This is in response to Russell Greim's column "Attack Iraq now..." published in the DAILY NEWS on Monday. Mr. Greim mentions that ignorance about world history is a problem in the United States, yet he himself makes partial and biased statements in making a case for attacking Iraq.
Yes, Saddam is a cockroach, a rat, a killer, a devil and worse. But what about the Iraqi people who will die in any mass attack? The U.S. bombing of Iraqi "military installations" since 1991 and sanctions against Hussein have resulted in the deaths of nearly two million Iraqi citizens -- children, elderly, and innocent men and women. New massive attacks will only deteriorate the situation. Maybe Saddam will go, but how about the innocent lives? Or should we just ignore those "collateral damages" as usual?
In respect to the claim that "Arabs" are jealous of our prosperity, Mr. Greim did not show any proof. On the contrary, there are many other rich and prosperous countries in the world which do not poke their noses in other people's business, and in turn nobody else feels like being "jealous" against those countries. America used to be held at high esteem by the world because of its records on human rights, justice and democracy. Things are slipping there and a lot of people, Arabs and non-Arabs, tend to see us more as a bully rather than a beacon of hope as we used to be. By the way, Iranians are Persian, not Arab.
It is true that Saddam has gassed his own people and the Iranians, but please remember that at that time he was our "friend." Our current defense secretary, Mr. Rumsfeld, was shaking hands with him and having a good time in Baghdad the same days when Saddam was gassing the Iranians. We did not say a thing when he used chemical weapons on Kurds, because he was a great ally in our war against others in that region. Now suddenly we are shedding our crocodile tears on those atrocities.
If developing weapons of mass destruction and using them on civilian targets is considered a reason to attack, then there are many countries that have to be attacked. If threatening the world is a crime, then there are a few other countries that have to be dealt with. If taking control of Middle East's oil fields is a concern, then there are few other countries that we should be concerned with. If lust for power and hegemony is something to be stopped, then we have a lot of work to do at home.
Saddam must go, no doubt. But killing innocent Iraqis, destroying their country and controlling the Middle East oil fields is not a proper way to do that. A discourse through the United Nations and multilateral decision based on moral clarity has to be the choice, not the bullying we are hearing from a section of our Government. Mr. Greim is right - ignorance is a problem. We need to get rid of ignorance, and also bias, before we claim moral high grounds and try to attack others.
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