From: L' Ermit (lhermit@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon Feb 04 2002 - 19:58:01 MST
[Joe Dees] Iraq invaded their neighbor Kuwait, and the international
community, led by the US but including several Muslim countries, cooperated
in their expulsion from that land. After playing a shell game with their
nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs for many years (and
getting caught at it periodically), Saddam Hussein expelled UN inspectors.
Iraq has engaged in genocide against its Shiite minority in the south and
its Kurdish minority in the North, including the use of chemical weapons
against them, necessitating the establishment of no-fly zones in order to
protect the peoples indigenous to these areas (preventing some Muslims in
that country from murdering others en masse). Arrangements have long been
made for Iraq to sell more than ten billion (that's 10,000,000,000) dollars
worth of their oil each year in order to feed their people, with increases
each year; these funds have been diverted from their intended use and
funnelled into mass-destruction weapons programs, the Iraqi military
(notably the Republican Guards), and the rebuilding of approximately 50
castles that Saddam Hussein has established for himself across the country,
while his people starve. During retired Prez George Bush (41)'s visit to
Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi-instigated and funded plot was uncovered to
assassinate him while he was there. Several Saudi nationals were executed
as conspirators. Our airstrikes in and near the no-fly zones are directed
at anti-aircraft battyeries and radar installations, that co-ordinate to
paint the US and British patrols with radar to ascertain their positions and
then fire upon them.
[Hermit] Joe, I didn't mention Iraq except in passing. We have been over
this enough times to prove that neither of us is going to budge. There are
always two sides to every story, and you seem to me to be propagating just
one, and one which is so US biased that it is difficult to imagine that you
have considered anything other than thw US stance. The difference, as I see
it, is that I have facts to back my assertions. You appear to me to simply
be redistributing US propaganda. Which I generally try to avoid by avoiding
US news sources. So I get really upset when you repeat it here and then
refuse to address basic facts which seem to me to be in conflict with your
assetions. In order to provide you with an opportunity to do so, I will put
out a summary of what I see as the case by "non-US" sources, although it
must be recognized that many Americans are suggesting simillar problems. In
this summary, I have attempted to differentiate between supported facts
(previously cited here and readily validated from official sources), and
general inferences and supposition, including news sources, which appear to
me to be widely believed to be true, but where I have not verified them
through government sources. Taken together, they make a devastating case
against US foreign action. Even restricting it to the indisputable facts, it
seems to me to leave your assertions appearing to be little more than
special pleading or ignorance:
[list]
[Hermit] Fact: Since the 1950s, the US has intervened on numerous occasions
in Iraq (amongst other nations) to overthrow the government of the day and
ensure a government by people the US considered as friendly to their
interests. Without US intervention, Saddam Hussein would not have come into
power.
[Hermit] Fact: The US supported Iraq as a counter to Iran, providing weapons
and funding to Iraq.
[Hermit] Fact: Until the Gulf War, Turkey, a vital Western ally, together
with Iraq, conspired to manage the Kurd "problem," with full US support.
[Hermit] Supposition: US based oil companies supported "slant drilling" by
Kuwait into the Iraq oil body, which was a primary reason for the Iraq
take-over of Kuwait.
[Hermit] Supposition: It is alleged that the US told Iraq that border
disputes with Kuwait were not of interest to the US and that this
contributed directly to the invasion of Kuwait.
[Hermit] Supposition: It has been proved that most of the hysteria over the
post invasion treatment of the citizens of Kuwait was induced by the
government of Kuwait, with at least tacit US approval.
[Hermit] Supposition: The US was not prepared to accept a simple retreat
from Kuwait by Iraq, resulting in the Gulf War.
[Hermit] Fact: The US based its initial attack strategy on Iraq on the
destruction of civilian infrastructure, including water purification and
sewage plants, knowing that this would result in massive sickness and
death-tolls and that the majority of deaths would be civilians. This mode of
attack was selected, approved and implemented by the US despite the fact
that the deliberate targeting of civilian facilities is absolutely forbidden
in terms of the UN charter.
[Hermit] Supposition: It is alleged that the US was not prepared to accept a
surrender or retreat by the Iraq army after their surrender and instead
massacred vast numbers of them in cold-blood - again completely contrary to
international law.
[Hermit] Fact: The US adopted a deliberate policy of attempting to
destabilize Iraq and to that offer provided support to the Kurds, including
offers of air protection.
[Hermit] Supposition: A Kurdish insurrection resulted, whereupon Turkey
objected to the support for the Kurds and the US immediately abandoned them,
resulting in massive retaliation by Iraq and a huge Kurdish death toll -
exacerbated by massive Turkish campaigns against the Kurds, to which the US
has turned a blind eye.
[Hermit] Fact: Every attempt to lift the sanctions on water purification
equipment or chemicals has been blocked by the US.
[Hermit] Fact: Every attempt to investigate any aspect of the above by the
UN has been blocked by the US using its Security Council vetoes.
[Hermit] Fact: According to UNICEF, the sanctions have, to date, contributed
to the deaths of in excess of half a million children under the age of five.
