After seven years of bloodshed and wanton destruction, President Obama "turned the page" and announced an end to the U.S. combat operations in Iraq on August 31. The end came only after the loss of lives of more than 4,400 U.S. soldiers and a war tab of a trillion dollar (according to one estimate it tops $3 trillion). It's hard to estimate the death and destruction that the war brought to Iraq - a country that never presented even a remote threat to the U.S. national security. The full cost of war to Iraqis in terms of human lives and material is immeasurable.
What were the motives of one of the longest running, costliest, and bloodiest wars in history?
The Bush administration kept changing its rationale for war against Iraq. First, Iraq's possession of the long-range weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was the reason given for the U.S. drive to war. On March 6, 2003, President Bush declared: "Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country, to our people, and to all free people... He has weapons of mass destruction... The American people know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction."
However, the Bush administration's claim that Iraq's armament contains WMD was thoroughly debunked in October 2004 with the release of the report of chief U.S. weapons inspector Charles A. Duelfer. Duelfer admitted, "We were almost all wrong" about Iraq's weapons. Later it was found that the charges were intentionally fabricated to justify the war against Iraq. In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief weapons inspector Mohammed El-Baradei had testified before the UN Security Council that the allegations of WMD were based on documents determined to be forgeries.
After Duelfer's report sucked the air out of the WMD accusation, the reasons for war shifted from one assertion to another - link to 9/11 attacks and Al-Qaida, creating an environment in Iraq conducive to stable democracy, etc - all these assertions proved to be without merits. The attempts to link Saddam to 9/11 were disreputed to the point where President Bush was forced to disavow the claim himself.
The U.S. declaration of war against Iraq had nothing to do with WMD, 9/11 attacks, threat to the U.S. security, the war on terrorism, or a desire to create an open and democratic society in Iraq. Then why did the U.S. go to war with Iraq?
Though, some argued, Iraq was a destabilizing influence and posed unacceptable risk to the flow of Gulf oil to international market. The steady supply of oil to the U.S. and its western allies must not be jeopardized and must be defended "by any means necessary, including military force." However, the evidences negate the notion that seizing or controlling oil resources were the principle motivation for America to launch its invasion; it may be seen as peripheral benefit of the invasion, but not the raison d'tre. Neither the oil flow secured anymore, nor the domination of the region rich in energy sources enhanced in any significant way than what it was before the war. The huge human and economic drain of the war - trillion plus dollar and the loss and maiming of thousands of American soldiers - simply could not be justified as the price for mere securing the oil supplies when there were no serious threats of cutting off oil deliveries to the west.
When we put the pieces together, we find enhancing Israel's security and survival, controlling countries in Israel's neighborhood, and protecting Israel's WMD were the motives hidden behind the faade of lies and deceit for invading Iraq. Iraq war was not waged at the nudging of big oil concerns, but in the words of Lawrence Wilkerson, who was former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, the Iraq war was embarked upon by "secretive, little-known cabal". It was the secretive cabal of Zionist ideologues that was bent on creating a war with Iraq out of its concern for Israel's security and pave way for the "final solution to the Palestinian problem".
Columnist Tim Rutten in his review of Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell by Karen DeYoung (October 09, 2006, LA Times) says, "Powell's version of events confirms what others have reported that Cheney, Rumsfeld and their neoconservative aides arrived in Washington determined to find a reason to attack Saddam Hussein." In Powell biography, Rutten further writes, "readers are told that the neoconservatives in the Defense Department -- nearly all of them Jews -- supported war against Iraq as the first step to replacing Arab despots with democratic governments that would sever their ties to the Palestinians, thereby enhancing Israel's security." General Colin Powell later regretted his role in the Iraq war and called his famous speech to the United Nations, in which he gave a detailed description of Iraqi weapons programs that turned out to be false, as "painful" and a "blot" on his record.
Stephen J. Sniegoski, a historian and writer, says in his paper, The war on Iraq: Conceived in Israel, published more than a month before the American attack, says: "A clear illustration of the neoconservative thinking on war on Iraq is a 1996 paper developed by Perle, Feith, David Wurmser, and others published by an Israeli think tank, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, titled 'A clean break: a new strategy for securing the realm.' It was intended as a political blueprint for the incoming government of Benjamin Netanyahu. It presented a plan whereby Israel would 'shape its strategic environment,' beginning with the removal of Saddam Hussein and the installation of a Hashemite monarchy in Baghdad, to serve as a first step toward eliminating the anti-Israeli governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran."
