The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
Just a few comments on Blair's moral argument. (It ought to be called the
immoral argument.)
1) If the immorality of a regime is reason for going to war to overthrow it
then
a) Iraq should have been invaded long ago.
b) When Iraq was an ally it gased Kurds, used chemical weapons, and the
response was not to invade but to provide intelligence. Donald Rumsfeld was
a special envoy to Hussein who helped establish better relations with the
US. This at the time of the first use by Iraq of chemical weapons.
Surely invasion not better relations was the proper response
c) Chile under Pinochet should have been invaded. Haiti under Duvalier.
Nicaragua under Somoza...and on and on.
d) International peace would be in constant jeopardy as this or that
country decides to invade an immoral regime.
2) Only strong regimes could enforce their moral judgments on weak regimes.
The moral argument in reality is a version of ,might makes right. The moral
argument is in fact a cover for this.
3) The moral argument exploits peoples sense of morality to dupe them into
supporting policies that given even the most superficial analysis lack any
moral justification whatsoever.
4) The argument ignores the immorality of war and the horrendous
consequences of war. Supposedly those who march are to have the blood of
500,000 lives on their hands. Huh. What does he mean? That Hussein killed
500,000. How did the marchers have anything to do with this. Of course it
sticks out as a dramatic number pulled out of a hat or some kids thesis.
And what of the blood that will be on Blair's hands as a result of deaths
caused by war and its aftermath?
Well that is enough ranting for now.
Cheers, Ken Hanly
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Herring" <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk>
To: "Salwa de Vree" <sdevree@email.com>
Cc: <casi-discuss@lists.casi.org.uk>
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [casi] Blair's speech -- keep the momentum going
> A quick comment to use on this. If the argument is that Saddam is such
> an intolerable beast and that is why we MUST go to war, then that means
> those taking that line must be committed to going to war even if Iraq
> complies fully with the disarmament process (and which should be
> accompanied by the lifting of the sanctions).
>
> Eric
>
>
>
> ----------------------
> Dr. Eric Herring
> Department of Politics
> University of Bristol
> 10 Priory Road
> Bristol BS8 1TU
> England, UK
> Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582
> Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608
> Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133
> eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk
> http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics
> http://www.ericherring.com/
>
> Join the Network of Activist Scholars
> of Politics and International Relations (NASPIR)!
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Herring" <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk>
To: "Salwa de Vree" <sdevree@email.com>
Cc: <casi-discuss@lists.casi.org.uk>
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [casi] Blair's speech -- keep the momentum going
> A quick comment to use on this. If the argument is that Saddam is such
> an intolerable beast and that is why we MUST go to war, then that means
> those taking that line must be committed to going to war even if Iraq
> complies fully with the disarmament process (and which should be
> accompanied by the lifting of the sanctions).
>
> Eric
>
>
>
> ----------------------
> Dr. Eric Herring
> Department of Politics
> University of Bristol
> 10 Priory Road
> Bristol BS8 1TU
> England, UK
> Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582
> Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608
> Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133
> eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk
> http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics
> http://www.ericherring.com/
>
> Join the Network of Activist Scholars
> of Politics and International Relations (NASPIR)!
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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