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At church yesterday morning, I observed the minute's
silence to remember the fallen in war, just like so
many times before. This year it occurred to me that
just remembering is not enough.
It is completely right to remember our fellow human
beings who have been killed in battle. It is completely
right to remember the recent casualties among our armed
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also completely
right to remember that these two wars were started,
not for the defence of the realm, but for the financial
gain of the few.
In the Spring, Harry Cohen, Labour MP for Leyton and
Wanstead, wrote for the Socialist Campaign Group News
about the real motives for the invasion and their consequences
in an article entitled, "Profiting
from Iraq's occupation."
One of his deductions was that the US is to stay in
Iraq for the long term to rob the country of its resources.
Halliburton, Dick Cheney's former employer, was one
company awarded no-bid
contracts.
Consider also that Royal
Dutch Shell oil company and the Iraqi Oil Ministry
have struck a secret, as-of-yet non-binding agreement
that gives a monopoly over southern Iraq's natural gas
to the energy giant. It marks the first time in over
35 years a Western oil company has played a major role
in the country's most lucrative industry.
In other words, there are plenty of opportunities for
certain people.
The Government lied to us about Iraq; this we know
for a fact. They sent our people to fight often without
suitable equipment and clothing.
I believe that there is enough evidence to allow certain
decisionmakers to be tried for warcrimes/mass murder
and torture.
Guantánamo
is a massive bloody stain on humanity as are many other
things that have happened in these greed-driven wars,
like torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib, Britain's
collusion with foreign torturers and rendition flights
to secret torture camps in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
We are meant to be the good guys? The ones spreading
'democracy' to a cruel world so that everyone can be
'equal'? The way things are going we will all be equally
disadvantaged and our souls crying out for justice and
peace.
Gordon Brown, Barack Obama's new poodle, is to lobby
European leaders on behalf of the US Government
to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Don't you just love this emerging new world order that
so many political and fake religious leaders are looking
for?
In the US, anti-war protesters are 'willing
to risk jail' to gather outside the Department of
Justice next week to urge Attorney General Michael Mukasey
to indict President Bush and Vice President Cheney on
war crimes charges.
Intead of just remembering the casualties, which is
very important, let us not forget that recent wars,
especially, have been manufactured.
If we can wake enough people up to why wars happen
and who the people are that benefit so much from them
and deal with the perpetrators appropriately, we may,
in future, be able to prevent such needless suffering
and consequently have fewer people to remember at this
time of year.
Comments can be left on my
blog.
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