The peace treaty with Israel neutralized Egypt, Jordon, and PLO. Saudi Arabia and five other Gulf countries are having not so secret trade and cozy relations with the Jewish state. Turkey always maintained friendly relations with Israel, though the relations have recently become strained. Attempts are being made to fracture and defang nuclearized Pakistan and closing in on Iran. Iraq was the only country left in the Israel's neighborhood, and to some extent Syria and Lebanon, that remained a thorn at the side of Israel and somewhat threat to its security. The U.S. and the Great Britain, who jointly midwifed Israel, and since its birth played the role of protector and benefactor, with their own blood and treasure removed Iraq from Israel's security threat list.
Israel's long time wish for the destruction of Iraq, the most advanced Arab nation that ardently defended and supported the Palestinian resistance and exhorted other Arab regimes not to normalize relations with the apartheid state of Israel at the expense of Palestinian rights, came true without losing a single Israeli soldier or spending a dime.
Yesterday, besieged but independent Iraq rejected an offer to participate in a peace process with Israel in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions (Al Jazeera, 09 Nov 2009). Today, the occupied Iraqi government has dropped an article from the Baghdad International Fair charter which obliges participating companies to prove they do not have trade links with Israel. Iraq is surely being put on the path to join the Egypt and Jordan led club of Israel friendly Arab countries to reshape the Middle East into a neutered and Israel-friendly region - so the muffled protesting cry of Palestinians gather no volume.
Source: http://www.iviews.com
Friday, September 24, 2010
US fanning the flames of Islamophobia
Far too much publicity has already been given to the threat made by a pastor of a tiny US cult church to burn copies of the Qur’an. The provocative act by an obscure individual was blown out of proportion by media frenzy.Virtually overnight, Rev Terry Jones, who left Germany under a cloud of accusations andhis 50 followers at the Dove World Outreach Center, became an international sensation.Book burning, including of sacred religious texts, is nothing new. But the question must be asked: why the contemptible episode was given headline-grabbing attention around the world, leading to rioting and even deaths.
The incitement of Jones is representative of the deep malaise of Islamophobia that has been orchestrated by the misguided and ill-conceived ‘war on terrorism’ and linking this to Islam, or what the politicians and the media would call “twisted form of Islam”, “extremist Islam” “the extreme form of Islam”, “the Islamic terrorist” or the more nuanced form, “Islamist terrorists”. The
consequence has been to demonise the religion of 20% of the world’s population, with the consequence that there is an increase in assaults on Muslims, attacks on mosques and the publication of outrageous cartoons. The second wave has targeted Islamic symbols,extending to ever encroaching bans on their dress and places of worship.
Muslims in the US are living in fear of the hatred that has been caused by the ‘war on terror’ and more so since the campaign against building of Muslim cultural centre
two blocks away from Ground Zero and the threat of burning of the Qur’an accompanied
by the Islamophobic tirades. We have therefore published a sample of the
increasing number of Islamophobic attacks across the US in this issue of the newspaper.
Jones has been seeking media attention sincebeing expelled from the German Evangelical Alliance for being a Christian Fundamentalist two years ago, resorting to even printing T-shirts for schoolchildren with ‘Islam is of the Devil’ on the back. Although he eventually dropped his threat timed to coincide with the 9th anniversary of 9/11,the publicity generated led to a series of copycat burnings and desecrations of the Qur’an across the US, including outside the White House.
The British media is already responsible for giving grossly disproportionate attention to unrepresentative and dubious Muslim characters and organizations. The tabloid press as well as some more up-market newspapers are also not unknown to indulge in sensationalist and often bizarre stories that dwell upon discrediting Muslims and Islam.But perhaps the chief culprits of fanning the flames of Islamophobia are politicians and government policies. Whichever way it is worded, the ‘war on terrorism’ has been perceived to be targeted against Islam and its more than one billion followers. Like during the medieval era, it is the religion of Islam that is being erroneously blamed as the cause of extremism and terrorism, whether or not it is presented and packaged as being just perverted form or extremist elements. The consequence has been to tarnish all Muslims with the same brush and demonise their religion, Islam.
