nonTROPPO.org

October 16, 2002
Predictable... As I felt would happen, two largely unrelated causes - the bomb in Bali and the War against Iraq, are being inextricably linked together by desperate political forces. Bush, in his usual spectacular leaps of reasoning without substance, has claimed Al-Qaida is being used by Saddam Hussein as his front-line army against the West. Now, it is not altogether inconcievable that it IS the case, but it is equally far from certain, especially considering the criticism thrown on Saddam Hussein (and many other Arab leaders) by many members of these Islamic groups. They have repeatedly condemned current Arab leaders for corruption and being far from Islamic ideals. Any other collection of tin-pot leaders could equally well be linked to Al-Qaida. Al Qaida has automatically been assigned blame for the Indonesian bomb, without any evidence. Again, they could be likely candidates, but there are many other groups equally prepared to use such tactics. Al-Qaida has become the bogeyman for small-brained people (and journalists) who need bite-sized parcels of their news to make it easy to digest. They also therefore find it difficult to distinguish between Al-Qaida and Iraq (small-brains dislike complexity), and thus popularity to bomb Iraq has shot up in the last couple of days. I normally dislike insulting people who don't share my point-of-view, but I am tired of giving pro-war supporters the benefit of the doubt. If they don't have the ability to try to deconstruct the situation somewhat, and recognise that at best, any link between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and BogeyMan#1 is complex, then I simply dispair. That doesn't even begin to deal with the moral argument about whether bombing Iraq is justified EVEN if Saddam is in some way related to this latest atrocity. I have yet to be convinced by any evidence showing how much better Afghanistan is now, and how safe the world is. I see that the reverse has happened, but I am willing to argue on that one. Sorry to be cynical, but this latest bomb attack has played right into the hands of the hawks, it has given Bush & Blair a new emotional kludgeon to use in battering down any dissent on this issue? Posted by Ian at October 16, 2002 05:22 PM | TrackBack
Comments

You need to get a little of your moronic facts together. There was a direct link between the terrorist and the bali bombing. IF you are such a human rights activist why arent you concerned with the way the homo saddam is treating his own people. Or is it that you are afraid that you might be asked to protect your own. Why dont you stop tring to anylize everything and realize that we need to step in and remove this tyrant from this contry, in order to protect human life.

Posted by: me on February 19, 2003 6:18 AM

Um, where do I start? You seem to have missed the whole point of the article - that Iraq did not plant the bomb in Bali.

There was a direct link between the terrorist and the bali bombing

Does your sentence make ANY sense at all (what terrorist AND Bali bomb (two bombs)?, and who exactly are the nebulous 'terrorists' you refer to)? I am discussing whether Iraq is linked to the Bali bomb. I suggest that Al Qaida was blamed with no evidence at the time, and it currently seems likely the group Jemaah Islamiah is most closely linked to the bombing. That they have a common goal is obvious, but when you want to establish a chain of causality (i.e. JI got direct orders from Al Qaida who got direct orders from Saddam), this gets you absolutely nowhere. Thus my main point still stands today - there is no proven link (yet) between Iraq and Al Qaida (The CIA changed it's mind only after political pressure was applied, and many other Governments, including staunch allies Britain repeatedly fail to see any links).

IF you are such a human rights activist why arent you concerned with the way the homo saddam is treating his own people3.

How do you know bombing the fuck out of Iraq can only be good for it's citizens? Sorry to be sceptical, but civilians were specifically targeted by bombing in the first Gulf War (where water treatment facilities were heavily targeted with full knowledge of the resultant devastating public health consequences). What will get put in Saddam's place, another tin-pot dictatorship who will metamorphose into Satan as the years pass? How can you determine that Iraqis themselves will want a theocracy rather than a 'western' style democracy? Why target only Saddam, and not equally regimes like Algeria, where around 150'000 deaths have occurred in a brutal civil war (and with which the Bush administration has recently strengthened ties1). Or Saudi Arabia, or Indonesia, or Uzbekistan, or ... Why the double-standards between one country and another. Why, when Russia massacres Chechens (who are fighting for their 'independence') is it (now) considered a 'just' war, yet when Saddam kill Kurds (who are fighting for 'independence') it is an atrocity2? Doesn't it make you wonder why such selective morality is applied in these cases (maybe because much more self-serving geopolitical potential applies in one case and not the other?)

1 They suggested that the USA can now 'learn' how to combat terrorism from the Algerian government - can you believe this??? This is the same group that won the Algerian civil war against the French through pure and oft-copied classic 'terrorism'! (seen the film 'Battle of Algiers'?)
2 For that matter why is Turkey such a close 'ally' when it has a horrific track record in attacks on Kurds. What appalling hypocrisy!
3You are extremely pathetic if your insults stretch as far as denigrating those of a different sexuality to yourself (homo Saddam). I'm happy to discuss with my fellow balanced humans, but pathetic homophobes like you are very very sad, and it simply reveals your utter inability to think at any level above hate-based stereotypes...

Posted by: Ian on February 20, 2003 10:32 AM

PM Tony Blair and President Bush please stop bombing! Stop this cynical war! Stop being so ignorant to the people who oppose you!

Posted by: ASHLEY SCOT on March 22, 2003 6:13 AM

We have had enough from president bush and tony blair! stop this war!!!!!!!!

Posted by: JILLY on March 22, 2003 6:16 PM

Can we not settle this in a more, easier way. War is the not the answer to any problems. Innocent people are dying from all this. And this is not how the world should be. We should all be happy and treat each other in a respectable way. Saddam Hussien will never be killed now as there is too many people who look like him. These people are giving their lives for their country, not to defend Saddam. All we need to do is get rid of Blair and put a member of the MPs up for Prime Minister someone who will listen to the people, not just to be up Bushes arse all the time. We should have a say in this.

Posted by: Jenny on March 25, 2003 12:44 PM
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