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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 _______________________________________________ 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