I remember, it was February 2003. The weekend before we’d been out in the streets, in -35 degree temperature, going through toronto in front of american and iraqi embassies, protesting that America should not attack Iraq. That monday, i was skipping a class and was with Mike, a friend from physics who was also member of science for peace, putting up posters in Sidney Smith Hall, about the effects the ten years of sanctions by america against the Iraqi people. Being one of the main buildings on campus, there was always a steady flux of students from every single discipline. Most would pass by without looking, some would stop and look, and at least give a smile.
However one fellow, red-haired i remember, stopped looked and shaking his head and started to discuss justification of military action by the US. His main line of argument was that even Weapons of Mass Destruction may be a false cause, it would not matter, because the most important thing would be to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Basically his arguments were that the ‘end justifies the means’, if that end happened to be the fall of Hussein.
After the illegal invasion started, and continued, and no WMD’s were found, the american’s and all pro-war people continued with this line of reasoning. And even though MORALLY i believe that this line of reasoning was wrong, IF it had bore fruits in teh shape of an actually democracy, in teh form of safety for the people; one would be very willing to accept this immoral yet possibly acceptable line of reasoning.
I didn’t like Saddam more than anyone else. In fact me and my generation grew up during the war in Iran, where his missiles were raining down on us, as we celebrated our new years, in the dark, in teh basement of our house, where not hearing the next explosion probably meant that it had landed on you.
I remember the stories of gas attacks in the south. I was i think 8 years old at the time. And i remember it scared me so much, that i had to learn more about it. I would breath a sigh of relief whenver we visited my mum’s cousin who lived on the 10th floor of a lush apartment on Jordan Avenue, because i had found out that the nerve gas used was heavier than air, and so being on the 10th floor would mean that we were probably safe from it. However the rest of the time when i was at home, i didn’t feel that safety…
The point i’m trying to make is that I and my friends and our generation had as many reasons, if not more, as anyone else to hate Saddam and what his reign of terror and tyranny to end. And yet, even then, we felt even worse for Iraqi people because we knew that as bad as we had it, as Iraq’s enemy, the people of that coutry had it worse. But we all knew that this invasion was never about bringinng freedom to Iraqi’s, let alone Weapons of Mass Destruction.
[1] Here is some ‘wonderful’ news for all those claimed that the ousting of Saddam was good enough reason to destroy this country ([1] BBC – Torture in Iraq worse now, than during reign of Saddam). So, how does america feel going to bed each nite, knowing that more people have died under its invasion in teh last three years, than had died in more 40 years under saddam? Every day we hear of 50 iraqi’s being killed. Can you imagine what the situation there has become taht DAILY NEWS OF 50 PEOPLE MURDERED IS NOT EVEN MAIN NEWS ANYMORE.
I remember i did an article for shahrvand almost two years ago, when an article published in teh Lancet, had put the upper limit of at 200,000 CIVILIAN DEATHS! God only knows where that number lies two years later. Where is the supposed safety? Where is the freedom? Where is the democracy?
What is the justification that is used now? Why don’t they just admit to the truth?
Copyright © 2007 Loopy’s Manifold v3.0. All rights reserved.
