| calin on Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:01:12 +0100 (CET) |
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| [Nettime-ro] Fw: <nettime>Le monde Diplomatique on The US war on Iraq |
From: "Le Monde diplomatique" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> 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 Rivi�re > > We welcome your questions and comments, which should be > adressed to > [email protected] > > > > > 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/ > > > ----------------------------------------------------- > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: [email protected] and "info nettime-l" in the msg body > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ Nettime-ro mailing list [email protected] http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-ro --> arhiva: http://amsterdam.nettime.org/