In the rathouse 'o interpretation (WAS Re: politics and religion...)

[jbor]

> on 23/2/03 12:21 AM, Mutualcode at aol.com at Mutualcode at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Oceania speaks for itself. Oil consumption is a matter of public
> record. ... Sucking up better than 3/4
> of the world's oil for spurious reseans

Only if you dump the U.S. eastern seaboard and Europe into the Pacific.

> someone else, quoted in another post:
>
> The only
> meaningful difference I can see is the level to which I partake. It's one
> thing for Saddam to kill his people. There's not much I can do about that.

I'm sure that Saddam is extremely encouraged by this attitude. His trade
minister even offered to renew the wheat deal made as part of the food for
oil initiative to say a big "thank you" to all the "peace" protesters from
last weekend. Saddam had put an embargo on wheat from here last November,
sort of like a self-imposed "sanction". Food for his people is pretty low on
his list of priorities too, you see.

It's more and more apparent that many of those in the U.S. (and elsewhere)
who propagandise for "peace" don't care one bit about the plight of the
Iraqi people. It's all about what's best for themselves: it's not our
business; it doesn't affect us, it's the other side of the world, we're not
in danger; Iraq's a "sovereign state". So leave Saddam alone. He's OK
really. He's sure to keep killing Iraqi people, but "there's not much I can
do about that."

> 12 Reasons to Oppose War on Iraq
> 22/02/2003
> By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman*
> 
> Solidarity with the Iraqi
> people -- not their brutal government, but the people -- requires
> opposition to a war almost certain
> to cause them enormous suffering.

It also requires substantive international action against Saddam.

Amongst expatriate Iraqis here there are four conflicting points of view, or
emotions: fear for family and friends still in Iraq, and strong opposition
to war for that reason; a sort of "get in there with full-on military might
now and get it over with quick" mentality so that they can get on with their
lives and stop feeling singled out in the community, and so that Iraq can
start to rebuild, but I suspect it's inspired by a fatalistic resignation to
the inevitability of war rather than any real support for it; concern that
once Saddam's regime is removed and replaced their Temporary Visas will not
be renewed and they will be sent back. The fourth? A united and overriding
realisation that Saddam is the enemy of the Iraqi people.

best