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Le Monde diplomatique A special focus ----------------------------------------------------- The US war on Iraq http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/ Nothing seems capable of halting the American juggernaut. Now in March 250,000 US soldiers, along with a few British units, are gathered in the Gulf ready for the assault on Baghdad. Soon after 11 September 2001 the Bush administration decided that one component of their strategy would be to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Men as high-placed as Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld or Paul Wolfowitz had long advocated such action, but George W Bush's questionable election made it difficult to realise that objective. With 11 September it became feasible. From then on Washington's ruling view of the world was stark: "Anyone who is not with us is with the terrorists" Bush proclaimed. The September 2002 document entitled The National Security Strategy of the United States, which for the first time included the notion of preventive war, confirmed the new orientation of the hyperpower, which was convinced that its own interests were henceforth synonymous with justice. (see documents in Part One: United States strategy). http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1456 This strategy was not a response to 11 September. It was formulated in a document dating from September 2000, signed by influential members of the current administration before they took office, which claimed that terrorism had replaced Nazism and communism as the new enemy of the United States. But terrorism is not an ideology, nor is it a strategic threat, since it does not originate from any state. It is a useful bogeyman, adaptable to many situations and used to discredit one's enemies. Especially when it can be associated, in a triangle of evil, with weapons of mass destruction and so-called "rogue states" (see documents in Part Two: The threat of terrorism). http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1457 President Bush has warned that the "war on terrorism" will be a long one. It began with the Afghan campaign and the overthrow of the Taliban. It continued with the outlawing of hundreds of organisations and individuals, on criteria that are vague at best, corresponding more to American fantasies than to any serious definition of the terrorist phenomenon - if such a definition were possible. This war has also helped a number of governments to justify their own repressive policies: Russia in Chechnya, Israel in Palestine, India in Kashmir, etc. In the countries of the North, an offensive is mounting against an "enemy within", often identified with Muslim immigrants, or radical protestors (see documents in Third Part: The war against terrorism). http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1458 The United States decided on its attack on Saddam Hussein' regime in order to destroy the weapons of mass destruction held by Iraq. And yet, on this question, no evidence has been offered, and certainly no proof that Iraq is such a threat to world peace and security that war is unavoidable. Washington's duplicity is obvious when we compare the US attitude towards North Korea. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a very real problem, but it requires a multilateral solution, through the enforcement of existing treaties and stricter rules, especially on exports of sensitive material. The United States, France, Great Britain and Germany have much to answer for regarding Saddam's armaments programme in the 1980s (See documents in Part Four: Weapons of Mass Destruction). http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1459 The first victim of the war will be the Iraqi people, already suffering from a bloodthirsty dictatorship and criminal sanctions. Responsible for two wars - against Iran, then against Kuwait - the Baghdad regime has been subject to strict controls since 1991. The United Nations inspectors were able greatly to reduce its capacity to inflict harm, but this was accompanied by an embargo of unprecedented severity. United Nations experts predict that another war inflicted on a country whose population has reached the limits of its endurance will bring about hundreds of thousands of deaths. And the vision of a pacified and democratic Iraq arising from the ruins of Saddam's dictatorship, is a pipedream - or rather a piece of propaganda - without any relation to reality (see documents in Part Five: Toppling Saddam). http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1460 There are questions, too, about the broader consequences of a new war on the situation in the Middle East, especially the confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians (see documents in Part Six: War in the heart of the Middle East) http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1461 This focus feature was prepared by Alain Gresh, Maria Ierardi, Olivier Pironet and Philippe Rivi鑽e We welcome your questions and comments, which should be adressed to Olivier.Pironet@Monde-diplomatique.fr > US strategy http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1456 > The threat of terrorism http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1457 / United Nations documents on terrorism / "Rogue States" http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1462 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1466 > The war against terrorism http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1458 / The US intervention in Afghanistan / Al-Qaida / The "anti-terrorist" offensive against civil liberties http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1465 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1468 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1472 > Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1459 > Toppling Saddam http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1460 / A computerised war / Military intervention and oil-related issues / UN Inspections: a painstaking mission / War and post-war scenarios / Iraq in the run-up to a military strike http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1467 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1463 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1473 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1475 http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1476 > War in the heart of the Middle East http://mondediplo.com/focus/iraq/r1461 ---------------------------------------------------- See the French version: L'empire contre l'Irak http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cahier/irak/ ----------------------------------------------------- # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net