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In Reply to: Follow the money trail! Is it all about money? posted by Bloodhound on March 27, 2003 at 09:10:25:
Now you got me started.
For all this debate going on, I wonder how many people actually personally know Iraqis, Kurds or troops fighting in the war, or how many people have actually met and talked personally with NGO's involved in pre-war disarmament efforts or current relief workers. Well, I've met and talked with some of these people, and now my problem is that I see points on all sides. My problem is I see through a lot of the rhetoric, and I'm too much of my own thinker. Sometimes it's hard to have simplified opinions when you have both Palestinian and Jewish friends.
The war is affecting me in my little corner of the world. Four major assignments were canceled this week due to security concerns. Some of my Kurdish colleagues suddenly became unavailable, returning to Kurdistan to rejoin the military, to fight for a nation not recognized by the U.N., spread over the 4 countries of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, not to mention scattered communities throughout the world.
Some of my Kurdish colleagues are so glad the Americans are finally going to war with Saddam. One of them said, "anything is better than what we have now, even Iraq under Israel would be better than what we have now." That's a pretty extreme statement, and no doubt if and when the war is won, Americans will no longer be welcome to stick around and impose their values on the region.
Most Kurds I know who fled Iraq are bald. And it's not just a genetic thing. It's because Saddam poisoned the water system, with chemicals that made them nauseous, and made their hair and even teeth fall out. So I can understand their views about Saddam, their calls for the world to stand up and fight against an evil dictator. I paid attention to what Saddam did in the last 2 decades, and I know what this leader is capable of doing, and agree he must be stopped. It's great the US has taken it upon itself to do that, and I admire the sacrifice and bravery of the individuals in the armed forces fighting him. I can relate to that because I almost volunteered to join the Muslim forces to fight the Serbian genocide machine. As the quote goes, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
But that's just one side of the story.
Here's another side of the story, which I got from my U.N. friends. Read between the lines, ignore that barrage and babble of live TV reporting which distracts, and you'll find some other reasons for the war. They remind me of the Yalta conference when Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt carved up the world and created conditions for the cold war, even before the end of WW2. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but some things are too hard to ignore:
* Germany would have been more supportive of the war. They asked that Iraqi oil sold after the war (when the economy is safely in US/coalition hands) be used to repay outstanding German loans to Iraq. But no, the U.S. stance was that any and all Iraqi oil sold would first go to Iraqi people. Very noble it would seem, until you look deeper.
* In unprecedented early timing (2 days into the war), UN Secretary Gen. Kofi Annan makes bold statements about humanitarian aid and the responsibility of the US and UK to rebuild the economy for the Iraqi people.
* Dick Cheney pulled out as CEO of a certain company as soon as the new gulf war was being planned. It turns out, that company has now won the most major contracts to rebuild Iraq after the war.
* British companies have also won contracts to rebuild and restart the Iraqi oil industry.
* The US has been training Iraqis in exile, to return to Iraq and take over a new US/UK approved regime/govt. These exiles were taught administrative work, mainly catering to American business practices. Their training focus was on rebuilding the oil industry and making conditions favorable for US companies to do business with Iraq. They are reportedly already on their way to Iraq. It seems the US wants an infrastructure in place immediately following the war, which will give the US cheap oil, all flowing through the pipes of a US-friendly regime.
There are many many more points like these, but I'll stop here, because it's not my main point.
Something has to be done about Saddam, I agree, and the US is doing it, great. But it's obvious the USA's motives aren't that pure either, and it's not all about "ridding the world of chemical weapons and terrorists" like the rhetoric goes. They haven't even made a convincing link between Saddam and the 9/11 terrorists yet. The west has ulterior motives, but Saddam set himself up for an invasion by being the evil dictator he is. I appreciate that people are doing something and giving their lives to stop Saddam, but I hate that it has to be the USA under Bush that does it.