[Hermit] Fact: The US knew and knows that these children are dying, and is
not taking action to prevent this.
[Hermit] Fact: When the US claims that the collapse is caused by the Iraq
government misspending the money they receive, this is entirely dishonest.
In the 4˝ years of the "oil for food program" up to July 2001 (which is the
last date for which I found information), sales of oil from Iraq generated a
total of $ 44.4 billion in sales in the period December '96 to July 2001. Of
this, the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva retained $0.30
per dollar (or $ 13.32 billion) to defray claims made by governments,
companies and individuals who feel that they were victimized as a result of
the invasion of Kuwait, leaving an amount of $31 billion. Of this, only half
had been paid to Iraq ($13.5 billion). In Saudi Arabia, with access to
modern equipment, the cost of oil recovery and handling makes up 60% of the
net exported value. If we assume the same figure for Iraq that means the
cost of production in the same period was 26.64 billion, leaving a shortfall
of around $13 billion rather than any net income. Even if we ignore
production costs, if you divide $13.5 billion by 20 million people, that
yields $675/person over the 4.5 year period - or about $150 per person per
year.
[Hermit] Fact: In the US, King County has an annual budget of $ 2.8 billion
to sustain the infrastructure for 1.7 million people. Iraq is offered 10
billion to sustain 20 million and to pay for the oil industry that generates
the money. In reality that number is closer to $ 3 billion, given the much
higher costs of dealing with Iraq and their aging infrastructure. Are you
beginning to see a picture here? In the US infrastructure costs in King
County are $ 1,647 per person. In Iraq, total GDP per person is somewhere
between $130 and $200 per year. Note that, excluding the issue of production
costs; this is the entire amount that Iraqi civilians have received under
the oil for food program per person per year. This is not paid to the
population; it is to enable the importation of food, medicines, water
purification and sanitation, agricultural equipment and supplies,
electricity generation, civil infrastructure and education. Florida has, per
capita, more water than Iraq. What was your water bill last year?
[Hermit] Fact: On the 5th of December 2001, the US ambassador to the
Security Council, went before the Chamber to say that the US government is
satisfied that the "oil for food" program meets the needs of the Iraqi
people. Being able to do basic arithmetic, I find this unlikely. Sanctions
always mean starving the poor until the rich surrender. For example, in 1987
UNESCO recognized that Iraq was the country that had made most progress in
combating illiteracy). Today illiteracy in Iraq is back to 45% and rising.
US sanctions have meant that there is no longer a middle class or
professional class in Iraq. This practically guarantees poverty and social
unrest there for the next 40 to 60 years.
[Hermit] Fact: There are Americans who claim that their foreign policy does
not encourage terrorism.
[Hermit} Supposition: This requires a degree of stupidity, ignorance or
self-delusion far exceeding the ordinary.
[Hermit] Supposition: The fact that Islamic Nations which have advanced from
primitive societies to approach industrialization (Iran, Libya, Iraq) appear
to have suffered from sanctions which have reversed this progress leads one
to surmise that this is not happenstance.
[Hermit] Fact: According to UN studies, the primary motivation for terrorism
is economic disparity. The annual UN Human Development Report reflects that
there are 357 billionaires in this world that own 45 percent of global
wealth. There are 1.5 billion people (mainly in Africa) who subsist on under
a dollar a day. 81% of global income occurs in 26 countries. In Japan people
have a life expectancy of 80 years. In Malawi 29. The US has done nothing to
address this escalating problem, preferring to spend more per year on
military capability than development programs. This is exceedingly obvious
when we realize that the US delivers the least per capita in foreign aid of
all industrialized nations, and over 60% of that aid goes to Israel –
bringing their average annual income up to just below that of the UK, while
the Israelis destroy the resources and infrastructure of the Palestine (and
of Israel).
[Hermit] Fact: Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has
the provision that all people have the right to realize their full
potential. The US is denying that right to Iraq. Just as the US has
previously and is currently denying that right to Libya and Iran. Just as
the US has ignored UN resolution after resolution calling on Israel to stop
denying this right to the Palestinians. Just as the US appears to have lost
all support for her actions in Iraq – even from her allies during the war.
Just as the US appears to be currently losing support in her “war on terror”
for her callous and possibly illegal treatment of prisoners from
Afghanistan.
[Hermit] Fact: The House of Saud are calling for the US to leave from Saudi
Arabia, and US Defense analysis recommendations are to implement a
withdrawal as expedititiously as possible in order to minimize the
probability of insurrection or further collapse of relations.
[Hermit] Fact: Unless you can counter the above, I will consider your
position on these issues to be irrational, and suggest that there is a
strong case to believe that the US Goverment is in fact a far greater danger
to life and happiness on this planet than all the Islamic nations put
together - and oh - please notice, no mention of religion in the above.
Religion is, I assert, irrelevent to this problem.
[/list]
Hermit
PS Dr Sebby and Co, I'll try to answer you when this latest round of Islamic
futility is dealt with. In the meantime, read the last chapter of my
original Afghan proposal.
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