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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Democrocy is not founded on assassination of a leader and mass slaughter. That makes the agressors 'rogue states.' Collins definition of assassination: 'to murder.' George Bush yesterday 'I'm gonna kill him because he tried to kill my Dad", apart from the fact it is unknown for sure who was behind that attempt or whether it was simply people who were against the US (there are a couple ..) is this the sort of language we expect from the 'leader of the free world'? We are being dragged back to the dark ages. best, f. >The priority must be an end to sanctions >Mark Parkinson >Bodmin >Cornwall The priority is to end Saddam's regime and end sanctions. More importantly, would not a regime change by the US by the quickest and least bloody way of ending sanctions? Stop being a pacifist and be realistic and practical. Best wishes, Yasser ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Parkinson" <mark44@myrealbox.com> To: <casi-discuss@lists.casi.org.uk> Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 3:02 AM Subject: Re: [casi] Regime change, the lesser evil > 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 _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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