War on Iraq
www.GlobalAware.org
Weekend Update: I’m so relieved…
March 30, 2003
That’s right, I’m relieved.
I’m relieved to hear that Junior is happy with the progress of the
war – now there’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one,
‘progress of the war,’ as if war can ever be progressive.
They’re sending another 100,000 troops into the fray and say they
meant to do that all along so there’s no reason for concern that
‘shock and awe’ might equally describe the coalition response
to pesky Iraqi resistance. Anyway, the White House is not bothered by
all the reports of setbacks and further casualties and is busy planning
post-war Iraq with an equally optimistic Blair. Well, at least Bush is
planning for reconstruction, Rummy doesn’t think “the United
States has the responsibility for reconstruction [of Iraq after the war].”
He thinks other countries should step in and help foot the bill while
most expenses should be borne by Iraqi assets and oil seized by the invaders.
It’s a relief to know that the US is going to end its belligerent
romp with unilateralism after the damage is done.
I’m relieved that mess with Turkey was finally
resolved – and that it only cost US$8.5 billion in American loans
to Turkey. For that paltry sum, Turkey promises to ‘consult’
with the Americans before attempting to sever Iraqi Kurdistan and its
oil fields from the rest of the country. I wonder how much the US will
have to bribe, I mean pay them to leave the oil alone? Afterall, Rummy
has already figured these revenues into the cost of reconstruction and
I’d hate to see him to have to do his sums all over again.
I’m relieved that many people around the world are carrying on with
business as usual despite the upset of the war. India and Pakistan are
busy testing nuclear-capable missiles without telling each other because
some freedom fighter-terrorist types (I really can’t tell the difference
anymore) in Kashmir killed 24 Hindus this past weekend. North Korea is
posturing as usual and continuing with its nuclear plans because the US
won’t negotiate. Israel is certainly not letting the neighbourhood
war get them down, they’ve killed another 85 Palestinians this month,
bringing the total since September 2000 to 2,204. They’re also keeping
security tight – such a relief – and preparing to move Palestinians
off the real estate they have their eye on for Israeli settlers. I sleep
better at night now that the global policeman is on duty safeguarding
me from Saddam’s ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ I suppose
it’s too much to hope that he can walk and chew gum or hunt Saddam
and negotiate with the Koreans at the same time, but I’m surprised
he can’t see the connection between higher than usual Palestinian
deaths and his simple-, I mean single-minded obsession with Iraq.
I’m relieved that Richard Perle has resigned as
Chairman of the US Defense Policy Board after 2 incidents, in which he
was caught advising American companies on how to deal with the Department
of Defense, were revealed by Stephen Labaton of the New York Times. In
both cases, the companies, Global Crossing and Loral, were in trouble
for trying to sell or having sold critical technology to the Chinese.
He was also seen lunching with Adnan Kashoggi, arms dealer to the rich
and famous, earlier this year which cast suspicion on his continued business
ties. Seymour Hersh reported this in the New Yorker and Perle responded
to the piece by accusing Hersh of being ‘a terrorist’ and
threatening him with a libel suit. I’m relieved the libel suit hasn’t
materialized but puzzled as to why erstwhile terrorist, Hersh, hasn’t
responded in kind. I’m especially relieved that Perle will donate
his outstanding Global Crossing fee “to the families of American
forces killed or injured in Iraq.” Given that Perle has been even
more hawkish than Rumsfeld in promoting the attack on Iraq, this is heartwarming
indeed. I suppose those same families will be relieved to know that Perle
continues on the board as a regular member, there to advise his buddy
Rumsfeld on matters of defense and American security.
I sighed with relief, I really did, when I learned that
the US is already committed to try Iraqis for war crimes and crimes against
humanity when this invasion is over. They’ve got their lists of
criminals all typed out and plans for trials in the US and Iraq to make
sure these bad guys, or at least those that survive the Anglo-American
attack, pay for their horrible deeds. Despite widespread sentiment that
the US handing out ‘victor’s justice’ will probably
not increase their credibility among Arab states or Iraqis, they plan
to try war crimes in US military courts which are not open to public scrutiny.
Too bad they’ve been so busy undermining the International Criminal
Court in The Hague or they would have an easy solution to this problem.
A regime that has consistently used repression, torture and has gassed
its own citizens should be held to account but I wonder whether unprovoked
invasion and lots of ‘collateral damage’ – even when
the result of incompetence – doesn’t qualify as some sort
of crime against humanity. Commenting on the bombs that killed up to 30
Iraqi civilians near a market in north Baghdad, Robert Fisk of The Independent
of London said, “We may put on the hairshirt of morality in explaining
why these people should die. They died because of 11 September, we may
say, because of President Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction",
because of human rights abuses, because of our desperate desire to "liberate"
them all. Let us not confuse the issue with oil. Either way, I'll bet
we are told President Saddam is ultimately responsible for their deaths.
We shan't mention the pilot, of course.” (I’d like to remind
readers of Bush’s statement last week that ‘just following
orders’ will not be considered an excuse in the persecution of justice.)
I’m relieved that retired general Jay Garner will
head the US post-war government of Iraq. He is avowedly pro-Israel and
was most recently employed consulting on the use of Patriot missiles there,
which is certain to ease his transition into the job of reigning supreme
in an Islamic country. Whew, they could have chosen a controversial candidate
which would have made things difficult in the event that this war ever
ends.
I’m relieved that Bush may be cancelling his visit to Ottawa in
May. If he stays home, an especially large burden will be lifted from
my shoulders because I would have had to make the journey to Ottawa to
join the chorus of antiwar protestors and this might have done further
damage to the strained relations between our two great nations. I wouldn’t
want to feel responsible for the reprisals hinted at by US Ambassador
to Canada, Paul Cellucci, even though this may indeed be “part of
an orchestrated campaign of intimidation coming straight out of the White
House," as Gerald Hill of the University of British Columbia suggests.
I’m very relieved to see that humanitarian aid is getting through
at last. About half the population of Basra now has some water thanks
to the Red Cross and the Sir Galahad supply ship made it to Umm Qasr thanks
to the mine-hunting dolphins. Of course, there were some logistical problems
to sort out after the first aid distribution from the back of trucks.
It has been decided that the soldiers should not throw boxes of bottled
water at the people since it frequently results in bodily injury. It has
also been noted that many Iraqis are not all that gracious – they
wonder at the absurdity of being grateful for bottled water they only
need because the same soldiers handing it out were previously busy bombing
their water plant. Nevermind, the pace of aid is really picking up now.
The UN Oil for Food program which was feeding about 60% of the population
has been blessed by the Dynamic Duo and should resume in a month or 45
days… I hope 16 million Iraqis can wait that long.
My biggest relief of all is that world protests continue
against this war. Colombian bishops have come out against the war even
though their president is one of the few in America’s ‘backyard’
to have joined the coalition – which I hear has leaped to 46 countries
now. People in Spain are losing their patience with being ignored by their
leader and things are getting rough at demonstrations. Syria has broken
ranks with the Arab League and says it hopes the coalition loses. In the
US, antiwar organizations have decided to tone it down a notch so as not
to alienate all those torn between ‘supporting the boys in Iraq’
and their belief that this war is wrong. It would seem that global media
have also ‘toned down’ their coverage of resistance in the
latter half of the week. I wonder if they’ve realized that the antiwar
movement is more ‘on target’ than the war itself these days
…
© Dr. Leslie Jermyn leslie@globalaware.org
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