The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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It was good to hear from Tom again and thanks also for drawing our attention (again) to Rizer's article. It sounds like it will prove invaluable in countering some of the pro-war movement's propaganda. I disagree with your suggestion for redirecting anti-SH posters, however. They serve a useful purpose in giving some people the opportunity to hear in a relatively safe environment what pro-war people are actually saying. Secondly, if we start weeding out all of the people with whom we have problems, there would be more than the anti-SH people who would be on the list. Thirdly, if we banish all the anti-SH people, we leave ourselves wide open to the discrediting charge that we are pro-SH. I'm *not* a pacifist and I would dearly love to see somebody bring an end to the likes of SH...and Bush and Blair for that matter. I do, however, have very strong moral problems with my money being forcibly taken from me and used to murder innocent people in a country that I know very little of. Until somebody devises a way of getting rid of these political parasites without endangering the lives of 1000s of innocent people, I think we should be looking for alternative routes. Whilst discussing the Iraq situation with a colleague, he made the remark that this whole thing has to be about more than oil. Oil's certainly there, but there must be more to it. We talked about the hub of the Empire and its wish to dictate the new power relationships for the 21st century. The EU, Russia, China and Japann all need to be taught their position in the new New World Order. Could that be an underlying reason. Are thousands of people going to die in order for the US government to make a political point? What is to be done? Well, I appreciate the sincerity of both the Dalai Lama and Peace Tanks, but meditation just looks like sitting around doing nothing to me. I would encourage all of the posters to the list who put out propaganda to put their focus well and truly on the human suffering and the heartbreak caused by 'our' govts' policies on Iraq. When putting anti-war propaganda to the general public, move away from theoretical discussion about morality and international law etc and focus on the story of individuals. In other words, provide the sort of press coverage that is denied to the vast majority of Media Consumers. The work of John Pilger and Felicity are prime examples of how effective this tactic is. Felicity, I would have loved to have been able to come and see you this weekend in Manchester. Unfortunately, it was impossible. A colleague of mine did go, with an admirably cynical approach, only to have been caught up in the strength of the speakers' arguments and staying for much longer than he had intended. Diarmuid _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk