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Dear All, My appreciation to Glen for his very thorough, and well thought out, research work re. the outrages committed upon the people of Halabja. Any serious person would accept all the factors involved, without political agendas, then attempt, impartially, to understand the truth of the situation. It is unhelpful for anyone to say worse deeds have been committed elsewhere, thus Halabja is a mere footnote in history. I also agree with John S., when he says: "Evasion of the truth is harmful to our cause." However, whilst welcoming someone from Baghdad, Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar, to join in the debate, I have mixed feelings about some of his views. In evaluating a political figure (e.g. S.H.), in fact anyone, it is not neccessary to transform him, or her, into either an angel nor a demon. Let the 'track record' speak for itself, bearing in mind that all the facts are rarely available. It saddens me when Ghazwan states: "...you killed more in 10" (years), meaning Iraqis. Yes, the sanctions, as well as the bombings, have killed some 500'000 people, perhaps far more. But Western groups, opposed to the policies of the last eleven years, are not in the pockets of the US/UK governments, and don't deserve to be blaimed for deeds which many have campaigned against, sometimes even gone to prison for. Campaigning groups, and individuals, throughout the Western world, and further afield, very strongly aim to put a stop to present destructive policies against Iraq, harmful to Iraqi people, and to the world. - My apologies to you, Ghazwan, if I have misunderstood what you are saying, you may wish, at some point, to clarify matters further. - Philippa Winkler asks: "Why aren't we debating these attacks?" We are, Philippa, we are! - Greetings, Bert Gedin. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.