Pages

Thursday, September 21, 2006

"War, War, Rumours of War"

War: Afghanistan
Canadians are at war in Afghanistan (or are we?). Whatever Harper calls it, we are killing and dying to protect a corrupt government filled with fundamentalist warlords against Taliban extremists. Oh good for us, killing bad people to protect other bad people; at least we think we are killing bad people. The Taliban can't be identified by membership cards, skin tone, T-Shirt colour, or any other convenient identity markers, so apparently soldiers are rounding up Afghan men in communities and reporting them as Taliban captured or killed. Well, I guess it's good for our troops. You know, dying is a real character builder.

War: Iraq
What is there to say? Imperialism by any other name is still... Imperialism.

Rumours of War: Iran
Yesterday on Democracy Now, an interesting analysis of Bush's speech at the UN General Assembly and a prediction of how a war on Iran might be played out. Phyllis Bennis tells of reports "in the last couple of days in Time magazine and elsewhere, indicating that there have in fact been orders preparing to deploy U.S. Navy warships towards Iran" with the goal of a naval blockade. She says most Americans don't know this is considered an act of war, so when Iran responds to the blockade (as is their right under Article 51 of the UN Charter), "the Bush administration would very likely call that an unprovoked attack on peaceful U.S. ships and would respond militarily, claiming to be responding in self-defense."
Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war, me say war

That until there are no longer first class
And second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights are equally
Guaranteed to all, without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace, world citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion
To be persued, but never attained
Now everywhere is war, war

- Bob Marley

Why can't we be more like our cousins?

More on War

4 comments:

Art Hornbie said...

Good post. Good blog. You're on my daily reads list.

Psychols said...

The John Boileau article to which you linked was specious. "We are not at war", he says as if that makes the killing more palatable. He talks about lofty goals and how we simple minded Canadians will understand how noble the battle if only Harper would deign to explain it to us.

Every nation that goes to war declares noble goals, patriotic intent and the benefit for those who will be conquered. Never, in the history of warfare, has a nation admitted that it went to war for purely selfish reasons.

Lets not dare oppose the mission though because supporters will spit the word "pacifist" at us as if opposing war was something akin to pedophilia.

Red Jenny said...

Cycles2Calgary, I agree. I was very annoyed by the article which was also printed out here.

When our country's military are shooting and killing people from another country (and dying themselves too), I'd say that is pretty clearly at war. At least with Harper admitting it now, we can construct real arguments against the war.

We don't have to say "we shouldn't be fighting a war in Afghanistan" only to have them say "I know you are, but what am I?"

sparkle hayter said...

I can't believe how hey are beating the drum for a war on Iran. There are still Americans who will nsist America was justified in overthrowing Mossadegh because he was a "Sovie6t puppet" wo would have taken ian into the Soviet fold. And it is useless to point out how strikingly anti-Soviet Mossadegh's record was in the majlis. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq had strengthened the hardline Shi'a elements in iran and st back the efforts of millions of oung reform-minded Iranians. Can it be that the great western powers don't actully want to see democracy in the middle east?

Thanks for those bonobos.