Interestingly, every politician in the West and every journalist and media outlet, has been careful to emphasise that Pastor Jones does not represent the majority of the Christians or Americans and that he is a lunatic fringe. No one has uttered that he is following a twisted form of Christianity.However, when it comes to the lunatic fringe in the Muslim world everyone is tarnished with one brush by blaming the religion. One only needs to see counter terrorism policies in the UK and also in the rest of the Western world where the target has been Islam, imams,mosques, Muslim ‘chaplains’ in prisons,university campuses and hospitals. Even toddlers have not been spared. Counter terrorism measures in nurseries, schools and universities targeting ONLY Muslim pupils. No area of the life of Muslim has been spared not even sport, sport centres and gyms.
It was notable in the intervention of US President Barack Obama over the book burning that his appeal was directed at fears that the stunt could “greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan.” It was the act itself that should have been condemned and he should
have empathised with the hurt that 1.5 billion Muslims would feel if the Qur’an was burnt. Even Nato and US Commander, Gen David Petraeus, issued a statement a day after 500 demonstrated in Kabul against the proposed burning of the Qur’an, that the latter could provoke violent retaliation against US troops – with no concern about the 1.5 billion Muslims. In her denouncement that the planned Florida event was “plainly disrespectful – even abhorrent”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ironically in the same breath honouring the Islamophobic Danish cartoonist
Kurt Westergaard, who similarly provoked worldwide outrage in the Muslim world by his cartoon of the Prophet.
It is time to start to repair some of the damage done and prevent incidents like the Qur’an burning occurring again by changing our discourse about the threat of terrorism. The primary reason is about politics, our foreign and domestic policies against Muslims and not religion. The Pastor said the reason why he was burning the Qur’an was because it was the source of evil and terrorism; the reason why many in the US do not want the Muslim cultural centre or what they perceive it to be a mosque near Ground Zero, is because they believe the mosque (and therefore Islam) was responsible for the terrorist attacks in New York. If the Islamic cultural centre is not built in its current location two blocks away from Ground Zero, it
would be a vindication to those who believe that Islam is the source of terrorism and extremism and to those who believe that the‘war on terrorism’ is the war against Islam.
Source: http://www.muslimnews.co.uk
The incitement of Jones is representative of the deep malaise of Islamophobia that has been orchestrated by the misguided and ill-conceived ‘war on terrorism’ and linking this to Islam, or what the politicians and the media would call “twisted form of Islam”, “extremist Islam” “the extreme form of Islam”, “the Islamic terrorist” or the more nuanced form, “Islamist terrorists”. The
consequence has been to demonise the religion of 20% of the world’s population, with the consequence that there is an increase in assaults on Muslims, attacks on mosques and the publication of outrageous cartoons. The second wave has targeted Islamic symbols,extending to ever encroaching bans on their dress and places of worship.
Muslims in the US are living in fear of the hatred that has been caused by the ‘war on terror’ and more so since the campaign against building of Muslim cultural centre
two blocks away from Ground Zero and the threat of burning of the Qur’an accompanied
by the Islamophobic tirades. We have therefore published a sample of the
increasing number of Islamophobic attacks across the US in this issue of the newspaper.
Jones has been seeking media attention sincebeing expelled from the German Evangelical Alliance for being a Christian Fundamentalist two years ago, resorting to even printing T-shirts for schoolchildren with ‘Islam is of the Devil’ on the back. Although he eventually dropped his threat timed to coincide with the 9th anniversary of 9/11,the publicity generated led to a series of copycat burnings and desecrations of the Qur’an across the US, including outside the White House.
The British media is already responsible for giving grossly disproportionate attention to unrepresentative and dubious Muslim characters and organizations. The tabloid press as well as some more up-market newspapers are also not unknown to indulge in sensationalist and often bizarre stories that dwell upon discrediting Muslims and Islam.But perhaps the chief culprits of fanning the flames of Islamophobia are politicians and government policies. Whichever way it is worded, the ‘war on terrorism’ has been perceived to be targeted against Islam and its more than one billion followers. Like during the medieval era, it is the religion of Islam that is being erroneously blamed as the cause of extremism and terrorism, whether or not it is presented and packaged as being just perverted form or extremist elements. The consequence has been to tarnish all Muslims with the same brush and demonise their religion, Islam.
Interestingly, every politician in the West and every journalist and media outlet, has been careful to emphasise that Pastor Jones does not represent the majority of the Christians or Americans and that he is a lunatic fringe. No one has uttered that he is following a twisted form of Christianity.However, when it comes to the lunatic fringe in the Muslim world everyone is tarnished with one brush by blaming the religion. One only needs to see counter terrorism policies in the UK and also in the rest of the Western world where the target has been Islam, imams,mosques, Muslim ‘chaplains’ in prisons,university campuses and hospitals. Even toddlers have not been spared. Counter terrorism measures in nurseries, schools and universities targeting ONLY Muslim pupils. No area of the life of Muslim has been spared not even sport, sport centres and gyms.
