International legitimacy or colonial schemes?

Nasra Al-Sadoon - 17/9/2002

For years Iraq has been calling the Security Council to respect the International legitimacy as a whole and not selectively.

International legitimacy implies that all Security Council resolutions should be respected and implemented by all concerned nations and not on some.

International legitimacy should be respected by all nations and not by some and abused by others. Otherwise International legitimacy becomes, as it is now, nothing but a cover up to the colonial aspirations of some nations.

The colonial mentality might accept that the big powers threaten, act and abuse the International legitimacy as stipulated by the UN Charter and International norms and agreements. But the mentality of the UN Charter refuses the Orwellian double speak, double standard practiced nowadays at the UN theater.

Bush address to the United Nations General Assembly has nothing new, although western media and some politicians have been waiting to know the US position on Iraq and therefor to decide their actions to according to it.

Nothing new for Iraqis who have been survived more than 12 years of US-UK continued aggression and the most comprehensive UN sanctions ever imposed in Human history.

New US threats of aggression add to the UN compliance to the United States of America’s colonial aspirations and arrogance, but it adds to the US violations of the UN Charter.

If the United Nations granted the Bush administration the cover it demands, this would be the last straw that ends the UN credibility, legitimacy and world respect.

Lets hope that the remains of decency would prevail. And the UN keeps its record as an anti-colonial organizations that is still remembered as the International body that ended the colonial rule during the 20^th Century, not as the organization that started the new colonial rule of the 21^st Century.

Orwellian Security Council

Nasra Al-Sadoon 17/6/2002

No need to re-read George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ it is enough to monitor the reaction of the UN Security Council to the world events to be reminded of Orwell’s novel again and again.

The Security Council is still keen on meeting to issue new resolutions against Iraq claiming that Iraq has violated the UNCS resolutions and not implemented them. It is not enough for the Security Council that several UN agencies have published reports saying that UN sanctions have resulted in killing more than 1.5 million Iraqis, mostly children less than five years old. Thus the UN is responsible for their death. In spite of that UN sanctions against Iraq continue for more than 12 years.

At the same time, the self same Security Council reached another resolution, this time against the criminal Zionist entity to create a ‘fact finding’ committee to investigate the Zionist crimes in Jenin. As if Jenin was the only theater of the Zionist crimes and not the whole Palestinian land. Sharon’s government refused to permit the UN committee into the Palestinian territories to implement the UN resolution. What was the Orwellian reaction of the UN to this?

Again ‘1984’ provides the answer. Mr. Annan disbanded the UNSC committee, ‘because of the Israeli refusal’. None of the Security Council members demanded imposing sanctions on Israel, or threatened to bomb the Zionist entity for defying the Security Council resolutions.

No need to ask the reason, for the Orwellian mentality explains that ‘truth is a lie’. Orwellian or Mechiavellian reasoning makes no difference to the victims of the western racist mentality. Double standard is the rule and not, as mentioned in the UN Charter, “We the peoples of the world.” The Orwellian double standard of the UN could be better phrased as “All are equals, but some are more equals than others!”

As for the UN resolutions against Iraq, for claimed of owning weapons of mass destruction, here again the Orwellian reasoning is the rule. The Security Council neglects, intentionally, paragraph 14 of its resolution 689 of eliminating weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East region. Is there a need to ask why this neglect? Again the double standard and the racist mentality that dictates treating the Zionist entity on a different level than treating others, and turning a blind eye to its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.

The US administration is never questioned about its overt or covert aggressions against other members of the United Nations. The same applies to the Zionist entity, as the Security Council is always tolerant towards its crimes. This is the way the UN was built on Orwellian rules of action and/or inaction, no wonder that the world is full of blood and fire.

The Pax American that created the United Nations on its image, is now working according to the US Imperial rules to create a world safe for the US multinationals to eliminate all concept of independence, freedom and human rights. These three axioms mentioned in the UN Charter are nothing but rhetoric reminding us of the words of General Mode upon entering Baghdad in World War I, when he said, “we came as liberators not invaders”. In those days Iraqis didn’t believe him, knowing the difference between rhetoric and honest speech.

Now, the UN has lifted the veil, its actions and intentions have become clear, what was once called international legitimacy, is but a cover to hide the Imperial face of the USA.

UNSC resolution 1409, the most stupid (06/06/2002)

In spite of the efforts of the Security Council to harm Iraqis with consecutive resolutions, the US administrations were not satisfied. They wanted the complete annihilation of Iraqis. Not satisfied with killing in cold blood more than 1.6 million of Iraqis with the UN sanctions, they want more to satisfy their blood lust. Therefore they termed the previous UN resolutions as dumb, and proposed what they called ‘smart sanctions’ and resolution 1409.

If it took more than a decade to discover the stupidity of the previous UNSC resolutions, how long would it take to most stupid of all UN resolutions against Iraq? In a bid to prove its servility to the US administration, the Security Council accepted the new resolution unanimously. They voted knowing that the human cost of this resolution would not be obvious till many years latter, as the previous resolutions.

The Bush administration, since coming into office, was clear to announce its commitment to strengthen the sanctions regime, which has crumbled and became ‘like Swiss cheese’ as Bush termed it. This administration is ignoring the fact that the crumbling of sanctions came as a result of Iraqis sacrifices and ingenuity that is capable to facing up to any new conspiracy in the name of the United Nations and its resolutions.

The sanctions will continue to crumble for the simple reason is that the world countries cannot indulge in ignoring Iraq with its vast capacities. Thus the majority of world countries are flocking to Iraq to sign cooperation agreements, organize and participate in industrial and commercial fairs, hold joint seminars and conferences, and many other activities.

