[Nettime-ro] Fw: <nettime>Le monde Diplomatique on The US war on Iraq

["calin" <calin {AT} xs4all.nl>]

From: "Le Monde diplomatique" <dispatch {AT} monde-diplomatique.fr>
To: <nettime-l {AT} bbs.thing.net>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 4:53 PM
Subject: <nettime> [IRAQ] The US war on Iraq


>
>                     Le Monde diplomatique
>
>                         A special focus
>
>     -----------------------------------------------------
>
>                       The US war on Iraq
>
>                http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/
>
>
>     Nothing seems capable of halting the American juggernaut. Now
>     in March 250,000 US soldiers, along with a few British
>     units, are gathered in the Gulf ready for the assault on
>     Baghdad. Soon after 11 September 2001 the Bush
>     administration decided that one component of their strategy
>     would be to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Men as high-placed as
>     Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or Paul Wolfowitz had long
>     advocated such action, but George W Bush's questionable
>     election made it difficult to realise that objective. With
>     11 September it became feasible. From then on Washington's
>     ruling view of the world was stark: "Anyone who is not with
>     us is with the terrorists" Bush proclaimed. The September
>     2002 document entitled The National Security Strategy of the
>     United States, which for the first time included the notion
>     of preventive war, confirmed the new orientation of the
>     hyperpower, which was convinced that its own interests were
>     henceforth synonymous with justice. (see documents in Part One:
>     United States strategy).
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1456
>
>     This strategy was not a response to 11 September. It was
>     formulated in a document dating from September 2000, signed
>     by influential members of the current administration before
>     they took office, which claimed that terrorism had replaced
>     Nazism and communism as the new enemy of the United States.
>     But terrorism is not an ideology, nor is it a strategic
>     threat, since it does not originate from any state. It is a
>     useful bogeyman, adaptable to many situations and used to
>     discredit one's enemies. Especially when it can be
>     associated, in a triangle of evil, with weapons of mass
>     destruction and so-called "rogue states" (see documents in Part
>     Two: The threat of terrorism).
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1457
>
>     President Bush has warned that the "war on terrorism" will
>     be a long one. It began with the Afghan campaign and the
>     overthrow of the Taliban. It continued with the outlawing of
>     hundreds of organisations and individuals, on criteria that
>     are vague at best, corresponding more to American fantasies
>     than to any serious definition of the terrorist phenomenon -
>     if such a definition were possible. This war has also helped
>     a number of governments to justify their own repressive
>     policies: Russia in Chechnya, Israel in Palestine, India in
>     Kashmir, etc. In the countries of the North, an offensive is
>     mounting against an "enemy within", often identified with
>     Muslim immigrants, or radical protestors (see documents in
>     Third Part: The war against terrorism).
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1458
>
>     The United States decided on its attack on Saddam Hussein'
>     regime in order to destroy the weapons of mass destruction
>     held by Iraq. And yet, on this question, no evidence has
>     been offered, and certainly no proof that Iraq is such a
>     threat to world peace and security that war is unavoidable.
>     Washington's duplicity is obvious when we compare the US
>     attitude towards North Korea. The proliferation of weapons
>     of mass destruction is a very real problem, but it requires
>     a multilateral solution, through the enforcement of existing
>     treaties and stricter rules, especially on exports of
>     sensitive material. The United States, France, Great Britain
>     and Germany have much to answer for regarding Saddam's
>     armaments programme in the 1980s (See documents in Part Four:
>     Weapons of Mass Destruction).
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1459
>
>     The first victim of the war will be the Iraqi people,
>     already suffering from a bloodthirsty dictatorship and
>     criminal sanctions. Responsible for two wars - against Iran,
>     then against Kuwait - the Baghdad regime has been subject to
>     strict controls since 1991. The United Nations inspectors
>     were able greatly to reduce its capacity to inflict harm,
>     but this was accompanied by an embargo of unprecedented
>     severity. United Nations experts predict that another war
>     inflicted on a country whose population has reached the
>     limits of its endurance will bring about hundreds of
>     thousands of deaths. And the vision of a pacified and
>     democratic Iraq arising from the ruins of Saddam's
>     dictatorship, is a pipedream - or rather a piece of
>     propaganda - without any relation to reality (see documents
>     in Part Five: Toppling Saddam).
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1460
>
>     There are questions, too, about the broader consequences of
>     a new war on the situation in the Middle East, especially
>     the confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians (see
>     documents in Part Six: War in the heart of the Middle East)
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1461
>
>     This focus feature was prepared by Alain Gresh, Maria
>     Ierardi, Olivier Pironet and Philippe Rivière
>
>     We welcome your questions and comments, which should be
>     adressed to
>              Olivier.Pironet {AT} Monde-diplomatique.fr
>
>
>
>     >  US strategy
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1456
>
>     >  The threat of terrorism
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1457
>
>         / United Nations documents on terrorism / "Rogue
>         States"
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1462
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1466
>
>     >  The war against terrorism
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1458
>
>         / The US intervention in Afghanistan / Al-Qaida /
>         The "anti-terrorist" offensive against civil liberties
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1465
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1468
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1472
>
>     >  Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1459
>
>     >  Toppling Saddam
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1460
>
>         / A computerised war / Military intervention and
>         oil-related issues / UN Inspections: a painstaking
>         mission / War and post-war scenarios / Iraq in the
>         run-up to a military strike
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1467
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1463
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1473
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1475
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1476
>
>     >  War in the heart of the Middle East
>          http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1461
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
>                See the French version:
>
>                L'empire contre l'Irak
>      http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cahier/irak/
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
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