It was notable in the intervention of US President Barack Obama over the book burning that his appeal was directed at fears that the stunt could “greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan.” It was the act itself that should have been condemned and he should
have empathised with the hurt that 1.5 billion Muslims would feel if the Qur’an was burnt. Even Nato and US Commander, Gen David Petraeus, issued a statement a day after 500 demonstrated in Kabul against the proposed burning of the Qur’an, that the latter could provoke violent retaliation against US troops – with no concern about the 1.5 billion Muslims. In her denouncement that the planned Florida event was “plainly disrespectful – even abhorrent”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ironically in the same breath honouring the Islamophobic Danish cartoonist
Kurt Westergaard, who similarly provoked worldwide outrage in the Muslim world by his cartoon of the Prophet.
It is time to start to repair some of the damage done and prevent incidents like the Qur’an burning occurring again by changing our discourse about the threat of terrorism. The primary reason is about politics, our foreign and domestic policies against Muslims and not religion. The Pastor said the reason why he was burning the Qur’an was because it was the source of evil and terrorism; the reason why many in the US do not want the Muslim cultural centre or what they perceive it to be a mosque near Ground Zero, is because they believe the mosque (and therefore Islam) was responsible for the terrorist attacks in New York. If the Islamic cultural centre is not built in its current location two blocks away from Ground Zero, it
would be a vindication to those who believe that Islam is the source of terrorism and extremism and to those who believe that the‘war on terrorism’ is the war against Islam.
Source: http://www.muslimnews.co.uk
CAIR: San Diego Muslims to Hold Youth Conference
Day-long event to focus on spirituality, education, activism, social concerns
(SAN DIEGO, CA, 7/23/10) -- On Saturday, July 24, the San Diego Muslim community will hold a day-long conference for American Muslim youth at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD). The theme of the conference is “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path.”
WHAT: “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path” Conference
WHEN: Saturday, July 24th, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.; A Press Conference for the event will be held at 1 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Library, Islamic Center of San Diego.
WHERE: Multipurpose Room (1st Floor) Islamic Center of San Diego, 7050 Eckstrom Avenue, San Diego, CA 92111
CONTACT: CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719 or 858-278-4547, E-mail: ehopida@cair.com
The conference will feature dialogue-oriented sessions on the development of a good Muslim spiritual character and the importance of obtaining both religious and secular education. Other discussions will focus on “Radicalization of American Muslim Youth: Myth or Reality” and on social problems that are experienced by Muslim youth.
“The purpose of this conference is to provide Muslim youth a constructive environment in which to discuss issues of spirituality, education, activism, and social problems in order to help them pursue a path that will positively impact the broader society,” said CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida.
The conference is sponsored by the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), Masjidul Taqwa, the Council on American Islamic Relations - San Diego Chapter (CAIR-San Diego), Logan Islamic Community Center (LICC), and Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth San Diego.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Sources: http://islamonline.com
(SAN DIEGO, CA, 7/23/10) -- On Saturday, July 24, the San Diego Muslim community will hold a day-long conference for American Muslim youth at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD). The theme of the conference is “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path.”
WHAT: “Muslim Youth in America: Seeking the Straight Path” Conference
WHEN: Saturday, July 24th, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.; A Press Conference for the event will be held at 1 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Library, Islamic Center of San Diego.
WHERE: Multipurpose Room (1st Floor) Islamic Center of San Diego, 7050 Eckstrom Avenue, San Diego, CA 92111
CONTACT: CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719 or 858-278-4547, E-mail: ehopida@cair.com
The conference will feature dialogue-oriented sessions on the development of a good Muslim spiritual character and the importance of obtaining both religious and secular education. Other discussions will focus on “Radicalization of American Muslim Youth: Myth or Reality” and on social problems that are experienced by Muslim youth.
“The purpose of this conference is to provide Muslim youth a constructive environment in which to discuss issues of spirituality, education, activism, and social problems in order to help them pursue a path that will positively impact the broader society,” said CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida.
The conference is sponsored by the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), Masjidul Taqwa, the Council on American Islamic Relations - San Diego Chapter (CAIR-San Diego), Logan Islamic Community Center (LICC), and Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth San Diego.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Sources: http://islamonline.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)