[thechat] More war questions

Martin Burns martin at easyweb.co.uk
Mon Sep 30 08:22:01 CDT 2002


 From the excellent Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in today's Independent:
http://argument.independent.co.uk/regular_columnists/yasmin_alibhai_brown/story.jsp?story=337953

btw, depending on your source, between 250k and 350k people marched
against the war in London this weekend... this without the massive (and
impressive) publicity and logistical effort of the Countryside March of a
few weeks ago...

Cheers
Martin

Questions:

Where is his apology and acknowledgement that we armed Saddam and
facilitated his killing fields? In 1988 Saddam destroyed Kurd villages and
killed thousands. In the same year he was given $500m by the US to buy
American products.

Why is Saddam a threat today when he wasn't on 10 September?

If we could live with the USSR by maintaining a tense but effective policy
of containment, why is that so difficult with Iraq?

Are we going to bomb Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia, too, because they are in
obvious need of a regime change?

When we attack Iraq, and Saddam disappears with his élite forces into
bunkers, leaving ordinary Iraqis to die, can we be shown the footage so
that we know exactly what is done in our name?

If Iraqis try to flee before the war and come here as asylum-seekers, will
we give them refuge?

When will he mourn the 30,000 boy conscripts the United States slew during
the Gulf War – they were victims of Saddam made to pay for their dictator
just as now?

If Saddam is such a threat, why are the countries near Iraq – except
Israel, obviously – all united in opposing the war?

Does Mr Blair care that even more young Muslims will be attracted into
extremism because they can't stand the double standards of the West?

When is he going to tell the truth about Gulf War Syndrome – this from a
veteran sufferer of that war?

What about a dossier with details of the costs of the weekly bombings on
Iraq and the effects of the sanctions? Evil Saddam uses the sanctions to
punish his people, but if he didn't have the sanctions he wouldn't have
the excuses either.

Can he explain what he means by anti-American? Is it anti-American to
loathe the corrupt motives of Bush and co?

Why aren't we trying for a regime change in Israel? Sharon ignores UN
resolutions and acts like a barbarian.

This pre-emptive strike, where is that allowed in law? If I think my
ex-con neighbour might mug me, do I have the right to pre-empt him by
burning his house down?

If Saddam has these weapons, why has he not used them yet?

Why are UK generals and ex-inspectors against the war?

Is Kuwait now a wholesome democracy?

If the US bullies the UN, demeans Kofi Annan and gets an endorsement for
his war, should we then boycott the US?

---------------------------
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie




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