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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> Yet a crucial element of this > argument is often neglected, namely what is the opinion and attitude > of the Iraqi people themselves to the prospect of war? A huge majority against - does he have any evidence to the contrary? > The suffering of the Iraqi > people is profound and extraordinary in scale. Agreed - due to the Gulf War bombing of civilian facilities and the genocidal sanctions which are unprecedented in history. There has been a dramatic fall in the quality of life. Saddam has been a constant. It is our actions which have so devastated Iraq. > What makes it even more > painful is its concealment by the Iraqi government and the ignorance > about it of the rest of the world. Agreed. The GoI is excessively secretive and this allowed the US/UK to bomb almost regardless and destroy the country and its people through sanctions. > It is impossible for anyone who has not lived in Iraq to comprehend > the continuous psychological oppression of the people by the regime. What about the pressure from lack of food and medicines, bombing, foreign jets, seeing your children die, DU etc > These are not mere words – this is the daily, lived experience of > millions of Iraqi people. The result is that every Iraqi is trapped > and isolated in an individual cocoon, on constant alert from what > their eyes may do or their tongue may let slip. The consequence of any > such ‘mistake’ or ‘slip’ has almost always been the execution of the > ‘guilty’ and some or all of their immediate family, preceded by > unimaginable torture and interrogation. And in case the fear is not > great enough, the Iraqi government has been known to carry out random > arrests of thousands of citizens, subjecting them to inhuman treatment > according to the logic that this helps to flush out opponents of > Saddam. No wonder that every knock on the door makes the hearts of > Iraqis stop. No mention of the sanction! > Iraq float not just on a pool of oil, but on an ocean of blood. > According to the lowest estimates, over ten percent of the Iraqi > population has been killed by Saddam Hussein and his regime over the > three decades of its rule. Even if the Iraqi opposition figures are to be belived this is not as bad as the US/UK ocean of Iraqi blood - 5% in one decade. > To oppose such a war would be to maintain the status quo. That is for > another million Iraqis to be slaughtered, hundreds of thousands to be > tortured, and an entire nation subjected to fear and individually > encapsulated in their own oppression. Yes - another million slaughtered by sanctions., several million stunted and getting inadequate healthcare, education etc > No war, no government can > ever be as bad as Saddam Hussein’s regime. These sanctions are, Iraqis are so desperate > that even a Latin America-style or Shah of Iran-type ruler would be > preferable to them. They are desperate for proper food, clean water, sanitation equpment, power supplies etc > Any civilian casualties are tragic, but those resulting from regime > change would be minimal in comparison to the numbers that would die if > Saddam were to remain. > A regime change – to democracy > There can only be one reason for opposing regime change, and it is > neither moral nor ethical: lack of care for the suffering Iraqi > people. Bad reasoning! > Iraqis need regime change – a change to democracy. The moral and > ethical grounds for this are undisputable, and such a course would > save hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives. The priority must be an end to sanctions Mark Parkinson Bodmin Cornwall _______________________________________________ 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