Sept. 11 and the Iraq war
Connections between Sept. 11 and the Iraq war are the stuff of myth and propaganda rather than of reason and cause.
Jin Zhong (金鐘),in his article ("West fights for its very survival in Baghdad," April 12, page 8), repeats what he, as he says, already said on March 20, that "Without Sept. 11, there would not have been a US-Iraq war." I strongly oppose this view. Without Sept. 11 there would have been no campaign in Afghanistan -- but there would have been a campaign in Iraq anyway. For several reasons.
First, Iraq has nothing to do with Sept. 11. There is no direct connection between President Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terror network -- even the CIA has been publicly denying the existence of such a link, much to the dismay of the administration. Ironically, Iraq was one of the most anti-Islamist Arab countries. A fact that should be known to the US administration, since the US supported Iraq's war against Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran.
Second, the hawks in Washington have been seeing occupation of Iraq as an integral part of a new strategy for the Persian Gulf region and globally before Sept. 11. "While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American presence of force in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein." (America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century: A Report of The Project for the New American Century, Sept. 2000, p.26). The Project for the New American Century is a US "think tank" with such prominent supporters as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, Policy Board Adviser Paul Wolfowitz and Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Third, although there is obviously no logical connection between the invasion of Iraq and Sept. 11, the terrorist attack had of course an important psychological function in raising domestic support for this war in the US. One key to justify external aggression is always to manipulate and control the fears of your own people and to build up a strong but flexible foe image. Fear and this flexible foe image are at the core of the Bush administrations simplistic rhetorics of good and evil.
In this regard the Sept. 11 attack might have been seen as a lucky chance to advance the case of a new foreign policy and military doctrine. "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event like a new Pearl Harbor," read page 63 of the report.
As much as Sept. 11 was this catastrophic and catalyzing event, it was a sufficient but not a necessary condition for the invasion of Iraq to happen. As can be seen in newer history, the US administration has solicited Congress' approval for immediate military action usually with a bland lie. The Tonkin lie in case of the Vietnam War, and the video "proving" Iraqi soldiers' war-time atrocities (that was actually faked by the New York based advertising agency Hill & Knowlton) in case of the Gulf War. The quite diligent attempts to fake evidence during the process of weapons inspections and Security Council sessions, showed that the US administration is still prepared to produce any propaganda lie it deems suitable. So it seems to be quite rational to assume that without "catalyzing event" Sept. 11 the US administration would have undertaken the necessary steps to get domestic support for war.
Fourth, without Sept. 11 the Iraq war might have started later, but maybe even earlier. The former British ambassador to Washington Christopher Meyer recently told The Times ("Attack Taliban before Iraq, Blair told Bush," The Times, April 4), that the "hawks" in the US administration urged Bush to invade Iraq a short time after Sept. 11. And that it was Tony Blair who convinced Bush to go to Afghanistan first and spare Iraq for another day.
Torsten Nohl
Feng Yuan
Occupation is delightful
It is amazing the number of people who still think the the invasion led by the US and the UK is illegal. It is clearly legal. UN Security Council Resolution 678 gives any member state the right to enforce this and any subsequent resolution by any means necessary.
UN Security Council Resolution 1441 specifically mentions 678 as a relevant resolution. Once Iraq violated that resolution, the US and UK had the right as indicated by 678 to enforce the resolution, and they have.
Liberating the Iraqi people from their decades of oppression is a delightful side benefit of this particular enforcement.
Michael Le Houllier
Taichung
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