some of
them are in civilian clothing. Unlike the US and British special forces
who, we are told, have infiltrated various cities in Iraq and who we
presume (to avoid any contravention of the rules) proudly parade through
the streets in full uniform.
LANGUAGE: Not once have I heard any of the actions of the invading armies
being described as vicious or brutal despite an assault on the first night
using 3,000 missiles, for instance. This type of language is reserved for
the previous actions of Saddam Hussein. Despite being the invading armies,
the US and British spokespersons never tire of telling us about their plans
to "liberate" this town or that. Not being propaganda, the free western
press reports it (invariably without question).
SHANNON: Ireland is not involved in any way what-so-ever in anything
remotely related to any war which may or may not be taking place anywhere
in the world. I have no problem understanding this.
OTHER INCIDENTIALS: There is some dodgey stuff relating to humanitarian aid
and its propaganda value & There is some dodgey stuff relating to
re-construction contracts & The United Nations is being destroyed & The
European Unions is being divided & The Iraqi population is being humiliated
& The Arab world likewise & I am so bloody confused do not know whether I
have even mentioned oil or the abuse of power yet.
Declan McKenna
Co-ordinator, Cuba Support Group
15 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 8436448 087 6785842
Pat,
As I watched the commencement of the attack on Baghdad last weekend I
wondered if I was losing my sense of reasoning. I used to think that I had
a reasonably educated concept of international affairs - now I am not so
sure. And as the invasion goes on I have become less sure about my capacity
for rational thought.
WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THIS WAR? US Security? Ousting a dictator? Weapons
of mass destruction? Prospect of a nuclear attack? Human rights?
Democracy? Regime change? Saving a natural resource for humanity? I still
do not know the official reasons why the US and Britain started the war or
what they hope to achieve. Now that the invasion has started all sorts of
interesting concepts torture my mind:
INVASION: Iraq is not being invaded - it is being "liberated". Iraq is not
being invaded - coalition forces (also known as allied forces) are
"advancing" on Baghdad. Iraq is not being invaded - it is having "civilised
values" visited upon it. Two very large and powerful armies are rampaging
their way across Iraq and yet nobody can understand why the Iraqi army and
people are "resisting".
DEMOCRACY: The above mentioned civilisation (also known as democracy)
appears to be specially designed for Iraq. However, you do not have to be a
democracy to participate in the delivery of democracy or for membership of
the "coalition of the willing". This is one statement I can stand over
because I have checked with countries such as Pakistan, Qatar, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and even with the un-elected US president George
W Bush.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH: The Iraqi people cannot demonstrate against the policies
of their government. True. The American people can demonstrate against the
policies of their government. True. Exceptions: San Francisco - 1,400
arrested last weekend; more than 1,000 other strange people (non-nationals)
interned on a permanent basis & & &....
PRESS FREEDOM: US journalists (Monday night) wondering why Iraqi TV had not
been bombed yet at a Pentagon press briefing and the new rulers of the
world not ruling out such a possibility (for the prevention of the
spreading of propaganda by Iraqi authorities).
PROPAGANDA: Iraqis are subjected to propaganda. The rest of us are not.
TERRORISM: This is something that only effects westerners. The people of
Baghdad and Iraq generally (even the children) are not terrorised by
missiles flattening their cities or by the prospect of invading armies. On
the contrary, they are bolstered in the sure and certain knowledge that the
good guys are coming to save them. They also feel reassured by the news
that US vice-president Dick Cheney is against violence (in Hollywood
movies). Meanwhile, in the US good terrorists are given refuge while people
trying to prevent terrorism against their countries - such as the Cubans
known as the Miami Five - find themselves sentenced to long periods in
prison.
TREATMENT OF PRISONERS: Prisoners should not be paraded on TV. Exception:
if they are Iraqi and are surrendering to the invading armies. And are
presumed to be very happy to be doing so. US prisoners are not happy to be
surrendering so should not be shown on TV. The Geneva Convention should be
respected by all sides and prisoners should not be subjected to degrading
treatment or denied their rights. Exception: if you have had your Muslin
head shaved, are dressed in an orange boiler suit, shackled, locked in an
open cage, not been charged with any offence, denied legal representation,
interrogated, denied visits and moved thousands of miles from your home to
sunny, exotic Guantanamo Bay (a US controlled enclave in Cuba which is
apparently the only place on earth which is not subject to any law).
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS: Colin Powell demanded that all Iraqi diplomatic
missions, embassies, etc in Europe and elsewhere should be immediately shut
down by the host countries because, he contended, they no longer represent
Iraq. This idea must be a direct follow-on from the US position whereby the
US insisted that Pol Pot and his gang be the official Cambodian
representatives at the United Nations for almost a decade after he was
ousted from power in Cambodia.
FIGHTING BY THE RULES: The Iraqis are not fighting by the rules. Some of
them are in civilian clothing. Unlike the US and British special forces
who, we are told, have infiltrated various cities in Iraq and who we
presume (to avoid any contravention of the rules) proudly parade through
the streets in full uniform.
LANGUAGE: Not once have I heard any of the actions of the invading armies
being described as vicious or brutal despite an assault on the first night
using 3,000 missiles, for instance. This type of language is reserved for
the previous actions of Saddam Hussein. Despite being the invading armies,
the US and British spokespersons never tire of telling us about their plans
to "liberate" this town or that. Not being propaganda, the free western
press reports it (invariably without question).
SHANNON: Ireland is not involved in any way what-so-ever in anything
remotely related to any war which may or may not be taking place anywhere
in the world. I have no problem understanding this.
OTHER INCIDENTIALS: There is some dodgey stuff relating to humanitarian aid
and its propaganda value & There is some dodgey stuff relating to
re-construction contracts & The United Nations is being destroyed & The
European Unions is being divided & The Iraqi population is being humiliated
& The Arab world likewise & I am so bloody confused do not know whether I
have even mentioned oil or the abuse of power yet.
Declan McKenna
Co-ordinator, Cuba Support Group