US Attack on Iraq: Just Do It!

I would like to weigh in and clarify some of the points which have been raised. First of all, if you look beyond the title, this article is not really about supporting the war. The central theme of the article is that we should focus on the people of Iraq and what is good for them not just debate whether the President Bush is making a persuasive case or not.

Take the case of Afghanistan; it is very clear that the people of Afghanistan are better off today and have a much better prospects for the future than they ever had. If the US had not gone to Afghanistan, people would still be living under Taliban and Afghanistan would still be ‘Planet of The Apes’. If, for a moment, we just think about the people of Iraq, without over analyzing and over intellectualizing why USA is doing what it’s doing, it becomes very clear that removal of Saddam will be a good thing. I hate wars but I have no doubt that people of Iraq will be better off without Saddam Hussain. His empty rhetoric has brought nothing but misery and suffering to great people of Iraq. I really wish that United Nations would remove Saddam Hussain, but if they don’t do it, it does not really matter who does it. Once the nuances like Saddam are gone world should focus its attention to the ‘Nexus of Evil’ Saudi Arabia, which funds and promotes militant Islam throughout the world.

Only a psychopath can suggest that the US should attack Iraq simply because the failure of the US foreign policy is generating hatred in the Muslim world and as a result Muslim fundamentalists are growing in stature. ``Anything that gives hope for change should be welcomed``, yes even if results in thousands of civilian deaths! my number 7 foot. This article is the product of a mind infected with US imperialism.

Maz,s article is contradictory. he accepts that the USA has not been able to convince the world of its justification to attack iraq but should go ahead and do it anyway. is that not the law of the jungle? who appointed the usa as the policemn of this world ?. who is going to be next ?
in their desperation to convince the world the usa is getting more and more pathetic in its justifications. what is a weapon of mass destruction?
does a nuclear bomb not fall under this category? is not the usa the only country in the world to have used them?
americans are polarising this world in a manner that they shall regret later, for even they in all their glory will not be able to control it.

it looks like this one might be a simple pilot error in bad weather

PAF chief died in air crash. Odd that a lot of senior Pakistani generals die in plane crashes. It seems odd for an air force that boasts of an excellent safety record.

ana_dobara #1

Very true. It does need to be fixed-- by a vet!

