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[casi] War is over? (and Peace?)




Dear Anai and List,

Some or many of you may feel rather wistful. You
may ask yourselves if the Iraqis are now celebrating
amidst shouts of 'liberation', what did we, the peace
proponents' demonstrate for?

But what about the victims - the dead, the maimed, the
orphaned, widowed, homeless. What about the traumatized?
What about the shock and awe tactics, missiles, cluster
bombs? What about the 12-year USUK bombing reign? And
what about the 12-year starvation/deprivation tactics
to bring Iraqis to their knees through the brutal
sanctions regime?

Do a few hundred Iraqis shown on western TVs -
supposedly celebrating and rejoicing - wipe the slate
clean? And what about the future? Is war going to
be peace and ignorance strength?

I didn't see the 'celebrations' on TV (don't watch it),
so the visual impact was lost on me. But I read the AP
accounts very carefully. I even printed them out. And
certain things just don't seem to add up.

I might be less sceptical if this were the first
liberation fest I am privy to. But I remember
Afghanistan - very similar: laughing, smiling women
throwing off the Burka. The North American media
couldn't get enough. Conclusion: The US carpet-bombed
a devastated Afghanistan further into the stone age so
Afghan women wouldn't have to wear the Burka.
(Unocal was pretty happy too - now they could get on
with that pipeline.)

As it turned out, the celebrating Afghans came from
the Northern Alliance (NA) contingent - the 'allies'.
But as the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA) reported, women never took off the
Burka - too afraid of the "rapist and looter NA".
And RAWA had been against that 'war' all along.

(e.g: "RAWA: The People of Afghanistan Do Not Accept
Rule by Northern Alliance", November 15, 2001
http://www.counterpunch.org/rawa1.html )

There is also the story about the celebrating Kuwaitis,
rejoicing in their liberation - timely equipped with
little US flags. And this would have made sense. But
as I recall, the PR firm Rendon Group had thoughtfully
provided these little flags - and the celebrators.
(Does anyone remember this?)

Anyway, there is no need to abandon all critical
faculties in this wave of liberation euphoria.

A 'liberation celebration' in Iraq was to be expected:
There can be no 'victory' with resisting Iraqis. The
'liberation' mantra had suffered quite a bit. Now it
can be used to tell the world, especially those
recalcitrant peaceniks: see you idiots, we told you so.

So who are the celebrators?

There plenty of _genuine_ Iraqi/Baghdad celebrators
found in the opposition in exile and other factions
fill the bill. (4 million exiles?):

(1) the Iraqi Coalition of National Unity (ICNU).
These people are currently on a looting rampage of
civilian homes in and around Najaf. They threaten
civilians by saying "We are with the Americans, you
can do nothing to us". (The head of the ICNU, a
former artillery colonel, has made himself 'acting
mayor of Najaf'.)

(2) Other Iraqi opposition exiles brought in by the
CIA and the US forces - notably INC. (They were also
brought in to some fighting, and of course to form
the US puppet.)

(3) Ditto the Kurds - plenty of celebrators there.
Many, but not all, have been bankrolled by the CIA
for years.

(4) Now we also hear about Assyrians in exile,
bishops located in the US. In Iraq they make up
about 1(?) percent of the population. And they
have historically sided with the invader.
(In the thirties, the Assyrians, as British levies,
were used to suppress Iraqi national uprisings
against the invaders.

As to genuine Baghdad (Iraqi) residents, those
who have suffered under the sanctions and the
bombings, I'll take the 'celebrations' with a big
lump of salt. So far, they have been firmly opposed
to foreign occupation - and have even returned home
to fight for their country.

Wait and see... and think.

And as to peace, that ain't no peace.

Celebrations or no celebrations, it's still about
oil, geopolitics, and power. As one of my neighbours
(16) said, "would a capitalist country, such as the
US, invest billions on a war without expecting a
return?" - Smart kid, he'll go far.

Elga

-------------Original Message-------------
From: Anai Rhoads <anairhoads@rhoadsdev.com>
Subject: [casi] War is over?
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 2003 10:56:03 -0400


Dear list,

I see celebration in Baghdad and even some networks
are claiming the war is over...

They are crying out "liberation" and maybe it is
so.. but what about the families that lost loved ones.
It seems like forced sacrifice.

Nothing was found, no chemicals were used.. who is going
to explain this to the public now.

Anai





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