Once again Robert Fisk tells it like it is. [Here is an alternative link to the story, in case the Independent link goes bad.]
“The Israeli writer Uri Avnery once delivered a wickedly sharp open letter to Menachem Begin, the Israeli prime minister who sent his army to defeat in Lebanon. Enraged by Begin’s constant evocation of the Second World War likening Yasser Arafat in Beirut to Hitler in his Berlin bunker in 1945 Avnery entitled his letter: ‘Mr Prime Minister, Hitler is Dead.’”
“How often I have wanted to repeat his advice to Bush and Blair.”
The point I semi-disagree with Fisk is that he probably is giving Bush (perhaps not Blair) too much credit. The argument that the war in Iraq will cause the rise of terrorism is an incentive to Bush & Co.
I’m really annoyed that the whole debate right now revolves around whether or not Iraq has WMD of one sort or another. I have no doubt that they have chemical weapons, and maybe some Anthrax too. So big deal! That’s not a reason to go to war.
We know Pakistan has nuclear bombs, that it is incredibly unstable, that radical Islamic elements control its secret services (which, oh by the way, helped set up the Taliban in the first place, and protected them until the last possible moment – i.e. after Sept 11). But I don’t hear a peep about asking them to disarm, or call for regime change there and all the other lying excuses all the Bush war-mongerers are throwing at us in re: Iraq. And why should we? After all Pakistani dictators have been American puppents since 1958 when an American inspired military coup destroyed Pakistani democracy forever. Of course, we needed Pakistan in our orbit as a counter-weight to the “Soviet-leaning” India, and god-forbid a democratic left come into power. And Bush tells us this war is about “bringing democracy” to the Muslim world. Give me a break.
Quite frankly, I would be sleeping better if Pakistan and North Korea were being dealt with in a sane manner by the world community, and money was being spent on beefing up weakneses in US homeland security (not by monitering emails, but protecting our harbors, for example) instead of fatteing Raytheon and Grummans profit margins.
Moreover, in all the chaos and instability that will happen during the war, it is far more likely that whatever Saddam has will either be used against American troops or fall into the wrong hands and then become a real threat. Far, far, far, far more people will die as a result of this war, than any scenario Bush has laid out to justify it.
Bush & Co are evil bastards who don’t give a hoot about the lives and safety of the American people, much less the rest of the world. All they care about is their own power and interests.