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Posted April 15, 2003
7,000 Years of Civilisation 'Lost'
I heard on the Norwegian TV that the US had ringed the oil ministry in Baghdad with military force, but did not protect the museum. ... The sin of this is beyond my comprehension!
Thank You, Turkey
Turkey stood up and opposed the USA's threats and bribes, and would not let the USA start their slaughter of Iraqis from Turkish soil. Turkey saved the lives of thousandss of Arabic people; while the governments of Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia supported the slaughter of Arabic people. In the near future when the Arabic people rise up and destroy their rulers, I am sure Syria, Iran, Turkey and the new Iraq nation will be neutral. Thank you, Turkey, for saving Arabic lives when other nations would not.
Regarding Ron Niesen letter posted April 8:
I often wonder whether pro-war letters are genuine. Poor Erin, defended by Mr Niesen, seems to think that US (and UK) forces are in Iraq to defend the First Amendment to the US Constitution – and at the same time complains that Germans and Americans are using the right of free speech.
Mr Niesen, whose grasp of logic seems pretty poor for an attorney at law, seems to think that spluttering with rage will acquit US forces of the charge of murdering female and young civilians. Why should Iraq prove any different from the long history of ... US murderous expansion since the Philippines? The evidence is already with us ('the chick got in the way'). He also seems to think that pressing critics to leave the country will support his not guilty plea. Such McCarthyism serves, on the contrary, only to support the charge against his defendant. Not that the record of British, French, German or Russian – or indeed any other – imperialism is anything to write home about.
Prediction:
Iraq will be divided into three equal provinces, all equally hating America. The Sunnis of the Central Iraq of America (CIA) will hate us because we wrecked their middle class culture. The Shites will hate us once we start rattling sabers with Iran (In one week or so). The Kurds will hate us when we betray them again. Any questions?
Where Are the WMDs?
No WMD's found in Iraq? No problem, Saddam hid them in Syria. On to Damascus!
I have noticed a shift in the way this war has been covered by the media (pro and against). There has been no mention of the Weapons of Mass Destruction or the chemical and biological arsenals that Saddam Hussein had (or has?). It is disturbing to think that the original great reason for the US and the UK to go to war is not mentioned any more. So, where are the WMDs? Why are Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair not showing the world the evidence?
If there is no WMD found in Iraq after the "invasion", the Americans, British, Australian and Spain must be made to pay fully for the reconstruction of Iraq. All destroyed buildings and palaces must be reconstructed. These countries must be sanction to remove any drop of oil out of Iraq.
A UN resolution must be table at the Security Council to stop these countries of using any mean of millitary force at any country in this world.
~ Mustapa Abdul Hamid, Malaysia
"We know from multiple intelligence sources that Iraqi weapons scientists continue to be threatened with harm should they cooperate with U.N. inspectors"
~ "President George Bush Discusses Iraq in National Press Conference," WhiteHouse.gov
And what do the Iraqi weapons scientists do the second the United States enter Iraq? RUN! They run like hell. Maybe because it wasn't Saddam that was the threat.
Regarding "Americans Like War, Huh?" by Sascha Matuszak:
I am also in China and I also watch CCTV 9 (the English station) and I am not too sure that we are talking about the same thing. I find the coverage to be well balanced and fair with feeds both from CNN and the Middle East. I do not find the Chinese to be anti American but the official position is anti war. That is also the position of France, Russia, Germany Canada and many other countries.
This person is completely wrong about the coverage and yes the coverage on the SARS virus is designed not to panic the public. What is wrong with that? At this point I have all my family and friends and people I barely know writing to me and asking if I am ok. The Western media tends to sensationalize everything and likes to scare the hell out of everyone. The Chinese like to underplay everything. Different focus and different cultures.
I have lived and worked in China for several years and I want to say that this idiot you have writing for you needs to learn something about Chinese values and culture. I want him to stop putting down his Chinese hosts and get on with his job whatever it happens to be. I feel like going up to Chengdu and giving him a good slap. He surely deserves it. If you want someone to write something well, I can suggest a nice young fella from New Jersy who is a teacher in a high school here but also writes a column for his hometown paper, I am sure he could do a much better job than this clown.
I love your web site and use some articles in my classes. Good job guys.
~ Teri N., Hunan Province, Peoples Republic of China
Sascha Matuszak replies:
I love letters like these, because I know exactly what you did, Chump: you read roughly three lines, most likely the first three, then leapt up on your tiny little pony and started waving a banner and throwing insults around.
What was it you said? "I find the coverage to be well balanced and fair with feeds both from CNN and the Middle East."
