Replies to post #1533 on Nothing But Politics

[bagheera]

SO far you have not impressed me by your ranting. Answer my questions. How can you in good conscience let these people be slaughtered by the thousands and enjoy it? Face the facts please: 300,000 Iraqi's tortured and killed by this butcher another 2.5 million slaughtered when you count the Iranians he killed. He gassed a whole city. I saw the little children dead and the mother's laying next to them. YOu should be ashamed of your self for not crying out in their behalf. You close your eyes to the suffering of these people. WHY IN The name of humanity would you not want to help the suffering of these people? Funny how righteous you are to think that Iraqi's should enjoy their fate of brutality and fear and poverty while you sit in comfort. sickening elitist view! why do you think you are better than them? Are you white skinned, is that why?
The UN is a useless organization except for humaitarian aid. Tell me when the U.S. struck against Nazi Germany was that criminal in your mind as well? Maybe you enjoyed the thought of 6m Jews being slaughtered? Let me see Hussain is only up to 3 million, should we ewait for him to slaughter 3 million more before we act?

[bagheera]

It is Immoral to Oppose War in Iraq and Not Simultaneously Address Saddam's Crimes Against Humanity

By: Sermid Al-Sarraf

Opposing a War in Iraq is essential because such a war would undoubtedly be detrimental most to the Iraqi people. At the same time, only opposing a war, without anything further, implies that Saddam Hussein should remain in power to perpetuate his well-documented crimes against the Iraqi people and others.

In other words, while decrying what might happen to the Iraqi people during a war, the anti-war movement is forgetting that Iraqi's are suffering and dying at the hands of one of the most brutal dictators the world has seen since World War II.

Anyone who knows anything about Iraq and the Iraqi people knows that they not only want to get rid of Saddam, but they have sacrificed greatly during many failed attempts. In the uprising in 1991, after the Gulf War, civilians in 14 of 18 provinces rose up against Saddam and overthrew his regime in those provinces. If Saddam had not used helicopter gunships and tanks (with U.S. and Allied knowledge if not consent) to strafe and shell civilians, they would have marched on Baghdad as well.

It is immoral to ignore Saddam's crimes and it violates every humanitarian principle in Islamic jurisprudence, Christian theology and international law to accept or condone Saddam's crimes against the Muslim and Christian populations in Iraq.

The alternatives are not just "War" or "Keep Saddam". There are other alternatives. Using established international law, Saddam could be indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. His crimes are no less than the Serb, Rwandan or Cambodian defendants now facing trial in international war crimes tribunals.

Anyone truly interested in the welfare of the Iraqi people must not only oppose war but also call for the freeing of the Iraqi people from Saddam's brutal rule, and hold him accountable for his crimes.

OPPOSE WAR and INDICT SADDAM

The following are from independent human rights organizations about Saddam's crimes:

Human Rights Watch

"The Iraqi government of President Saddam Hussain perpetrated widespread and gross human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests of suspected political opponents and their relatives, routine torture and ill-treatment of detainees, summary execution of military personnel and political detainees as part of a "prison cleansing" campaign, and forced expulsions of Kurds and Turkmen from Kirkuk and other regions." (2002 Report)

UN Commission on Human Rights

Adopted a resolution strongly condemning "the systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law by the Government of Iraq [Saddam Hussein], resulting in an all-pervasive repression and oppression sustained by broad-based discrimination and widespread terror." (4/01)

Amnesty International

"Political prisoners and detainees were subjected to systematic torture. The bodies of many of those executed had evident signs of torture. Common methods of physical torture included electric shocks or cigarette burns to various parts of the body, pulling out of fingernails, rape, long periods of suspension by the limbs from either a rotating fan in the ceiling or from a horizontal pole, beating with cables, hosepipe or metal rods, and falaqa (beating on the soles of the feet). In addition, detainees were threatened with rape and subjected to mock execution. They were placed in cells where they could hear the screams of others being tortured and were deliberately deprived of sleep."

[xxrayeyes]

I think the biggest problem with the Iraq situation is that we didn't get rid of Sadaam in 1991. But guess what, we didn't have a UN mandate for that. Only to drive the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. If it were up to the UN, the Iraqi people would never know freedom. Only sanctions that starve their families. I think that now that Sadaam is gone, the UN will lift the sanctions and that will be a wonderful relief to the Iraqi people. The UN sanctions have most likely killed more Iraqi people than Sadaam and our bombs put together. I have lost a lot of faith in the UN through this ordeal and I used to be a very big supporter. Who is at the head of the UN human rights committee now? The answer to that question should explain my point of view. I still think the UN is a viable entity but the whole body really needs to sit down and figure out what role they want to play. Up to this point, they are only a debating society and the only power they are willing to exercise is lip service and sanctions. I think we should be more careful of using sanctions. They only hurt the general population, not the ruling class. It was so for Iraq and has been for Cuba for many years.