At the same time if the old UNSC resolutions have taken more than a decade before the world public opinion have become aware of its criminality. This new phase will be easier to uncover, since the basic facts are already evident, mainly the death of more than 1.6 million Iraqis as direct result of UN sanctions regime.

UN officials working in Iraq discover the truth sooner or latter, either resign or declare discontent at the work they are carrying on in Iraq on behalf of the UN. After Dannis Halliday, Hans Von Sponic and Jutta Burghart resigned, Mr. Myatt is transferred after criticizing the so-called ‘Humanitarian Program’ in Iraq. How long would it take the new head of the ‘Humanitarian Program’ to discover that he is entrusted with a genocidal job in Iraq?

The US propaganda campaign cannot fool the world for long. Iraqis’ resistance is capable to foil the new conspiracy as it did with the previous. The 1409 resolution will soon prove to be the most stupid of the UNSC resolutions.

Arab summit &US failed policies

US Vice President Dick Cheney and Antony Zinni have exerted the utmost US pressure, blackmail and threats to influence Arab leaders to submit to their aggressive imperial policies to dominate the region and end the Iraqi Palestinian heroic resistance to the US Zionist schemes.

Both US envoys failed to pass the scheme to devide the Arab cause. The Arab refusal to be used and abused as camp followers to the American strategies proved that Arabs are powerful when they unite their will and support each other.

This is a lesson to be preserved, especially during the next Arab Summit due to be held in Beirut within the next few days. Any projects to solve the Arab problems must keep in mind that the US is no friend to Arabs. Any illusion of US friendship has to remember the old (friends) of the USA. Their tragic end is another lesson to be remembered. The Shah of Iran, Somoza, Pinochet, and many others serve as a reminder to those whose services to the colonial powers would be easily forgotten whenever the imperial schemes change, and they change so easily and swiftly.

As the Arab summit is approaching the main topics are the Palestinian and Iraqi resistance. Arab leaders have a historic chance to redeem the self-respect and the mass legitimacy in having one stance in both questions. One stand in supporting the Palestinian Intifadha to the end, no one has the right to gamble the Arab blood shed in Palestine against any new-old proposals that sacrifice the Palestinian right in their land. Palestinians have said their word. They are fighting for the legitimate right to live in their land and end the foreign occupation. No other solution is accepted.

As for Iraq, Arab leaders have to recognize Iraq’s right to end the genocide perpetrated in the name of the UN. Arabs should be the first to end the sanctions, otherwise they would be the first responsible for the cold blood genocide of one million and a half Iraqis. No claims or political maneuvers are accepted any more.

The Arabs leaders who stood with dignity and refused the Cheney proposals have proved that a unified stand could foil the US-Zionist schemes. They have proved it in the failure of both Cheney and Zinni.

Awaiting the outcome of next Summit, the Arab masses are holding the historical verdict on the legitimacy of the rulers, either they represent the people, or rule to serve the US imperial design.

Whatever the outcome of the Summit, the struggle continue and the last word is always for the people. The ultimate decision is for the people who struggle, fight and offer the sacrifices for a better future decided in our homeland not in Washington, London or New York.

 

WMD as pretext for aggression  (WMD: weapons of mass-destruction)

Nasra Al-Sadoon      02/03/02

Amnesia is a common tool of western media, as part of any disinformation campaign. Before Desert Fox, the US had instructed Richard Buttler to pull out the personnel of UNSCOM from Iraq so that it could bomb without inflicting any harm on them. At that time the Security Council and the Secretary General of the UN both reprimanded Buttler for pulling out without informing the UN, thus endangering the remaining UN personnel in Iraq, with no word about Iraqi populations.

After the pullout, the US-UK launched a four-day bombing campaign on Iraq, “to destroy the remaining sites where arms of mass destruction (WMD) were made of stored.” At the end of the campaign, both governments announced their victory, in other words they have succeeded in destroying Iraq’s WMD.

This should have been the end of the story. But as the real target of the US-UK governments was to colonize Iraq, the WMD and the inspectors, either UNSCOM or the renewed version called UNMOVIC, became an open-ended soap opera. Every now and then the WMD and its inspectors became the focus of propaganda campaigns to threaten Iraq with a new bombing spree.

After the September 11^th events, the US administration tried it utmost to link Iraq with the perpetrators. When they saw the eminent failure, they tried the anthrax craze. This, in turn, proved unprovable pretext as the Anthrax was US made.

After the failure of the Afghan campaign, Bush Junior, returned to the WMD as a pretext to threaten Iraq to cover up his failure to capture Ben Laden or to end the trouble in Afghanistan.

Targeting Iraq is not new, but this time it comes to cover the double failure of the US administration in Afghanistan and the Zionist failure to end the heroic Intifadha and the world wide outcry to end the Zionist genocide in Palestine and the UN-US-UK genocide in Iraq named sanctions.

The almost twelve years-sanctions have proved to be the most atrocious arms of mass destruction as it killed, in silence, more than one million and a half Iraqi person, many times more than the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki committed by the same self US.

If the US really wants the world to live in peace and security, it should start by disarming itself instead of withdrawing from the international treatise it had previously signed.

If the US and its lapdog UK are serious about the respect of the UN resolutions they should start by forcing Israel to comply by the hundreds UN resolutions. Or more simply to apply paragraph 14 of the UNSC resolution 687/1991 that implies creating in the Middle East a region free from WMD, which includes sending UN personnel similar to UNSCOM-UNMOVIC to Israel.

But knowing the double standard and the colonial aspirations of the US administration and its greed for the region’s oil, Iraq is threatened and bombed with or even without pretext of the WMDs, as its been done daily since 1998, while the world is silent and the UN is impotent.

As for the western media, nothing more than repeating the US allegations is expected from them, as they are manipulating the world public opinion to serve the colonial masters and their multinational companies.