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[casi] Why Iraq, why not Libya etc.?




Dear Kieran & List,

Not so sure you are completely correct, thinking this List is, primarily,
about sanctions on Iraq. Certainly, the effects of sanctions will have a
devastating bearing for generations. The name, CASI, remains, despite
discussions for a possible new name taking place, even whether this site
continues to serve a purpose.

The issues, re. Iraq, have changed. A dictatorial regime has been replaced
by occupational forces, mainly from US/UK. Infra-structure, so-called, has
been bombed, stolen or sabotaged. Law & order are, virtually,
non-existant, comparible to the Wild West, in it's heyday, maybe worse. The
whole of Iraq is frought with danger & instability, even 'soft-target' NGOs
are affected. As well as crime, on a massive scale, you have frequent
small-scale military resistance against the occupiers, the latter, at times,
acting brutally, arbitrarily & with impunity.

You accuse the celebrated journalist, Robert Fisk, of having double
standards. This may surprise you, but we all have double, triple & quadruple
standards, including yourself. Something we can only remedy by
recognising it.

You suggest we should do more about Lebanon, Pakistan, Libya & Turkey,
rather than concentrate on Iraq. Maybe we should. But another reality is
that we cannot do everything, & that unless we give our attentions to
certain selected areas, we may end up being overwhelmed, & achieving very
little. However, if - following your strong feelings - you wish to set up a
website, e.g. on Turkey, good luck to you.

One, to my mind, very good reason for concern about Iraq, is that "my"
government, i.e. the British, has
been inflicting war & occupation on that country, ongoing as I write this
e-mail. "Not in my name!" Yet,
whatever cause(es) one takes on, we should remember that an occupation is
never purely military in nature. Many diverse factors are at play,
financial, cultural, historical etc. To deny that would be a jaundiced,
rather than a holistic, approach.

To focus on one area, in campaigning, needn't imply insensitivity to other,
minor or major, problems. At best, whenever we do get involved, it is with
the same humanitarian intent, perhaps as a light shining in the darkness?
Whether in Libya, Bangladesh, Palestine or Iraq.

Greetings,

Bert Gedin.

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