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Linda Warren Special to The Ebbtide The other day, while I was standing at 155th and Aurora holding a sign that said, "Stop terrorism, jail Bush," a woman rolled down her window and shouted, "Why don't you say, 'Jail Saddam Hussein?'" I responded quickly as she was leaving: "Yes, jail both of them." There was no chance to add, "It would be in the interest of international justice to bring both leaders before an international criminal court for war crimes." I find the current administration full of hypocrisy when it accuses Saddam Hussein of gassing the Kurdish people when the then-president of the United States had assisted Hussein in acquiring those weapons of mass destruction then stood by and did nothing to stop him. The New York Times (Aug. 1, 2002) reported that U. S. officials "provided Iraq with critical battle-planning assistance at a time when American intelligence agencies knew that Iraqi commanders would employ chemical weapons in waging the decisive battles of the Iran-Iraq war." Now, it's common knowledge that the United States armed both sides in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). U.S. plans were made knowing that Iraq would use chemical weapons. Through a 1994 Senate Committee Report, one discovers that private American suppliers who applied to, and were licensed by, the U.S. Department of Commerce exported biological materials (anthrax, e-coli, etc.) to Iraq. Then, in 1988, after Iraq used poison gas against Kurdish civilians at Halabja in northern Iraq, U.S. aid to Iraq increased. A few years later the journalist Jeremy Scahill wrote, "U.S. intelligence sources told the L.A. Times in 1991, they 'believe that the American-built helicopters were among those dropping the deadly bombs.'" Since the United States aided the slaughter, which may have led to the death of more than a million Iranians and Iraqis, the administration's claim that it has a moral case to go to war against Iraq is quite hollow. And this history only skims off the top of a terrible swamp of deceit and manipulation in the Middle East. If given more time and space, one could document the fact that Iraq was a colony of Great Britain until Iraqis threw off the yoke of imperialism in the late 1950s. Prior to this the United States, Great Britain and France shared the majority of the oil revenues. For a short period, after an independence movement and election of a nationalist leader, Iraq became a first-world country, building the best medical care system in the Middle Eastern community and providing free education to all of its citizens, even through graduate school. This was short-lived, however, because the West intervened, not wishing to sustain this loss in imperial wealth, and we saw the rise of the Ba'ath Party and the rise of Saddam Hussein in its ranks. Initially, at least, the Western nations had the cooperation of Saddam Hussein in giving, once again, access to the oil revenues. U.S. citizens are continually deceived as to the history regarding U.S. intervention in the Middle East. Then, to add to this deception, U.S. citizens, whose sons and daughters may die in this impending war (some have already died), are not told that 100,000 soldiers from the first Gulf War are ill from the effects of the low-level nuclear warfare in the desert of Iraq. Some reports say that 20,000 have died; many more have various levels of disability. Congressman Jim McDermott has reported on this, both in his speech at SCC, and in his speech at the Feb. 15 rally. This war is not in the interests of the U.S. people, except for those elite few who will benefit economically from control of Middle Eastern oil supplies and thus strategic world domination economically and militarily. As in wars past, the ruling class has always declared wars; the oppressed classes have always fought them. The ruling class has had everything to gain, while the oppressed classes have had nothing to gain and everything to lose. People of the world are speaking out, as evidenced by the more than 10 million people around the world who said, "No, not in our name." I doubt that our troops have been told the truth regarding this war - they are being manipulated to fight an immoral war that is not in their or their families' at-home interests. How fair is that? Bring the troops home now, before they die in an imperialist and immoral scheme by U.S. elites to dominate the world. We must not expose our sons and daughters in the military to Bush's immoral, low-level nuclear war against Iraq. I say to Bush, "You may not have my children and grandchildren for your power-mongering and wealth-mongering schemes." Come to the March 5 Moratorium and teach-in on this campus (beginning at 9 a.m. in the PUB) to learn more about this issue. Then join the people of Seattle downtown at 2p.m. for a March 5 rally. Editor's Note: The Ebbtide sought opinions on both sides of the issue from faculty members. The instructor with the pro-war statement declined. The Ebbtide welcomes comments on either side of the issue. Send submissions to webbtide@yahoo.com. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |