NOVEMBER 2005
Voltairenet.org:
Editorials deciphered...Are there signs of the Coalition’s involvement in attacking Iraqi civilians?. Actually, it is not a Shiite clergyman’s speech that is amazing but the fact that from now on Le Monde, though somewhat shyly, has echoed them.
The French elite reference daily, as well as the rest of the western leading press, has refused to consider any involvement of the so-called democratic western governments in terrorist actions. Despite several historical precedents supporting this hypothesis and a lot other inconsistencies in the official reports about the attacks in Iraq, this possibility has always been rejected on principle by both the United States and Europe. However, there is a theory developing in the western public opinion about a link between the attacks and the western governments. So, Le Monde felt pressed to make room, though a little one, to express this conservative drifting opinion. The image of the coalition occupying Iraq continues to deteriorate in the world, the U.S. and the U.K. included. Last Saturday’s demonstrations both in London and Washington gathered several dozens of thousands of people (at least 100 thousand in Washington and somewhere between 40 and 100 thousand in London according to some agencies).
Just before London’s demonstrations, the image of British soldiers wrapped up in flames in Basra appeared on the British press front pages, which was a new blow for the occupants’ propaganda. Prior to demonstrations, “Stop the War Coalition” leader Tariq Ali denounced Tony Blair’s policy in Iraq and in the United Kingdom. Like Hamdem and al-Khalessi, he said that Iraq’s division is not the natural consequence of Saddam Hussein’s fall, but it is a war goal of the Coalition. Tarik Ali noted that dividing a country is usual tactics during any colonization process and the Iraqi constitution aims at it.
Currently, the Labour government is waging a war against the British public opinion depriving it of freedom in the name of a “war against terrorism”. British Liberal Democratic Party Vice-President Menzies Campbell also condemned Tony Blair’s policy in The Independent. Campbell showed himself less virulent than Tariq Ali and did not question much the postulates of the occupation’s rhetoric. Nevertheless, he demanded the retreat of British troops from Iraq. He thinks that the Labour Government’s action uselessly jeopardizes the British soldiers and is targeted on causing Iraq to divide. Hence, he called on London to rebuild the Iraqi public services, to organize a democratic transition and to retreat from the country as soon as possible.
In the U.S., some political elite groups are also concerned about the evolution of the situation in Iraq.
A USA Soldier:
“I have both a professional and a moral obligation to call into question why we are still in Iraq after accomplishing the mission – in President Bush’s words – of deposing Saddam, and why U.S. military personnel are increasingly killing non-combatants. On my last deployment in Iraq elements of my unit were instructed by a Captain to fire on children throwing rocks at us.” This is not what he signed up for, Benderman said.
Illustrations : Mariali creations marilyse@9bit.qc.ca