Re: [casi] Beginning of the End of our Struggle for freedom

[Eric Herring <eric.herring@DELETETHISbristol.ac.uk>]

Dear Abdul

I share in your joy at the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. I would like to
offer you my explanation of why I did not support the launching of the
war in the first place: my reasons were published in the
newspaper articles below.

With best wishes, and congratulations and hope

Eric

Eric Herring
'Anti-war protesters and the fall of Saddam'
Bristol Evening Post
8 April 2003


        As I opposed the launching of this war, what do I have to say
to Iraqis who have been and will be saved from living in fear under
Saddam? This is the question to which all anti-war protestors must have
a good answer. Here is mine.
        It is wonderful to see pictures of Saddam being torn down. If
the anti-war protests had been successful, this would not have been
happening. In the short-term, war is the only way Saddam would be
removed. It is important to recognise the real joy among many Iraqis.
        However, this war has been a huge gamble with Iraqi lives, and
the gamble is not over. The Red Cross report casualties in Baghdad now
of 100 per hour. It could easily have been much more catastrophic than
it has been so farm. Who knows how many Iraqis will be traumatised,
injured and killed? The voices of Iraqis at home and in exile who did
not want this war matter too.
        Starting from where we were in January, as an anti-war
protestor I had no quick route to ending Saddam's rule. But I would
never have supported him in the first place - as the US and British
governments have done in the past, doing their best to ignore his
crimes and wars, and providing him with military assistance. The United
States sold things like anthrax to Saddam. I would never have supported
that. British and US governments are concealing their role in Saddam's
weapon programmes: I want to expose it. Ironically, the official main
purpose of this war was not to liberate Iraq but disarm it.
        Without anti-war public mobilisation, this war would have been
fought much more destructively, as it was in 1991.  And I have opposed
the unbelievably inhumane UN economic sanctions, backed by the US and
Britain even though they have killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
        It does matter that this war is illegal, fought without
explicit UN authorisation, and the US will be emboldened to start more
wars.
        When the news agenda and the military forces move on, I will
not abandon Iraqis to paying Saddam's debts or compensation for
Saddam's wars. Instead, I will continue argue that Iraqis should not be
made to pay for Saddam's follies, and argue for compensation for Iraqis
for the sanctions. I will argue for Iraq's right to have a proper
democracy and to run their economy for their benefit, not the benefit
of US corporations.

Eric Herring
'How popular campaigning saves Iraqi lives'
Bristol Evening Post
7 April 2003

        The British and US armed forces are going to great lengths to
avoid killing Iraqi civilians directly. They haven't always behaved
like this. During WWII and the Korean War, the British and US armed
forces bombed cities to kill as many civilians as possible. And they
killed literally millions. In Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the US
bombing was officially focused primarily on military targets, but
killed more than a million civilians.
        What accounts for the change? The political costs of killing
large numbers of civilians directly through bombing are now too high.
There is an increased sense of our common humanity - that an Iraqi life
is worth at least something, though not yet for most the same as a
British or US citizen's life. Movements of citizens worldwide have
developed such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the
Stop The War Coalition.
        However, in the last US-led war on Iraq in 1991, bombing
annihilated Iraq's infrastructure and economic sanctions denied Iraq
the necessities of life, in full expectation of a huge number of
civilian deaths. They could do that because there were few political
costs. This time, because of campaigning by ordinary people, destroying
the electricity supply which is vital to water and sanitation and thus
the lives of millions of Iraqis has been prevented. If you are a
campaigner, pat yourself on the back: you have saved Iraqi lives.
        There is still much to be done. This war was launched even
though it jeopardised essential supplies for most Iraqis. Without
popular pressure, the US and British governments adopt policies which
kill huge numbers of Iraqis. Although Saddam prioritised his cronies,
the sanctions, reinforcing the effects of the US-led bombing in 1991,
were the main factor in the catastrophe which has befallen Iraq. In
1996, Madeleine Albright, US Ambassador to the UN was asked about the
sanctions on Iraq: 'We have heard that half a million children have
died <HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS> is the price worth it?'. Albright replied: 'we think the price
is worth it'. Imagine if Saddam Hussein had made this comment: it would
have been rightly treated as definitive proof that he was a monster.
The same words coming out of the mouth of a US decision-maker are just
as monstrous.
        The overthrow of Saddam will be grounds for rejoicing. But
justice also demands that successive US and British governments be held
to account for their crimes against the Iraqi people, through the
sanctions, destruction of infrastructure and previous support for
Saddam.

