| Robert Frost |
Posted
on 31-Mar-03 05:54 PM
The ramifications of this unprovoked, unsanctioned "pre-emptive" war of aggression will resound throughout the globe in the years to come. A misfit assortment of reasons have been presented as to why this military adventure must go forward. None has stuck.
The true cost to the faltering economies of these countries has not been revealed. The cost of the blows dealt to the stabilising influences of the UN, Nato and the EU is incalculable. The cost to the US and Britain's good name and good intentions in worldwide opinion is devastating.
The terror, suffering and horrific death being dealt out to the civilians of Iraq - half of whom are under 17 - is an unspeakable crime that, like the martyring of the Palestinian people, will become a rallying cry for generations of guerrilla soldiers.
The US can expect further attacks of the nature, or worse, that we experienced on 11 September. Expect them in London and LA. As moderates turn radical, regimes will be overthrown and civil wars begin. Other countries, noting the precedent, may launch their own adventures. Two days ago the just retired leader of Israel's Mossad boldly stated on American television that 9/11 - and by extension this war in Iraq - was "the beginning of the Third World War".
Of course the vast majority of the modern civilised world could not begin to imagine the horror of having bombs raining down on their home cities and the pain and suffering of those caught up in the explosions and cross fire.
However, we can equally not begin to appreciate the horror of living under a regime which crushes the will and spirit of its population by purposefully diverting aid and wealth, responding to public dissent with torture and execution and puts its own power and self interest before the interests of an entire nation. Saddam could have gone into exile, easily avoiding this.
This millennium is about "lessons learnt". We are working towards globalisation. South Africa's transformation has taken place by dialogue, compromise and negotiation, relatively peacefully so we know it is possible.
War may have sometimes achieved some level of success but hopefully we have grown out of using violence to achieve this.
The emphasis is on taking more responsibility for our actions, as individuals, as groups, as a society. Let us also do so on national and international levels.
Destroying the credibility of an institution like the UN, set up to ensure security through means other than war, will cause irreparable harm to the state of international law and governance.
Does the coalition want to destroy a "global evil"? It should look towards eradicating poverty in the developed and developing worlds. It should open schools in areas where education is unheard of. It should feed the hungry, provide everyone with potable water and sanitation, make sure medical care is available to under-developed nations and elsewhere.
Truth is that Saddam Hussein's most tyrannical acts - eg. the Halabja gassing, and the use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war - occured while Saddam was cheered on by US policymakers. Indeed, the very weapons he used were brewed in US laboratories. Some how, they did not think he was a "tyrant" then.
I bow for the adament that the war should be stopped sooner with less casualities then assaulting Iraq with sophisticated weapons killings hundreds of innocent civilians.
Robert, at the woods....!
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