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.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
'Blue Pilgrim' writes: > The highest ideals of the Ba'aths should be rekindled and developed: > pan-Arab association and cultural vitality with freedom for all > people. Muslim extremism must give way to Muslim enlightenment, tolerance, > and compassion. It is as counterproductive to ignore the faults of Saddam > and Ba'athism as to ignore their virtues. and I think he (assuming 'Blue Pilgrim' is a man) is right. His mailing ignores Saddam's virtues, and the Al-Moharer article ignores his faults. It is very difficult to get a more measured understanding though it is, and has always been, very important. The question as I understand it boils down to this: to what extent where the crimes of the Baath regime under President Hussein a consequence of necessity in a very tough struggle for survival - with the price of failure being the collapse into anarchy that we are seeing at the present time? Since at least 1982, when the tide turned in the Iraq/Iran war, the Iraqi state has been faced with imminent destruction, first at the hands of the mullahs, in alliance with the Kurds; then through the economic sabotage being conducted by Kuwait (I follow the understanding of this given by Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan, the man currently tipped by Richard Perle as a new monarch for Iraq. His article defending Jordan's refusal to participate in the UN war against Iraq can be found at my website www.politicsandtheology.co.uk), then at the hands of the United Nations, then at the hands of our own government in alliance with the United States. These were extreme situations and it is hardly surprising that they produced extreme reponses. Look at the US response to the much less extreme danger they faced after the attacks on the World Trade centre and Pentagon in September 2001. I, like anyone else sitting in an armchair in the comfort of a long established and stable political structure, can imagine a different, kinder policy that might have worked. But since my 'long established and stable political structure' has the habit of engaging in aggressive wars on the flimsiest of pretexts I don't feel in a position to get too self righteous about it. Best Peter _______________________________________________ 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