Fw: Bombs over Baghdad (fwd)

[Otto Sell]

----- Original Message -----
From: Orpheus <cwduff at alcor.concordia.ca>
To: <deleuze-guattari at lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: Bombs over Baghdad (fwd)


> >Subject: Bombs over Baghdad
> >Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 21:21:08 -0800
> >
> >
> >
> >Locked in an Orwellian eternal war
> >
> >By Robert Fisk
> >
> >
> >
> >In George Orwell's 1984, Oceania  in which Britain is "Airstrip One"
> >is engaged in eternal war with Eastasia. Victories are constantly
announced
> >  by the British government. Our battle with Eastasia, over the years,
has
> >become routine. In George Bush's 2001, the West is engaged in eternal war
> >with Iraq. The "degrading" of Iraq's forces is constantly announced by
the
> >American and British governments. And on Friday, the mission of the
planes,
> >  which have been bombing Iraq for 10 years, was officially announced by
> >the  American President as "routine".
> >
> >As in 1984, the characters in 2001 do not change. In 1991, defence
> >secretary  Dick Cheney and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Colin
> >Powell were  urging the bombers on to Baghdad with the backing of
President
> >George Bush.  In 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney and secretary of state
> >Colin Powell are  urging the bombers on to Baghdad with the backing of
> >President George Bush  Jr. In 1991, the Beast of Baghdad was Saddam
> >Hussein. In 2001, the Beast of  Baghdad is Saddam Hussein.
> >
> >And woe betide us if we feel like Winston Smith, eternally feeding old
> >newspaper cuttings into the oven. Bin those clippings about how we
> >"defanged"  Saddam in 1991. Forget the UN arms inspectors who would
> >eliminate forever  Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction". Make no
complaint
> >about the  half-million Iraqi children who have died under UN sanctions.
> >Destroy all  reference to the New World Order.
> >
> >We are engaging  an Orwellian cracker this, from the Pentagon on Friday
> >night  in "protective retaliation". And by yesterday morning, a military
> >"expert" was on our very own BBC  its defence correspondent, Andrew
> >Gilligan, no less  to announce that Iraq had acquired 30 surface-to-air
> >missiles from Serbia and Ukraine to boost its military might. Really? Is
> >this  true? We in the West impose sanctions on Iraq so strict that we
> >prevent the  import of lead for schoolchildren's pencils lest it be put
to
> >military use;  yet we cannot stop the Iraqis lugging anti-aircraft
missiles
> >over their  border.
> >
> >When we started bombing in the no-fly-zones in the aftermath of the Gulf
> >War  10 years ago, we did so in retaliation because the Iraqis shot at
our
> >planes,  just as we supposedly did this weekend. When we fired 200 cruise
> >missiles  into Iraq just over two years ago, President Clinton  a brief
> >interlude in  the war between the Saddam and Bush families  told us that
> >Saddam has  "disarmed the (UN) inspectors". Tony Blair, agonising about
the
> >lives of  British forces involved (all 14 pilots) told us  a real Orwell
> >masterpiece   "we must act because we must".
> >
> >So what Newspeak do our masters produce for us this weekend? Why, our own
> >Foreign Secretary Robin Cook tells us that Saddam  not sanctions  are
> >to blame for all those Iraqi deaths. It was the same Mr Cook who has
> >repeatedly and truthfully told us during this eternal war that Saddam has
> >used gas "against his own people"  without mentioning the other truth:
> >that he did so during an aggressive war with Iran in which we
> >enthusiastically supported Saddam. So tell Winston Smith to burn all
> >articles  about a village called Halabja if they inconveniently mention
> >Iran.  Iraq's state television yesterday announces "an attack by American
> >aggressors". The forces of Oceania, it seems, killed a woman and wounded
11
> >  civilians in the Eastasian capital of Baghdad. Oceania insists the
> >attacks  were aimed at "sites well away from civilian areas". The planes
> >were "well  within the 33rd parallel"  the limit of the self-appointed
> >Oceanian no-fly  zones -- and used "standoff" missiles to hit their
> >targets.
> >
> >When President Clinton faced the worst of the Lewinsky scandal, he bombed
> >Afghanistan and Sudan. When he faced impeachment in 1998, he bombed Iraq.
> >Faced with an explosion between Israelis and Palestinians, George Bush Jr
> >bombs  why, Baghdad. And still Mr Cook tells the Iraqi people Saddam is
> >their "problem". Note to Winston Smith: burn at once all references to
> >George  Bush Sr's 1991 call to the people of Iraq to overthrow Saddam and
> >his  subsequent willingness to let Saddam massacre the lot.
> >
> >Then there's that $29m aid package about to be handed over by Washington
to
> >  the so-called opposition "Iraqi National Congress". Note to Winston
> >Smith:  place into the incinerator all newspaper reports about the
> >Jordanian  conviction for massive fraud of one of the INC's most
prominent
> >leaders.  Let's keep it simple: Down with the brutal regime of Eastasia!
> >Long live  Oceania!
> >
> >