What was it I said at the beginning, middle AND the end of my column?: "CCTV has developed into a network capable of broadcasting news from everywhere with the authority of CNN," and, "The panorama ends with the words, 'Give Peace a Chance.' There is nothing wrong with that at all. Any reader of any columns/editorials/stories featured on this site might agree with the general message sent by the CCTV reporters," and, "The most important development of this war is the progress made by Chinese news agencies – people on the ground in Iraq, on the spot reports, feeds from the White House and the UN – and the response of the Chinese people."
Who's the clown?
Chinese media is really good at keeping the people from panicking – as you should know, having lived and learned for sooooo long – no word on protests, strikes, labor unrest OR SARS. Keeps us all happy don't it?
Who's the idiot?
And as for "The Western media tends to sensationalize everything and likes to scare the hell out of everyone. The Chinese like to underplay everything. Different focus and different cultures. I have lived and worked in China for several years and I want to say that this idiot you have writing for you needs to learn something about Chinese values and culture" – Maybe you should consider the Chinese downplaying their anti-American sentiment and hiding it amidst the "fair and well-balanced coverage" the way the US does.
Lastly: if your buddy can write, have him do so. And if you want to come to Chengdu and put your hands on me, best bring your Jersey friend and a few others along, Chumpy.
Democracy
The American population only see what their government shows them. So much for Democracy – let the rest of the world choose the way they want to live and the way they want to run their countries. America wants to change everybody so that they conform to their standards. Yes, there is a good side to what they are doing but forcing every country to change is not Democratic by any means.
~ Colin Hartley, Cape Town, South Africa
Regarding Amanda O.'s letter posted April 12:
While the fate of Ali is tragic, Amanda and many of the other antiwar crowd do not seem to realize that under Saddam's regime, this type of suffering occurred many times over. If we did not take down his regime, Ali and millions of other Iraqis endured the same misery. My sympathy goes out to the hundreds or thousands of innocent Iraqis that were injured or killed in this war, but my sympathy also goes out the tens and hundreds of thousands who would be under the same or worse conditions if Hussein was still around.
If we had followed the policy of "containing" Saddam, he would have continued butchering his own people.
As far as WMD, I have full confidence that they will be found. I don't understand the antiwar crowd here either – first they predicted the war would drag on and there would be hundreds or thousands of US casualties, and that we wouldn't be welcomed as liberators. Now that the military part of the conflict has wrapped up faster than anyone though, everyone is questioning why WMD haven't been found yet. It hasn't even been 4 weeks yet! And less than a week since Baghdad has fallen! Give it some time. We know they're there. If he was able to evade the UN for months and years, it will take some time to find it – but when they do, I'm sure the antiwar crowd will find something else to complain about.
Backtalk editor Sam Koritz replies:
Mr. Wong certainly seems passionately commited to opposing tyrants. No doubt he, if old enough, spent much time and energy in the late '80s lobbying to stop the US government's military assistance to the Hussein regime, and in the early '80s he probably played a prominent role in the mini-movement opposing CIA assistance to tyrants, including Saddam. If he's really long in the tooth, no doubt Mr. Wong could have been found among the minority of Americans actively opposed to the US role in Saddam's atrocities of the 1960s. Still, we might ask: Wouldn't it be preferable to take the middle road between funding foreign tyrants and invading their countries?
As for hidden WMDs, it's certainly true that it could take more than a month to find a hidden Iraqi Doomsday Machine; however, in the words of WMD expert Dr. Merkwurkdigliebe, "the whole point of the Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret."
Regarding Curt R.'s letter posted April 12:
Curt R. plays the war hawks' perennial trump card when he justifies the current war by trotting out the WW2 analogy. That winning hand has, unfortunately, repeatedly shown that if one can indeed justify US intervention in 1941, one can apparently justify any follow up, like the one today. That is why my research has asked why the US needed to intervene in 1941, a question I would ask of Curt R. When, exactly, was Hitler a threat to the US? The answer is he never was. So why did the US make war on Hitler? The answer has never been coherently explained, which is why I wrote my book about that mythical period.
However, more has been written and understood about why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Does Curt R. know that the Japanese were spooked by the US military assistance to China and by the US bomber buildup in the Philippines? Can Curt R. understand why the Japanese might have felt threatened by decades of US imperial conquest in China and the Philippines? If Curt R. wants to avoid Pearl Harbors or 9/11s then he should refrain from taking sides in foreign wars that do not threaten the US, until it does actually takes sides.
~ Richard F. Hill