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.
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Dear List - & Elga too! A recent communication, from Elga Sutter, grossly misrepresents my views re. Peace Groups in Baghdad, & unpallatable facts are, conveniently, sugar-coated by her. Elga claims I have "regurgitated" out of some big stomach, & that I have been using second-hand information". Ironically, further on she says: "But of course the media proffers many of its reservations second-hand". Has she got a thing about second-hand information? She goes back into history, propagating about continued bombing attacks, the sanctions regime etc. Tell us about something else we don't know, Elga! My posting - I had expected this - was bound to get a mixed reception. In all, I had a grand total of two replies, one indirect (she doesn't pay me the courtesy of mentioning my name), from Elga, the second from the person who had sent the original article, on the 23rd, pg. He sent me a very complimentary e-mail, describing my Peace Groups letter as "thoughtful". I don't think Elga has understood that my "regurgitated" (was I a cow, in my last incarnation?) letter was in response to the article pg had contributed. Instead of countering Elga's numerous sarcasms, I'll quote (or regurgitate) from Elga's own postings, from today. These quotes underscore the views I was putting accross. >From the ICRC paper: "The direct damage caused to key water and sewage plants ....was later aggravated by deliberate acts of vandalism and destruction."...."some organisations (=NGOs) have been exposed to banditry on certain land routes." >From the CARE paper: "The security situation in Iraq is getting worse, not better. It is the biggest impediment to delivering effective humanitarian aid. Murders and carjackings are common. The frenzy of looting that followed the war is over, but theft is still a serious problem for aid agencies." Sorry, but I consider Elga's white-washing letter, re Peace Groups, as a disservice to Iraq & Iraqis. Maybe not such a bad idea for us to get off our high horses, & away from our Goody-2-Shoes attitudes, &, holistically, face up to the bitter realities in Iraq & elsewhere in the world. Greetings, Bert G. _________________________________________________________________ Use MSN Messenger to send music and pics to your friends http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger _______________________________________________ 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