thanks S.P. Wakil for the mother of all quotes:

````People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and
have a tremendous impact on history.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

re:#29 by ahmadzai
You seem to be on some kind of drug hallucinating all the time. Sangh Parivar in India exists because there is democracy there. It had to wait many decades before it gained in popularity. It was a banned organisation during much of first 2 decades following India`s independence. It has gained in popularity due to failure of pseudo-secularism practised by Congress party and more recently due to the bad image muslims are suffering from, where everything Islamic is looked with suspicion and every muslim is looked upon as a terrorist. BJP and the Sangh parivar thrive on this image now and do not seem to need the RJB/Temple issue anymore. Still, Sangh Parivar exists much the same way as Louis Farrakhan and KKK exist in US. India is a democracy and the good and ugly coexist. People will decide who is good or who is bad. You have problems with that? Tough luck.

``In India, under the leadership of Advanis and Modis, the fanatics are beating up the minorities and are becoming Saffron Holy Warriors. ``
Your country suffers because people like you do not have the intellectual honesty to see where your country is headed for. RSS and Sangh Parivar is not a threat to world peace. It is not even a threat to India`s peace. People of India and the democratic process will take care of the problems. Pakistan, OTOH, is fast becoming a pariah state. I would worry about Pak`s very existence now if i were a Paki (and i thank God i am not).
Sridhar

re:#80 by S.P.Wakil
It does not matter what George Bush is. He is still the head of one of the greatest democracies in the world and deserves our respect. What have the convent educated, anglicised bureacrats of India and Pak done? IAS in India is a corrupt organisation. People come to politics in India only to make money. In Pak, the situation is worse. Dubya may be a simpleton but at least he is not corrupt. The guy is religious. I personally like him. He has surrounded himself with smart people(as Dennis Miller, the comedian jocularly put it in a conversation with Phil Donohue recently, just like a hole that surrounds itself with a Doughnut!).
Sridhar

Found it in a corner of my ``Drafts`` folder. Somebody must have sent it to me as a birthday present. I
thought it should be shared with friends. Dubya is a namoona, tohfa for the world. It is a low-fat, low
calorie, low IQ treat. Enjoy Dubya!

The Village Idiot:

Irrespective of whether we believe in Nostradamus or not, this is really
hilarious....

In 1555, Nostradamus wrote: ``Come the millennium, month 12, In the home of the greatest power, The
village idiot will come forth to be acclaimed the leader``

George Bush Jr. speaks out....

- ``The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.``
...George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``If we don`t succeed, we run the risk of failure.``
....George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a
mother and child.``
Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Welcome to Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the same
distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen
pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is
water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
breathe.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 8/11/94

- ``The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation`s history. I mean
in this century`s history. But we all lived in this century. I didn`t live
in this century.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/15/95

- ``I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy -but that could change.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/22/98

- ``One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and
that one word is `to be prepared`.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 12/6/93

- ``Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 11/30/96

- ``I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good
judgments in the future.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``The future will be better tomorrow.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``We`re going to have the best educated American people in the world.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/21/97

- ``People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and
have a tremendous impact on history.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``I stand by all the misstatements that I`ve made.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93

- ``We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We
have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe.``
...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Public speaking is very easy.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to reporters in 10/9

- ``A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the
polls.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr

- ``When I have been asked who caused the riots and the killing in LA,
my answer has been direct & simple: Who is to blame for the riots?
The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The
killers are to blame.
....George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having
it.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/20/96

- ``We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/22/97

- ``For NASA, space is still a high priority.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our
children.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/18/95

- ``The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that
George Bush may or may not make.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``We`re all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on
the mistakes we may or may not have made.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

- ``It isn`t pollution that`s harming the environment. It`s the impurities
in our air and water that are doing it.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

``[It`s] time for the human race to enter the solar system.``
....Governor George W. Bush, Jr.

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Hari (Re # 42) : I`m not sure what you were trying to say in your post. If you mean the US presence will be for longer than 2 years, then I will give a qualified agreement ... They will have a presence there behind a compliant Iraqi government. More important is the ramifications of this for the rest of the region. Other rulers in the region are also taking note, as are the ordinary people of those countries (as evidenced by the rising dislike of the US not just here but across the world)

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Millions join global protests against Iraq war

By Ellen Wulfhorst and Paul Majendie

NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - More than six million protesters took to the streets around the globe on Saturday to send a passionate message to U.S. President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq and to give peace a chance.

In a huge wave of demonstrations not seen since the Vietnam War era, anti-war marchers in more than 600 towns and cities from Canberra to Cape Town to Chicago called on Bush to back off his hawkish stance toward Iraq, which his administration accuses of hiding weapons of mass destruction that pose a global threat.

``This war is solely about oil. George Bush has never given a damn about human rights,`` said Mayor Ken Livingstone in London, where at least half a million people marched in the biggest peace demonstration in British history creating a major headache for Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush`s closest ally.

In New York, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu told demonstrators outside the United Nations that the United States should allow U.N. inspectors to finish their task of searching Iraq for illicit weapons.

``The just war says you have exhausted all possible and peaceful means, and the world says, `No, we haven`t,``` the Nobel Prize laureate said.
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The largest outcries against war in Europe were in countries where leaders have vocally supported Bush`s position.
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Bush and Blair suffered a setback Friday to their efforts to win international backing for early military action to rid Iraq of suspected weapons of mass destruction in a dramatic showdown at the United Nations.

France, Russia, China, Germany and other nations said U.N. weapons inspections should continue in statements that seemed set to slow the introduction of a resolution the United States and Britain want to authorize the use of force.

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin boasted of a triumph in France`s efforts to brake Washington`s push for war after the French foreign minister won applause for his call for at least another month of inspections.

`GIVING PEACE A CHANCE`

``France is giving peace a chance. France is giving hope to the world and all over the world people are looking to France ...,`` Raffarin told parliament.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz hailed the worldwide protests.

``They show the conscience of mankind against crime and against aggression,`` Aziz, Iraq`s most prominent Christian, told Reuters television in Italy, where he prayed for peace.

Saturday`s protests kicked off in New Zealand and Australia, where tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets. The rallies then followed the dawning day to more than 600 towns and cities stretching to California.

In America, authorities first estimated the crowd in New York at 250,000 people, but police later put the number at 100,000. Nonetheless it was the largest U.S anti-war protests that called on Bush not to invade Iraq.

Tutu said he believed the peace marches could make a difference.
_____________________________________________________
``People marched and demonstrated and the Berlin Wall fell. People marched and demonstrated and apartheid ended,`` he said.

``And now people are marching and demonstrating because they are saying no to war,`` he said.
_____________________________________________________
Smaller U.S. protests of several thousand each were held in Chicago, Philadelphia and Santa Fe, New Mexico, while in California, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento.

In Mexico City, around 30,000 people took to the streets brandishing placards and banners emblazoned with such messages as ``Bush is an assassin`` and ``Yankee imperialism, murderers of the world.``

``Let`s say no to war, because war has never brought positive proposals for people,`` said 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, a Guatemalan whose country`s 1960-1996 civil war saw 200,000 killings.

In Canada about 100,000 people demonstrated in frigid Montreal and on the west coast a long, winding march of 25,000 protesters clogged the streets of Vancouver.

In Buenos Aires, thousands rallied against the war in pouring rain downtown, where retired watchsmith Hector Rico said: ``We may be a long way from the action, but U.S. warmongering is putting all our lives on the line.``

`AMERICANS STRESSED`

At a protest in France, one of the staunchest opponents of war, one woman said: ``The Americans were stressed by September 11 and now they are going completely overboard.``

The French Interior Ministry estimated at least 300,000 people turned out to protest across the country. In Berlin, some 500,000 people attended a rally, the biggest protest in Germany since the end of World War Two, authorities said.

Some two million people turned out in Spain to rail against war, including nearly 1.3 million in Barcelona, making it the city`s biggest protest ever, and 600,000 in Madrid, bringing the city center to a standstill.

In Rome about a million people marched through the ancient streets under a sea of rainbow peace banners.

There were rallies in as far-flung cities as Ankara, Moscow, Glasgow and Jakarta.

The only reported incidents of violence flared in the Greek capital, Athens, where demonstrators burned a car and smashed several shop and bank windows in center of the city at the start of a protest march to the U.S. embassy by up to 50,000 people.

(Additional reporting from Reuters bureaux in Paris, Rome, Sofia, Moscow, Berlin, Johannesburg, London, Zagreb, Sydney, Tokyo, Islamabad, Stockholm, Helsinski, Barcelona, New York, Havana, Chicago, Tel Aviv and Damascus)

(Reuter)

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