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>This will be the last of these regular news mailings. Not I will miss them. >I find it difficult to engage in politics when I see no >prospect of a desirable outcome ... It is a depressing time. And yet, all times are depressing in one way or another. Two hundred years slavery was legal in much of the US, then it became illegal, but was still practiced in the important ways, and even today there is slavery of a sort where people are bound to those with power and money. The UN itself is enslaved by the power of some nations, particularly the US. "Legal" is a strange concept, however: an uncertain blend among morality, ethics and power, and thus an obviously illegal practice, as slavery, is designated as legal or illegal from one hour to the next. However, while the occupation of Iraq may now be designated as legal, the war was not: the law at that time was clear. Power often trumps legallity and ignores morality. Yet, as it is power which ultimately determines politics and law, the core struggle has not changed -- only the trappings, rhetoric, and modes. Both morality and law both are being violated still in Iraq, but if we wish to employ the legal mode to set things to right, the power -- as always the underlying power -- must shift. If the power is found then the law is found also -- it still remains. Law is predominantly a tool for those with power, conferring an aura of legitimacy for the benefit of those who seek order, stability, tradition, and rational cover for not accepting responsibility for their actions or apathy. When the will, and power, is employed, law will fall into line. The general assembly of the UN could have convened, United for Peace, if it had the power and will. The structure of the UN and the Security Council could be changed, if the power and will could be found. The natural rights of the Iraqi people can be defended if the will to do that is enaged by the peoples and nations of the world, but if people are not willing to defend humanity, then no amount of law will substitute. The struggle, then, is one of mind, spirit, and will. Arguments of law become the language of intent and awareness, but the intent and awareness must be the preceeding basis of any action. An enlightened species would have no trouble at all using the current legal framework to enact justice, so the struggle is to increase the level of enlightnment in the world, and in particular, concerning Iraq. International law, the Geneva Conventions, and all sorts of codifications and methods lie as tools in a box, waiting for the builder to take them up. The invasion of Iraq and deposing of Saddam has been in the works for many years, as has the ambitions of the neo-cons. It was never a question of whether to, but how to, and awaiting the gathering of power and propitious circumstances to move ahead their intent. As they judged the time ready, they intensified the propaganda, massed the military, manipulated the political and economic structures, and put the thoughts of their think tanks into action. They are not finished. If we read the documents of the Project for the New American Century, and "A Clean Break", we can find the general strategies of the neo-cons laid out rather explicitely -- leading to world domination. Iraq is just one step along the way, and seems to me to be destined to be a staging area for further actions. Afghanistan and Iraq are now both occupied by US troops, with Iran in the middle, and with Syria and Jordan squeezed between Iraq and Israel. With a secured source of oil and a military presence in the center of the area it becomes possible to consider dealing with Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In this light it becomes obvious that the US has no real interest in the welfare of the Iraqi people but the usefullness of Iraq as a martialing area (the jewel in the crown), and a way to deflect dependency on the oil of the Saudis. The only real difficulty is placating the people of the world with propaganda, and diversions such as legallity, threats of terrorism, high-sounding ideologies, or economic problems. The US is already bankrupt: the states are in deficit, trade is in deficit, the federal budget is in deficit -- but money is symbolic and bullets are real. The lesson of Iraq is that when the political maneuvering fails to win the prize, the military will step in, and as long as the bulk of the American people remain bamboozled and or disempowered military force can be employed. In Iraq, there are several possible scenarios: A puppet government might be installed. If Iraq remains unstable then the presence of US military troops and direct control becomes that much more "justifiable". If more terrorist attacks occur, so much the better for frightening people into supporting the fascists and diverting more resources into weaponry, information control, and detentions of dissidents. If plagues wipe out masses of children, then there will be fewer young people to oppose the empire. I hope I am being too cynical, but I fear history does not offer much to dispute that such fascists exist. But history also offers hope in that over the long run the species has progressed, albeit in fits and starts. The key is to get many more people aware of what is happening, and to oppose it. Right now the two major centers of contention is Washington and Baghdad, with several epicenters. While Saddam had Iraq, the situation was on hold, and could have persisted for years -- a buried treasure, secure and wainting to be unearthed at the proper time. Once "liberated", however, it becomes not just a treasure, but also a risk, for there are possibiities that it may emerge into real freedom, which will ruin the empire's plans. As such, it becomes imperative to defend Iraqi freedom, to publicize every abuse, and to martial the consciousness of the world into a focused opposition of imperialistic forces, not only for the benefit of the Iraqis, but for all peoples. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls... "Mankind was my business!" -- "Jacob Marley"; A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. 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