Eric Herring
'A Manifesto For the Liberation of Iraq'
Bristol Evening Post
28 March 2003

We are told that this is a war to liberate the people of Iraq - that is
why so many people support it. People who think the war is illegal and
immoral still hope that the people of Iraq will be freed. What is not
being spelt out is exactly what liberating the people of Iraq involves.
Bush and Blair must be held to account for every element of it. It is
their war, but as taxpayers you are paying for it. Your soldiers and
increasing numbers of Iraqis are being killed, injured and traumatised
for it.  What is needed is a manifesto for the liberation of the Iraqi
people. In this column over the next few days, I will outline what I
think should be in it. First, liberation for Iraq means liberation from
Saddam's debt. We are told continually and correctly that Saddam has
abused and oppressed his people for decades. It offends basic moral
principles that Iraqis who have suffered under Saddam are also being
made to foot the bill for their suffering. That adds massive insult to
terrible injury. So Iraq's debt  - over $130 billion - must be paid by
those who sucked up to Saddam, meaning many governments, banks and
companies from all over the world, including western ones. If the US
and Britain can find $70 billion at the drop of a hat for a war they
can find twice as much to liberate Iraq from Saddam's debt. Bush and
Blair say over and over again that Iraq's oil will be used for the
benefit of the Iraqi people. But it will not be if it is handed over to
other people to pay for Saddam's debt. Second, liberation for Iraq
means liberation from the compensation that Iraq is being required to
pay for Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Ordinary Iraqis had no
control over his decision, but it is they who have already paid $18
billion and still have to pay $18 billion more. In addition, the United
Nations is considering further claims totalling $217 billion. Again, if
Bush and Blair can find the money for war they can find it for this. If
they are not serious about this, they are not serious about liberating
the Iraqi people. Instead, the oppressor Saddam will have been replaced
by the exploiters Bush and Blair.

Eric Herring
'The Point of Protests Now That War Has Begun'
Bristol Evening Post
22 march 2003

Now that the war has started what is the point of anti-war protests?
Protests can still do a number of things. They can shape the conduct of
war, in particular the Government will be reluctant to allow bombing of
electrical supplies which are vital for water and sanitation. If these
services are lost many civilians will die. Protests can also shape what
happens after a war. They can ensure the ordinary Iraqis are not
forgotten. They can help ensure that American multi-national
corporations do not buy up all a country's assets. They can also shape
future wars and make them harder to start. In the Korean War millions
of civilians were killed directly through bombing. In Vietnam civilians
were killed as part of bombing for possible military gain.  Now bombing
civilians directly has become politically unacceptable. What about
objecting to demonstrations? Why block streets? Why not just
demonstrate without causing disruption to others? The principle here is
that citizens feel that the normal democratic processes have failed,
and that they have  a right to draw attention to this by non-violent
disruption of the normal workings of society.  In a democracy the state
is meant to serve the people. There are considerable majorities in the
opinion polls against war without explicit UN backing. MPs voted in
majority for this war but they were not given a free vote even though
this is a moral issue. They were bullied, threatened, and in the end
just ordered to vote for the war.


On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 10:19:31 +0000 abdul karim salih
<akarimsalih@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Thankyou Mr Bush and Blair for ending the murderous rule of Saddam. Whether
> you did it for us, or for oil; whether Un approved it or not etc. IT STILL
> NEEDED DOING! This is first glimmer of hope for 30 years.
> Yes Iraq still has problems, like possible American occupation, but in worst
> case scenario, even the most avid Saddamites and Bush haters cannot claim
> that American rule- subject to democratic pressures- can be worse than
> brutal dictators. And the peaceniks need to know and remember that fact.
> Yes it is like the falling of the Eastern European regimes- not least
> because Saddam(?) is a Baathist=Communist; another thing which makes
> leftwing peaceniks uncomfortable. These people are just coming out of denial
> about the collapse of their beloved Soviet Union and now their in denial
> about the collapse of Arab Communism. To the extent that they are disgusted
> by and explaining away Iraqi celebration at saddam's collapse. why should
> people suffering for 3o years keep quiet because of a particular armchair
> reading of US foreign policy motives.
> No matter what people say remember that Bush had domestic support for
> launching an offensive whereas saddam was such a loser that he couldn't even
> persuade his people to defend THEIR OWN COUNTRY against invasion. such a
> dreadful leader who has deliberately acted against the Iraqi national
> interest for 3 decades had to go.
> What about the suffering? We have suffered for 30 years and no one noticed
> and now it is coming to an end we are being asked to relive our nightmares.
> Whose side are CASI subscribers on- did you want us to continue suffering
> under Saddam?
>
> Let us hope for a better future for Iraq post-Saddam. We have had to live
> without even hope for so long.
>
> AK Salih
>
>
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----------------------
Dr. Eric Herring
Department of Politics
University of Bristol
10 Priory Road
Bristol BS8 1TU
England, UK
Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582
Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608
Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133
eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics
http://www.ericherring.com/

Network of Activist Scholars
of Politics and International Relations (NASPIR)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/


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