The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] Roger Von Stroope hesitated to send this, wondering whether it was too wide of the aim of the list - but given that one of the reasons of sanctions is that Iraq is a dangerous rogue state who does terrible things and is developing wmd - and imprisons people without charge tc. etc. - the persepctive seems very relevant. A bit like reading our western papers, then reading those in the Middle East on the same subject. We could be inhabiting parallell universes. best. f. In our discussions of SH and his regime in Iraq, sanctions, and the personal character of several of the members of this list, I was wondering if I could introduce another perspective as it relates to regime change; The United States of America and its Capitalist government. Correct me if I am wrong but the atrocities of the USA dwarf the atrocities of SH. Yet, in our sanctions busting dialogue we don't ever speak of toppling the regime of the USA. We could use the argument that the USA doesn't carry out aggressions against its neighbors, but of course that is incorrect. (Nicaragua and virtually every other country in LA leap to mind) We could argue that the USA doesn't have WMD which they will use, but of course we do have WMD and we do use them, just ask the Japanese, the Serbs, and the Iraqis. (Nuclear, DU, Biological *Iraq's H2O*) And of course the current regime is even speaking of using them against nonmembers of the Nuclear Club. We could speak in terms of equality, but we all know that some are more equal than others, just ask the people on welfare and the homeless and take a trip to the Appalachians, or try the "Indian Reservations" the poorest per capita in the USA and the original 'owners'. We could speak of oppression, today we have a US citizen in jail and suggest that he will never be released, and never be given his day in court. We could also speak of military buildup, but there again USA is the leader in WMD and conventional weapons, not SH. We could speak in terms of state-sponsored terrorism, but there again the USA is the world leader. Ask the Palestinians, check your history of LA/USA, the Monroe Doctrine is a nice afternoon read. Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, etc. etc. etc. We could speak of law loving countries, but again the USA actually vetoed a SCR in 1984-85 calling on all countries to observe international laws. Nice. I have yet to see the USA extradite war criminals and terrorists to Haiti although they have gone through the legal channels, but then the USA doesn't have to abide by the law, do they. By now you are asking what is my point....words like good and evil are purely perspective based words. SH to me is a son-of-$#%&. SH to another may be the greatest modern Arab in the world for standing up to the Capitalist dogs of the West, or some such. The USA has as infamous a past as any country in existence but due to the US writing the history right now, that perspective is not much seen outside of our entitled circles. You would need to come from the LA/Asian/Arab world to really appreciate just what shits we really are. So, to put a period on this, evil/good is perspective. SH has done things which are horrible for some and grand for others. Just as has every other country in the world. I would entertain anyone who would like to discuss how SH is a bigger shit than is George the Lesser/Clinton/Bush/Reagan/yada/yada/yada. Reality is we are all self serving. That is why I think sanctions should be the primary focus of this list, rather than politics or regime change, as not all Iraqis hate SH, not all Americans love Baby Bush. Before you speak to me of Democracy, the votes are in and W. lost by more than 500,000 popular votes and when a statewide recount was done in Fl. he lost there too. But then honestly we all know that right? So the idea of free and fair elections don't happen here either, all the time, 1876 comes to mind I think as another example. If this seems far afield to you, personal labels seem no less far afield to me, which of course is one more perspective. BTW, before the CIA/FBI/Ashcroft/Rummie show up at my door, I do not advocate violence of any sort, nor would I call for violence against this country or any other. Roger Stroope Peace is a Human Right Austin College _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk